The Easter long weekend saw as many as 15 overloaded ferries travelling between the Horseshoe Bay and Langdale terminals, B.C. Ferries has said.
"There were 15 sailings in total over the weekend that were over 100 per cent subscribed," said ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.
B.C. Ferries workers endeavour to ensure space on the vessels is used most effectively during times of high traffic, she said, a practice that can add extra minutes to sailing times.
Heavy traffic was blamed for a handful of minor delays that occurred on Sunday and Monday.
The long weekend saw four overloaded trips from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale on Thursday and another two on Friday. During Easter Sunday and Monday, there were nine overloaded ferries making the return trip, Marshall said.
She described the traffic patterns as 'typical' of an Easter long weekend.
However, one delay over the weekend was not typical, as a medical emergency occurred on the 7:20 a.m. departure from Horseshoe Bay on Friday morning.
According to Marshall, a passenger that was suffering from chest pains forced the Queen of Surrey to return to Horseshoe Bay, an incident that delayed its sailing by roughly 55 minutes.
An extra sailing of the Queen of Coquitlam, one that was not scheduled, was used to reduce the impact of the incident on the April 6 schedule.
"The Queen of Surreydid make up the time bythe end of the day. The 9:15 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay departed at 9:23 p.m.," said Marshall."Other than the medical emergency, nothing out of the ordinary to report. Easter is typically a weekend when many families open up their summer cabins on the beautiful Sunshine Coast."
