Lengthy voyage for passengers aboard the BC ferry travelling between Nanaimo and Tsawwassen

About 500 passengers aboard the BC ferry travelling between Duke Point in Nanaimo and Tsawwassen on the Mainland, had a lengthy voyage and ended up right back where they started last night.

They were aboard the Coastal Celebration when it broke down shortly after leaving Nanaimo yesterday evening, but it took more than four hours to tow the ship back to Nanaimo so the passengers could get off.

The mishap capped a tough day for BC ferries as another of its vessels endured heavy traffic and a stalled vehicle that put it hours behind schedule on the Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay run.

But the delay meant the Queen of Oak Bay was in the right place, west of Sechelt, to help the coast guard find and successfully rescue three people from a 6.5-metre pleasure craft that had taken on water.