return to homeVehicle access to Hornby Island is via BC Ferries from Buckley Bay on Vancouver Island: one ferry to Denman Island, a drive across Denman and another ferry to Hornby Island, taking about 50 minutes in all. Buckley Bay is about one hour's drive up-island from Nanaimo.
The first through ferry sailing from Buckley Bay in the morning departs at 7:00 am, connecting to the Hornby Island ferry at 7:45 am. Subsequent sailings leave Buckley Bay at 7:40, 8:20 and hourly on the hour thereafter. The last through sailing to Hornby Island departs at 6:00 pm, except on Fridays, when there are later connections.
The first sailing off Hornby Island leaves at 7:30 am, timed to carry the school bus. Subsequently sailings are hourly on the hour until 6:00 pm, which is the last connection.
The Buckley Bay to Denman ferry runs from Buckley Bay to "downtown" Denman, referred to by BC Ferries as Denman West. The 10 minute trip crosses Baynes Sound, known now mainly for its shellfish farms. In times past it was the marine access to the coaling docks at Union Bay, which explains the presence of the lighthouse on Chrome Island off the southern end of Denman Island. This run is serviced by the MV Quinitsa, which is essentially a flat-bottomed vessel with two inboard-outboard type engines, which can be steered in any direction. The Quinitsa has a nominal capacity of 50 cars.
There is a 15 minute drive across Denman Island. It can become somewhat of a rally in summer when drivers are trying to maintain their position in the sequence. It is only a rumour that Hornbyites consider Denman Island to be a speed bump.
The Denman-Hornby ferry runs across Lambert Channel from Gravelly Bay on Denman Island to Shingle Spit on Hornby Island. This trip also takes about ten minutes. In summer this run is serviced by the MV Kahloke, a smaller version of the Quinitsa. Lambert Channel is much more exposed to the winter storm winds than Baynes Sound, and a vessel with a hull is more appropriate in winter. The winter ferry is the MV Tachek, which was originally built for the Powell River-Texada run (and is still so listed on the BC Ferries website.) Both vessels have a nominal capacity of 30 cars.
Traffic on these ferries is first come, first served. When traffic is heavy, the ferries can go to doubling (two trips an hour) or shuttling (running steadily and ignoring the schedule) modes, at the discretion of the captains. We understand the policy for the last run of the day is that any patron who is through the toll-booth by 6:00 will be carried even if it involves an extra trip, but we try not to test this.
If you are coming from the mainland by ferry, you should be on the 12:30 pm sailing out of Horseshoe Bay or the 12:45 out of Tsawassen. Normally in winter you can make the connection from the 3:00 out of Horseshoe Bay, but it is tight. In summer or on long weekends plan to be at Buckley Bay no later than 5:00 pm.
From the time you disembark at the Nanaimo Departure Bay ferry terminal it takes 65 minutes at posted speed limits to get to Buckley Bay. From the Duke Point terminal south of Nanaimo, it is about 80 minutes to Buckley Bay.
Hornby Islanders have two issues with the operation of our ferry: the constant pressure to increase the fares and assured loading at Denman West.
The first sailing from Hornby Island in the morning is at 7:30 am. Theoretically the connection at Denman West is 8:00, but there is no guarantee that we will get on it. Those arriving at the terminal from Denman Island at 8:25 get priority over those who were lined up on Hornby Island before 7:00. This means that we have no assurance of getting the morning WestJet connection or a medical appointment before 10:30 am unless we stay overnight in Courtenay.
There is precedent for blocking out space for through traffic: Cortes traffic has a quota for some runs at Quathiaski Cove. We would like to have a similar procedure at Denman West. The handy excuse for not doing it is that it would require a third lane up the hill, even though there is space at the dock itself, and the locals and the school bus consistently use the outer lane as a two-way street to deliver foot-passengers to the ferry.
As a corollary to this, vehicle reservations on the big ferries are useless for us in the mornings. The first connection to the mainland which we can get is 10:30 out of Departure Bay, but if we miss the connection at Denman West it is touch-and-go as to whether we can get to Nanaimo in time to claim a reservation. That's what happens when decisions are made from an office in Victoria. The solution for us is the Assured Loading Tickets, but current thinking at BC Ferries seems to be that it is naughty to buy ALT's, as they call them, and not use them all at once.
To our MLA's
This is our highway. The fares do not cover the cost. So what? - does the Port Mann bridge cover its cost? Does the Qualicum interchange cover its cost? The Buckley Bay rest stop? The Mission ferry? What's the difference?
We recognize that "this is our highway" is considered to be a trite statement, but it is historically true. Aside from the fact that most inter-island ferries were operated by Highwasy prior to 1985, our particular route was de-privatized from its island owners by Highways in 1960. How come our highway now has to support BC Ferries?
We are not responsible for the fast ferries. We are not responsible for the maintenance backlog.
Sure we "chose to live here", but if we were not here to maintain the infrastructure, 50,000 other British Columbians could not come here for their vacations. You should pay us. And when I came to live here ten years ago, a trip to Courtenay cost a quarter of what it does now.
The rationale for ferry fares is a difficult question. Raising fares to cover costs does not work. Ferry traffic is an elastic commodity - much more so for residents than for visitors. I remember going to Powell River from Vancouver late on a Sunday night in the winter of 1975, right after Jack Davis had doubled the fares to balance the books. When the boat from Saltery Bay arrived at Earl's Cove not a single person got off and I was the only one to get on. A round trip for one car and one person.
If there is a rationale for fares, it is to ration the service. The decision is made to run a ferry of a certain capacity. After that there is a financial goal to maximize revenue, and a political goal to maximize the use, because why else are we running it? If the ferry runs empty, we are not maximizing either, and the fare is obviously too high. There is also, politically, a ceiling on fares.
The BC Ferries fleet in general, and our ferries in particular, run in two contrary modes: summer and winter, and the rationale differs between the two. According to BC Ferries data, our passenger loadings range from 160 per day in January (presumably including students) to 750 per day in August.