Dozens of sailings between Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands were called off Friday morning as the first of a series of storms hit B.C.’s South Coast. B.C. Ferries says the cancellations are necessary for the safety of passengers and crew due to the high winds and wave height forecast in the Strait of Georgia. Environment Canada predicted winds of about 70 km/h over the Strait of Georgia and Haro Strait into Friday afternoon. Just after 12 p.m., the B.C. Ferries website was down, leaving travellers unable to check sailing conditions. The website was back online around 2 p.m., when B.C. Ferries announced that some routes would soon resume service. Cancellation announcements began at 7 a.m., with more trips being axed into the afternoon. The following sailings were affected: Vancouver-Nanaimo Vancouver-Victoria Vancouver-southern Gulf Islands Service between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay resumes with 3 p.m. sailings in both directions. The Tsawwassen-Duke Point route is resuming with a 3:15 p.m. sailing departing Tsawwassen. The Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route resumes service at 4 p.m., with sailings travelling in both directions. Although service is scheduled to resume on these routes, B.C. Ferries’ current conditions show their car decks are expected to be full for nearly all of Friday’s remaining sailings. The Hullo passenger-only ferry that travels between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo also cancelled most of its sailings Friday, with the 6 p.m. departure from Nanaimo and the 11:59 p.m. departure from Vancouver as the only exceptions. A warning for very heavy rain was also issued for parts of Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, with up to 80 millimetres expected on the mainland and more than 100 millimetres on northern, western and inland sections of the island. For frequently updated information on sailings and cancellations, including on lower-traffic routes, travellers can check the B.C. Ferries account on X.
