BC Ferries gears up for a busy May long weekend

VANCOUVER -

BC Ferries is expecting to welcome more than 430,000 passengers over the May long weekend.

To prepare for the influx of passengers, it has added 95 extra sailings along the major routes, which includes Tsawwassen to Victoria, Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay to the Sunshine Coast.

“We do expect to be quite busy,” said Deborah Marshall, spokesperson for BC Ferries. “We do want to caution customers, if you're travelling without a booking over to Vancouver Island, you might want to travel it up to Tsawwassen instead. And do expect some sailing waits at Horseshoe Bay as well as Tsawwassen today and tomorrow.”

She advises people to plan ahead and leave their homes early in case there is congestion on the roads.

The May long weekend has historically been a busy time for BC Ferries but it has been rare to see the impact of wildfires during this time.

“We are seeing forest fires starting earlier this year. We don't normally see that on the May long weekend. So there might be an influx of travellers wanting to come to Vancouver Island or the Sunshine Coast this weekend instead of heading to the Interior,” she said.

Carmen Hartt, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the smoke will not linger for long.

“The hazy skies are still visible because there's a lot of smoke. For the Interior, the smoke’s reached the whole province, but we are going to see with the pattern change even starting tomorrow,” Hartt said.

On Friday, the smoke will begin to retreat from the South Coast and southern Interior and move upwards, she said.

At the end of the long weekend, the temperatures will dip back down, she said.

For BC Ferries, just as the temperatures cool, Vancouver Island terminals and the Sunshine Coast will be the busiest as people return home Monday and Tuesday.