It takes Saturna Island harbour commissioner Larry Peck five hours by sa国际传媒 Ferries to get to Salt Spring Island by way of Swartz Bay to visit his daughter. 鈥淚n five hours, I can fly to Toronto,鈥� said the former Saturna Island economic development commissioner.
It would be more like 45 minutes via passenger-only water taxi to Ganges Harbour. A taxi that doesn鈥檛 exist. Which is why the lifelong boating businessman is promoting the idea of a high-speed mini seabus that seats 16 foot-passengers to serve the southern Gulf Islands and Salt Spring, with a gateway connection at Sidney.
The need for passenger-only island-hopping small ferries is, in a word, 鈥渉uge,鈥� Peck said, a sentiment supported by Sidney Mayor Steve Price.
鈥淲hen I came here from the East Coast in 1986, I was able to get on a sa国际传媒 ferry and visit every southern Gulf Island in one day,鈥� said Peck, who spent 30 years as a charter captain. 鈥淒o you think you can do that now? It鈥檚 impossible.鈥�
Peck has no plans to fund such a vessel, but he has sailed on a great one that is for sale for a cool $280,000.
Currently, sa国际传媒 Ferries鈥� passenger and vehicle ferries entail backtracking trips by passengers, often through Swartz Bay, to get from one southern Gulf Island to the next, said Peck.
So if some entrepreneurial type were to come along, it could be just the ticket for quick island-hopping on foot 鈥� something he said would foster tourism, repair the diminished inter-island sense of community and provide economic opportunities for young people who don鈥檛 want to move from the southern Gulf Islands to find work.
鈥淟et鈥檚 just say it would have to be an entrepreneur with a long-term investment,鈥� said Peck, now president of the Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society. 鈥淚鈥檓 also looking for creative ways of making this work 鈥� An inter-island service connecting the Gulf Islands would create an exciting opportunity for visitors to discover and experience these hidden treasures of British Columbia.鈥�
Peck, now commissioner of the Capital Regional District鈥檚 Lyall Harbour, said the 鈥渧ery unique vessel鈥� now for sale is purpose-built for island-hopping.
鈥淚 believe there is great potential for the future of the southern Gulf Islands as a special destination at the very centre of the Salish Sea,鈥� Peck said.
Meanwhile, Price said that the town is working closely with the Capital Regional District and CRD vice-chairman Dave Howe, who is also convinced that compact foot-passenger ferries are long overdue to link tourists, workers and residents of small islands with Vancouver Island and each other. For residents on those islands, it would be 鈥渙ur highway system,鈥� Howe said, with the need especially 鈥渃ritical鈥� to keep young families on the Gulf Islands in tandem with 鈥減reserve and protect鈥� provisions on what kind of development is allowed by the Islands Trust. 鈥淭he time has come.鈥�
After Sidney completes its 鈥渧isioning exercise鈥� with the public on what new docks or port facilities are needed to replace its wharf within the next 10 years, Price expects the town will put out a request for proposals 鈥渢o see who might be interested in operating such a service out of a new ports facility in downtown Sidney. The town would be happy to hear from any operators who would be interested in providing an enhanced level of service from a new passenger-only facility the town is contemplating.鈥�
What about sa国际传媒 Ferries? Asked if a foot-passenger service using small ferries was something it would consider trying or subsidizing, Deborah Marshall, executive director of public affairs, replied: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any intentions of operating foot-passenger-only service at this time in the southern Gulf Islands.鈥�
Ferries鈥� operating expenses last fiscal year were $722.5 million. 聽
Reg Kirkham has operated Sidney鈥檚 Island Water Taxi for more than 15 years and said small foot-passenger ferries are a tough business. 鈥淚 survive because I am one guy and work around the clock.鈥�
He counts on taking sa国际传媒 Hydro crews to worksites, ferrying visitors to Poets Cove Resort on South Pender and carrying other corporate clients to keep his 11-passenger-boat business afloat.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen guys go broke trying to do scheduled runs out of Pender,鈥� Kirkham said. There are no guarantees that seats will be filled, and operators must take into account all kinds of weather. As for more extensive inter-island foot-passenger ferries?
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if the ridership is there,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f someone subsidized me, I鈥檇 do it in a heartbeat.鈥�
The Gulf Islands Water Taxi Service carries 100 students daily from smaller islands to high school on Salt Spring, but Peck notes it鈥檚 got an all-important contract with the school district for most of the year.
All this talk of increased ferry activity at the Sidney wharf sounds a bit alarming to nearby resident Anke Crowhurst, especially since Price invited Riverside Marine of Australia to stop in Sidney when it starts excursions from Victoria鈥檚 Inner Harbour to Vancouver鈥檚 Coal Harbour this summer.
鈥淥f course it also means a lot more cars and parking lots and bus turn-arounds at the Beacon Wharf,鈥� Crowhurst said. 鈥淲e have a beautiful waterfront walkway, so why do you want to mess that up now?鈥�
She noted that both the Washington State Anacortes ferry and current small ferries (such as the water taxi or the summer ferry to Sidney Spit) are enough when it takes less than 10 minutes to drive to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal from Sidney.
鈥淚鈥檓 all for moving ahead and showing the world what a wonderful picturesque town Sidney is, but now I think [Price] is going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.鈥�
Price has stated he would not support any plan that would detract from the harbour鈥檚 charm, only one that enhanced the harbour, but Crowhurst does not sound convinced.
鈥淪idney already has a shortage of parking in the downtown area, and this will only make it worse,鈥� she said.
Howe, a CRD director from the southern Gulf Islands, lives on North Pender Island and said he had in mind a mini seabus that could carry eight to 15 foot passengers along the lines of the SeaBus that crosses Burrard Inlet between Vancouver and North Vancouver.
Such a seabus based on Saturna could make it to Galiano Island in a little over 15 minutes, Mayne in less than 10 minutes and Pender in under 10 as well, Peck estimated. Pender to Sidney would be 30 minutes. All the southern Gulf Islands have harbours and some form of bus or taxi service.
Small passenger-only ferries could play a role in increasing employment, allowing young people who have grown up on the southern Gulf Islands to commute to work 鈥� there are 2,200 jobs near the Victoria International Airport alone 鈥� and return to small islands with lower housing prices, Howe said.
A report on the website of the Economic Development Commission for the Southern Gulf Islands envisions 鈥渁 system of major trails and water routes interconnecting the southern Gulf Islands and Salt Spring Island,鈥� emphasizing hiking and cycling trails to 鈥渆ncourage visitors to the islands to leave their cars at home.鈥�
