Dale Pennock is described as a loving father, husband and vintage car enthusiast. Pennock’s unexpected death last week left his family devastated. But on top of their grief was the difficulty they faced getting home on BC Ferries.
Robyn Porrit, Pennock’s daughter, was on vacation in Ucluelet with her husband when they heard the news.
Porritt and her husband made the drive to Nanaimo, trying to make the 5 p.m. ferry back to the mainland to join her grieving family. They arrived at Departure Bay at 4 p.m. but the ferry was already full.
Porritt was devastated, stating she felt the manager thought she was lying when he told her they get this type of request all the time.
The couple was forced to wait for the next ferry. She says no move was made to even see if someone would give up their spot. Porritt thought there would be compassion.
“I said, ‘do the right thing’… but still nothing. There was no ‘I’m sorry.'”
In a statement, BC Ferries told Global News:
“BC Ferries is terribly sorry to hear about our customer’s loss. We understand this is a very emotional situation. We do our best to honour requests to travel on a compassionate basis, but we are not always able to do so. While we did offer the family the option of travelling as walk-on passengers on this sailing, we apologize we were not able to accommodate them and their vehicle until the next sailing.”
The family says they weren’t offered a chance to board as walk-on passengers.
Pennock’s widow Maureen says she needed her daughter there at the hospital.
“No I’m not impressed. I think it could have been handled a lot better,” Porrit said.
“I didn’t get to say my goodbyes. When we think of my dad, he was such a happy guy and he would want us to be laughing. There were stories being told and laughing and crying. I missed out on all of that. You can’t get that back,” Porritt stated emotionally.
Now the family is planning Pennock’s funeral. They say they’re still shocked by the way BC Ferries treated them, and that the policy should be more compassionate.
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