I know what you’re thinking — why am I standing in the world’s loudest car park? But I’m not. I’m on a trip to Canada and I’m aboard the Spirit of Vancouver, one of the BC Ferries that runs from the Vancouver mainland area over to Vancouver Island and Victoria. This was my first time riding a BC ferry, and I figured — why not give this massive vessel the full boat review treatment? So that’s exactly what I did in the hour it took to cross.
Walking the Whole Boat
The Spirit of Vancouver was commissioned on February 19, 1994, which makes her about 30 years old — and she’s in pretty good shape. The car deck holds a ton of vehicles and they really pack them in. Deck two is where the semi-trucks go, and you’re not allowed down there while underway because water rushes over that deck. From there you head up through the passenger decks — deck five has all the ship’s directories, route maps, and bus information, plus a full cafeteria where you can buy whatever you want. Coffee, snacks, cold drinks, hot food, the whole deal. There’s a full dining area and it’s surprisingly clean for public transportation.
The boat is incredibly pet-friendly — no carpets anywhere, so if your dog has an accident it’s easy to clean up. There’s a coffee bar, places to work, plenty of seating, and if you don’t feel like exploring you can sit in your own car for the entire trip. Outside on deck six, they’ve got wind screens along the railings because they know how windy it gets, and up at the bow there’s a crew-only area with a massive anchor and windlass system where everything is oversized. The chain is huge, the capstans are huge — everything about this thing is big.
Safety Gear Worth Noting
Scattered around the outer decks are 100-passenger life rafts — four on each side plus a couple more. Up near the bow, they’ve got emergency Zodiacs rigged with twin Mercury four-stroke outboards at 90 horsepower each. Those are there in case someone goes overboard, because on a vessel this size there’s really no other way to recover someone except dropping a boat down into the water.
The Star Review
Stars are on a 1 to 10 scale with 5 being average. Performance gets a 7 — she seems to cruise somewhere around 18 to 20 knots, which is genuinely quick for something carrying this many people and cars. Comfort gets a 6 — it’s clean, there are plenty of places to eat and sit and charge your stuff, but it’s still public transportation. Quality earns a 7 — this thing is built like a tank and has everything it needs to move passengers safely day after day. Practicality also scores a 7 — it moves a massive number of people and vehicles efficiently and fast. Value gets an 8 — I don’t know what this ferry cost to build, but based on how many cars are packed on board every crossing, it’s got to be making serious money. That brings the total to 35 stars. I’ve never reviewed another ferry, but 35 is a solid score. If you’re not at the stern you can barely hear the engines, and the ride is smooth the whole way. If you’re ever heading through the Pacific Northwest, it’s worth taking. You don’t really have any other choices besides a seaplane anyway — and maybe I’ll review one of those next.
