The BC Ferries ship Spirit of Vancouver Island (built in 1994) in Trincomali Channel on the way to Tsawwassen from Victoria (Swartz Bay).
I’ve been on a number of ferry rides that were in really rainy or windy weather which makes roaming the deck rather uncomfortable. For my last trip to Salt Spring Island, however, it was a nice sunny day that wasn’t too warm and the winds were calm. After the first 30 minutes of my ferry trip from Tsawwassen to Long Harbour on Salt Spring Island, I spent the rest of the time walking the deck with my camera.
I was not on a direct ferry to Salt Spring Island on this trip, but on a Southern Gulf Islands route with BC Ferries that stops at a number of islands (Galiano, Mayne, and Pender) before reaching Long Harbour on Salt Spring. The first stop was Sturdies Bay on Galiano Island. I was on the deck of the BC Ferries ship Salish Eagle which provided a pretty steady platform to photograph from while we were docked. I made this panorama of Sturdies Bay after most of the cars had disembarked onto Galiano but before we had left for the next island.
Also at Sturdies Bay on Galiano were these sandstone cliffs that had a lot of interesting patterns and shapes. The house on this point has a great view but I bet things can get pretty wild in a good storm!
The next stop after Galiano was the nearby Mayne Island and the Village Bay Ferry Terminal (above). I am not sure if this was a normal delay or not, but we had to wait for about 30 minutes to dock at the Village Bay Terminal. This did give me a good chance to photograph various other BC Ferry vessels that were passing by on their way to other destinations. The photo below shows the BC Ferries vessel Spirit of British Columbia (built in 1993) navigating Trincomali Channel on the way to Victoria (Swartz Bay) from Tsawwassen. The island in the background is Prevost Island (front) with Salt Spring Island behind.
The Queen of Cumberland (below) is an Intermediate-class Ferry which left Mayne Island heading for Victoria, BC while I was still waiting to dock at Mayne Island. A lot of the ferries that travel between the various gulf islands are these smaller types of I-class ferries.
My last stop before arriving at Salt Spring Island was Otter Bay on Pender Island. While docked there I photographed the BC Ferries vessel Coastal Celebration (built in 2007) navigating Swanson Channel on the way to Tsawwassen from Victoria (Swartz Bay). Salt Spring Island (and Mount Maxwell/Baynes Peak) is in the background.
More photographs of various means of travel can be found in my Planes, Trains and Automobiles Gallery.