Possible Waits

The digital sign above the road stated “7pm Sailing: 100% Full”. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. Then the digital sign flashed “9pm Sailing: Possible Waits” and, as clear as if a starting gun had been fired, we were off.

Suddenly, all of the traffic on the road sped up 15 kilometers per hour and what had been a leisurely commute into the ferry terminal became a game of Pole Position or Grand Theft Auto, with each driver thinking: “If only I can get there ahead of the person next to me I’ll get the last place on the ship.” Cars – station wagons full of kids, sedans driven by businessmen, SUV’s with dogs in the back – swerved, cut between lanes and accelerated into the curves, each driver knowing that if they didn’t get on the 9pm sailing, they wouldn’t be getting home that night.

One of the problems with living on an island is that sooner or later you either want to get on or off it. And, for me, when I'm not riding the Coho, that often means dealing with BC Ferries. BC Ferries uses the euphemism “Possible Waits” on their highway signs to indicate that the next sailing is 100% full and that if every car which has made a reservation shows up, you will be waiting for the next ferry. The possible wait can mean being stuck at the ferry terminal for at least two to three hours, or even until the next day if the last sailing of the day is full. “Possible Waits” though, is a good description of what the people who live on the BC coast and depend upon the Ferries deal with when starting or finishing a trip.

I slowed down as I entered the ferry terminal zone. Despite playing a lot of Atari 2600 racing games as a kid, the lane ahead of me was filled with cars that got to the terminal faster. I had been driving for the last six hours, flying for the 5 hours before that, and traveling for the last 11 days, and I just wanted to go home. I pulled up to the ticket seller and looked at my clock. It was 6:27pm.

I handed the ticket seller my credit card. He took it and swiped it.

“It looks like you’re on the 9pm ferry,” he said as he handed it back.

“Really? I made it? I’m guaranteed to be on it” I asked, relieved, not excited to be waiting for two and a half hours but glad to be making it home that night.

“Well, no, not if everyone who has made a reservation shows up,” the clerk responded.

“What? What happens then?”

“You get your money back and then you have to come back tomorrow.” He stated, and then, most likely noticing my clenched teeth, added, “You’ll probably make it.

He directed me to lane 40 and I counted 26 cars in the lane ahead of me.

To help rectify the Possible Waits situation, BC Ferries introduced a reservation system a few years ago. The reservations cost about $17, which is in addition to the $50 or so it costs for a car and driver to either get on or off Vancouver Island. The reservation systems lock you into a specific sailing though, which can be hard to manage if a person is driving from a long ways away or if they don't know what their exact schedule is, or if they want to keep a trip as inexpensive as possible.

For the next two and a half hours, I waited in my car in lane 40, hoping that I’d make it home that night. I wasn’t sure what I’d do if I didn’t get on the 9pm Ferry. Sleeping in the car sounded like it could be a serious option. After all, I wanted to make sure I’d get a place on the ferry the next day.

At about 8:45, an announcement that the ferry would start loading came over the loudspeakers. The car in front of me, in what I considered an optimistic move, started its engine. The lane of cars next to ours, lane 39 I presumed, slowly drained onto the ferry.

And then after about 15 minutes, it happened. The brake lights on the car in front of me went off as it began to move. I quickly started my car, released the brake, and slowly drove down lane 40, up a ramp, and onto a brightly lit ferry. A crew member directed me forward until I was pushed up against the next car. By the time I pulled up the emergency brake, about four more cars drove on the ferry behind me, and the ship was full.

All the tension of the evening drained from me. Sure, I wouldn’t be getting home until after midnight but I would be getting home. As I locked my car and headed up to the passenger deck, I wondered momentarily when I would be leaving the island next.

I could possibly wait I thought.