**The first passengers on the new Nanaimo to Vancouver fast ferry service get ready to board on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM**

Updated Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m

A new fast ferry service resumed service between Nanaimo and Vancouver on Thursday after canceling sailings on Wednesday afternoon.

After guests boarded for the 4:30 p.m sailing departing Nanaimo on Wednesday, the crew found a technical problem on the vessel and had to cancel the trip, according to an email from Hullo to CHLY. The 6:30 p.m. departure from Vancouver was also cancelled.

Hullo said crews worked through the night to fix the issue and all sailings today are moving forward as scheduled .

Hullo said they helped passengers find alternative methods of travel, provided full refunds and offered vouchers for a future sailing.

One of those passengers was Bob Antonietti, a tourist from Ottawa, who only found out about the cancellation when he and his wife walked onto the docks to board despite checking with the company that there were no delays with Hullo earlier in the day.

“We walked down to the pier where the level where the ferry was supposed to be and there was a representative from Hullo with a Hullo flag flying in the wind saying, ‘are you going on the ferry tonight?’ Antonietti told CHLY. “Yes, we're getting down there now. ‘Well, it's been cancelled.’ Immediately. I thought that this was a joke. I mean, this is a really bad joke, but it's a joke.”

Antonietti took a cab to Horseshoe Bay but couldn’t get on the next BC ferry which he says was also full. He says that he wasn’t able to make it to his destination in Parksville until almost 11 p.m. and he has since cancelled his return ticket on Hullo.

“We're going to find an alternate route back because we just have no trust that the operations is going to run on Sunday and we have to be back on Sunday in order to catch our cruise,” he said.

Thursday’s 10 a.m. ferry left Nanaimo on schedule with with 212 passengers.

This comes after a power outage and strong winds on Monday led the company to cancel the first two days of sailings.

The company also cut the number of sailings until September with sailings from Nanaimo leaving at 10 a.m and 4:30 p.m. and departing Vancouver at noon and 6:30 p.m.

The first sailing from Nanaimo on Wednesday morning had 189 passengers, roughly half of the ship’s capacity, crossing the strait in 90 minutes at 40 knots per hour.

Vancouver Island Ferry Company co-founder Rupesh Amin took the ferry to Vancouver and back on Wednesday.

Chloe Gummer chose to take the new fast ferry to see the Noah Kahan concert in Vancouver on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 because she was using crutches and the downtown docks meant less walking. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM

“We were obviously respecting the speed limitations within the harbours,” he said. “But then on the straightaway doing 37 to 39 knots and [it was] very smooth sailing.

Chloe Gummer boarded the first ferry on crutches saying that it was part of the reason she chose a direct trip to downtown Vancouver to see the Noah Kahan concert.

“It honestly cut out some of the time to get where I needed to go.” she said. “Hopefully the trek onto the boat isn't too tough with these but we'll find out.”

Nanaimo senior Joanne Smithwick took the ferry with her grandson who was visiting from Calgary.

“When the ferry was ready to go, we thought that would be one of the adventures we would take,” she said.

UBC environmental sustainability student Sebastian Patton took the new passenger to help reduce his carbon footprint.

“It’s really cool to see the introduction of a new route between Vancouver and Nanaimo that's built for people rather than cars,” he said. “They're not electric yet, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.”

He also said that one of the attractions of the new ferry is its convenience.

”This is very convenient for me because I live in Vancouver, so it's really easy to get to once I'm on that side,” he said. “It's just one SkyTrain for me.”

While it’s currently a 10-minute walk to the nearest transit stop in Nanaimo, Amin says that there are plans to have a private shuttle service in place in a couple of weeks while BC Transit says they expect to extend the 25 Ferry Shuttle bus to the port authority area in January.

Amin says the goal is to run the ferries as regularly as possible, but the weather is out of their control.

“It really is up to Mother Nature,” he said. “We expect that and anticipate that we'll be sailing when other services are running as well. So BC Ferries, Helijet, seaplanes, we should be in line with them as well. But if weather conditions are changing, then we have to do what's in the best interest of our passengers in terms of safety and reliability”

According to Amin, Hullo is here to stay.

“Right now, we're more interested in bedding our systems or procedures, and making sure that we've got a reliable service that we're building,” Amin said. “We're here for the long run.”

**Vancouver Island Ferry Company co-founder Rupesh Amin (centre, black vest) with staff on Aug. 16, 2023. Photo: Mick Sweetman / CHLY 101.7FM**

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.