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BC Ferries passengers in Nanaimo stuck in long lines on a windy long weekend Monday

Powerful winds battering the south coast have caused some damage and thrown the BC Ferries schedule into turmoil. Grace Ke reports – Nov 13, 2017

BC Ferries passengers in Nanaimo were stuck in a line that stretched as long as two kilometres amid windy weather that forced sailings to be cancelled on the Monday of a long weekend.

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Photos from Nanaimo show cars backed up along Stewart Avenue from Departure Bay ferry terminal all the way to the Island Highway, about two kilometres away.

Cars backed up along Stewart Avenue heading toward Highway 19A in Nanaimo on Nov. 13, 2017. Allan Felker/Global News
A lineup of ferry passengers in Nanaimo amid windy weather on Nov. 13, 2017. Allan Felker/Global News

The backup came amid a three-sailing wait at Departure Bay, according to BC Ferries; the waits were the same at Tsawwassen and Departure Bay.

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The 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. sailings out of Departure Bay were at capacity, the corporation tweeted just before 3 p.m.

Coverage of Vancouver weather on Globalnews.ca:

Extra sailings could be added out of Departure Bay if they’re needed.

The wait in Nanaimo also came after Queen of New Westminster sailings between Tsawwassen and Duke Point were cancelled due to the weather, and after sailings on that route by the Queen of Coquitlam were shut down over a “mechanical difficulty.”

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But sailings out of Duke Point were restored as of 2:50 p.m., BC Ferries tweeted.

The Queen of Coquitlam was also expected to go back into service.

A wind warning was in effect for the Nanaimo area on Monday as a low pressure system tracking across Vancouver Island produced winds of anywhere between 70 and 90 km/h.

The winds were expected to end on Monday night.

READ MORE: Vancouver could see winds as strong as 90 km/h on Monday

But Nanaimo wasn’t the only community affected by cancelled sailings.

Trips between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay were also cancelled due to the weather, but they were restored as of 2:55 p.m.

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