Hullo ferries set sail Wednesday on reduced schedule

After two days of cancellations, a much anticipated new passenger ferry finally set sail Wednesday morning.

Hullo set off at 10 a.m. from Nanaimo to Vancouver, as the new BC Ferries alternative will operate on a reduced schedule until Aug. 31.

In an update to its website, Hullo says there will be four sailings per day until the end of the month, with a second sailing from Nanaimo scheduled for 4 p.m. Sailings from Vancouver to the island are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Hullo was supposed to kick off its service on Monday from Nanaimo, but its fast catamarans never left the dock.

The company blamed the disruption on a power outage at its Nanaimo berth on Sunday due to strong winds.

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Sailings were also cancelled on Tuesday.

Alastair Caddick, CEO of Hullo Ferries, told CityNews Monday that cancelling the inaugural sailings was not an easy choice — but it was a safe one.

“We’re really disappointed,” he said. “Our team and our crew have really been working hard for months to prepare for the inaugural sailing today.”

Caddick explains Hullo’s vessels are connected to shore power while the crew is away overnight, but an unexpected outage at the Nanaimo docks meant they had to take extra time in the morning to check its impacts. The outage, plus a Wind Warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada for winds ranging from 20 to 30 knots into Tuesday, created a perfect storm, Caddick adds.

“We certainly, very deliberately, are taking a conservative approach in our early days until we get our sea legs,” he said.

Passengers aboard the initial Nanaimo-to-Vancouver sailing expressed universally positive feedback about their experience.

The service and views were good and the downtown-to-downtown route was convenient, passengers told CityNews, with some saying they enjoyed the snacks and comfortable seats.

The only hints of negativity were from those passengers who say they are concerned about how often there will be cancellations such as when the weather played spoiler on what was supposed to be day one Monday.

–With files from Sonia Aslam, Pippa Norman, and Martin MacMahon