The long-awaited extra midday ferry sailings start next Wednesday (June 25) and run through the summer until Friday, September 5.

The revised schedule affects Mondays to Fridays only, with no change to the present schedule on Saturdays or Sundays.

Ferries leaving Gabriola up to 9.50am and from 3.15pm (Monday through Friday)  run at the same times, but after the 9.50am departure, there will then be sailings at 11.00am, 12.10pm and 1.20pm in place of the usual 11.40am and 12.50pm departures.

From Nanaimo,  departures up to 9.15am are unchanged, after which ferries will leave at 10.25am, 11.35am, 12.45pm and 1.55pm (replacing the usual 11.05am, 12.15pm and 1.25pm sailings). The normal schedule resumes with the 3.50pm departure from Nanaimo. On Wednesdays, the 11.35am departure becomes the Dangerous Cargo sailing.

The extra summer sailings were added at the request of the Ferry Advisory Committee.

FAC Chair, John Hodgkins, still expects there to be some overloads during the summer months, particularly on Thursdays and around holiday weekends.