New Ferry

Many years ago you used to be able to travel directly from Vancouver to Victoria on a ferry that docked downtown in the Inner Harbour. That service was discontinued when the Swartz Bay - Tsawassen Ferry service came into use. Whatever else the latter's advantages it means a half hour drive after the ferry docks on the island before you reach Victoria and the same on the other side between Tsawassen and Vancouver. However, this year there are two new downtown-to-downtown services proposed and the large white vessel above is arriving in the Inner Harbour to prepare for one of these new direct services for passengers. It's a high-speed catamaran called Famille Dufour II that will make the trip in 3 hours and promises to be very popular, especially with day-trippers in the summer. Before it begins service it is going to get a complete overhaul so the service will not begin until 2017. Famille Dufour II is operated by an Australian company. Another proposed Vancouver/Victoria direct ferry will be operated by the company that currently runs the Victoria/Seattle Clipper ferry service.

Victoria Clipper

While I have indicated the Victoria Clipper in other photos, I have not featured it in the past so here is a photo that shows one of the Clippers entering the Inner Harbour. That's Shoal Point on the left and Work Point on the right. The Clippers are high speed catamarans that carry passengers between Seattle and Victoria. I traveled down to Seattle last August on one and I recommend it highly. It takes about 3 hours to make the trip, depending on the weather.