Nearly 190 passengers took in the maiden sailing of Hullo fast ferries on Wednesday, Aug. 16 as it left Nanaimo bound for Vancouver. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

historic sailing

VIDEO: Hullo completes maiden Nanaimo-Vancouver crossing

Aug 16, 2023 | 11:48 AM

NANAIMO — Two days later than originally planned, but a highly anticipated Nanaimo-based passenger-only fast ferry service is officially underway.

Hullo’s maiden voyage with nearly 190 passengers on board departed Nanaimo Harbour on Wednesday, Aug 16 at 10 a.m. bound for downtown Vancouver.

Rupesh Amin, co-founder of Hullo, told NanaimoNewsNOW on board they used the bitter pill of cancelling sailings over the first two days of the service as a valuable lesson.

“Obviously disappointing when you have to make the tough decisions in the early days…but ultimately at the forefront of our mind is that we’re here for the long run and we want to make sure that safety and reliability are paramount.”

Amin said while it was not ideal to deal with “a couple of speed bumps starting off”, it was not surprising.

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“Every new asset, new operation, new facility has a period of time where it’s a bedding in period. You need to shake out some of the bugs, you’ve got to learn from the early days and have to make sure that you respond to those in a deliberate and measured way.”

Passengers travelling for business or pleasure were on board, including some invited guests and media. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

The Sthuqi’ made the 70-minute trek at roughly 40 knots across the Salish Sea, arriving in Vancouver just past 11:10 a.m.

A selection of light snacks including chips and granola bars, candy and pop were available on board.

One of the 188 customers on board was Cheryl, travelling with her husband and daughter from Port Alberni.

“It think its been fabulous, its been so calm, so comfortable. Having an adult child with Down Syndrome and autism, changes are hard so there was a lot of resistance…to coming on a new ship. As soon as we hit the dock, everyone was super friendly to her all the way through.”

The family plans to return over the weekend after attending a Lauren Spencer-Smith show in Vancouver.

“It’s nice to be able to leave our vehicle, and get downtown nice and easy. It’s nice and quiet, it’s relaxing, I was actually just going to go to sleep.”

Another passenger, Phil was returning home after visiting family on Vancouver Island.

“Smoother than I would have expected, happy that it left pretty well on time. It saves me time, I live in Vancouver and work downtown so it’s easy for me to get back there. It’s a great way to get from the family place to downtown in just over an hour.”

Meanwhile Debra, a Nanaimo resident, wanted to ensure she was on the first sailing.

She said as the ferry pulled into Vancouver the service is something the Island needs and she’s waited a long time for a foot ferry.

“I’ve got three kids coming back from Japan on Sunday, I’ve already booked them. They’re coming from YVR. That’ll make it really easy for people who don’t want to park a car, all that kind of stuff if they’re leaving the country…I think it solves a lot of problems for people on the Island.”

A lineup in Vancouver greeted the new arrivals, with passengers in the Lower Mainland equally eager to get on board.

A total of 126 made the return leg.

A solid crowd welcomed the first Hullo boat into Vancouver on Wednesday, with a lineup for passengers to get on board for the noon return sailing. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Hullo plans to operate two round trips per day through the remainder of August before expanding their schedule into the fall.

Future announcements from the company are anticipated for late-night sailings to accomodate evening sporting events and concerts in Vancouver.

Wednesday’s inaugural sailing has been a long time coming.

Plans to launch the service was first announced in September 2021, bringing a mix of excitement and skepticism.

Efforts for several years by a different company failed to launch a fast ferry service linking the downtowns of Nanaimo and Vancouver.

A short-lived passenger-only ferry last operated between the two cities in 2006.

Roughly 190 passengers were on board the first sailing, in three different classes. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

It was a quick turnaround as passengers in Vancouver were quickly welcomed on board for the return leg. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

People in the Lower Mainland were eager to be on the first Vancouver-Nanaimo crossing Monday afternoon. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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