As travellers attempt an early start to the Easter long weekend, several delays held up sailings on BC Ferries’s sailings through Horseshoe Bay.
On Thursday, April 14, the Queen of Surrey made her return to service after her annual refit to relieve issues with the Queen of Oak Bay. Engineers and deck crew sorted out the technical issues aboard the Queen of Surrey and finalized the new bridge design, Deborah Marshall of BC Ferries told Coast Reporter. She confirmed the Queen of Surrey repositioned to Langdale in the afternoon of April 13 and was expected to go back into service in the morning of April 15, after mechanical issues delayed its return by a few days.
But although the Queen of Surrey is back, her first voyage would be about an hour late. The scheduled 3:15 p.m. sailing from Langdale was delayed by mechanical difficulties on the Queen of Oak Bay that cancelled an additional two round trips between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay on Thursday.
“So there’s some pent-up demand there,” Marshall said. “It is a long weekend, so we do expect to be quite busy - not only at Horseshoe Bay, but throughout the fleet.”
The regularly scheduled 10:55 p.m. sailing to Langdale is also expected to be delayed, BC Ferries said in a service notice at 3:38 p.m., so there will be no connecting bus service from Langdale to meet the last sailing arriving from Horseshoe Bay.
“We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience as a result of this sailing delay. The crew is doing everything they can to get us back on schedule,” the service notice said.
Marshall said they expect repairs on the Queen of Oak Bay to be completed this evening, and to be able to put the ship back in service for Friday. The Queen of Coquitlam is also in service, so all three ferries will be sailing for the long weekend, with some additional sailings.
BC Ferries had previously announced the cancellation of several sailings on April 14 because of the delayed return of the Queen of Surrey. On Route 3, those cancellations included the 2:40 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale and the 3:50 p.m. sailing from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay. Several sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo’s Departure Bay were also impacted.
For the long weekend, Marshall said customers without a reservation can expect some sailing waits. She said travelling as a foot passenger can be a good idea if you don’t have a booking.
