During a trip to the mainland, one intrepid seafarer captured a scene that would have been more suited to the decks of the Black Pearl rather than a BC Ferries vessel.
Sidney resident Jimmy Queenanewest shot the video as he travelled on a ferry toward Tsawwassen from Swartz Bay on Jan. 5. Vancouver Island at the time was in the pathway of a bomb cyclone that triggered a state of emergency in California and cancelled some ferry sailings to Vancouver Island.
The video shows the ferry facing winds and choppy seas as it rounded East Point on Saturna Island.
Queenawest captured the video from inside the ferry and said “definitely nobody outside in that weather.”
Greater Victoria has seen multiple wind warnings this month creating some chopping conditions.
Local company Finest at Sea posted a video on Instagram on Jan. 24 of one of its vessels out for sablefish. FV Ocean Pearl can be seen rolling eight metres in each direction – that’s 16 metres of sway – as the crew manoeuvres her through the waves.
In the post, Finest at Sea said “rock-a-bye-baby … just another day at the office.”
While it might not be like that every day, it’s a good reminder of the conditions mariners face.
ALSO READ: Flurry of weather warnings for B.C. south coast, with up to 120 mm of rain forecast
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