After gale force winds and a power outage caused delays earlier this week, foot passenger ferry service from Nanaimo to Vancouver has finally gotten afloat.

The false start earlier in the week meant sailings did not depart until Wednesday, Aug. 16, with the first sailing at 10 a.m. from Nanaimo. The Sthuqi set out on its inaugural sailing to Vancouver with 189 passengers, and the return trip, departing Vancouver at noon, had 126 onboard, said officials.

Rupesh Amin, Hullo co-founder, said adjustments were made over the past two days in preparation for the start of business.

乌鸦传媒淚t was just giving ourselves some time to be thoughtful and methodical in terms of going over all of our systems, our procedures, our processes, and making [minor mechanical] tweaks and adjustments where we needed to to make sure that the team was ready to properly manoeuvre and sail the vessels,乌鸦传媒� Amin told media after the noon sailing arrived in Nanaimo.

Speaking to the News Bulletin last week, Alastair Caddick, Hullo CEO, said decisions to cancel sailings aren乌鸦传媒檛 taken lightly and wind and weather conditions and wave height are factors considered by the company乌鸦传媒檚 marine experts.

乌鸦传媒淐ertainly, safety is the No. 1 priority for our operations,乌鸦传媒� he said.

Passengers who were on the noon sailing were pleased with the ride, including Julie Watkins, from Courtenay, who booked a premium seat.

乌鸦传媒淚t was very smooth, there was hardly any change, just a couple of little [instances], it felt like you were on a horse and that was only for a few minutes 乌鸦传媒� comfortable, spacious, it was lovely.乌鸦传媒�

Garth Ross from Nanaimo, who had comfort seating, also enjoyed his trip.

乌鸦传媒淚t was smooth, clean, fast, surprisingly fast, we were booking along,乌鸦传媒� Ross told the News Bulletin. 乌鸦传媒淕reat views of both Vancouver and Nanaimo, good first impression.乌鸦传媒�

Amin said Hullo will work to regain consumer confidence after the rough start.

乌鸦传媒淚 think it乌鸦传媒檚 really just building up that trust through demonstrating to everyone that we have safety and reliability at the forefront of our minds, we乌鸦传媒檙e never going to do anything that jeopardizes that,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淎nd we will demonstrate through the service and the consistency of the service and reliability of the service that we乌鸦传媒檙e here to stay.乌鸦传媒�

Hullo announced earlier this week that it was cancelling half its scheduled sailings through Aug. 30, moving to two round-trips a day, as a 乌鸦传媒渄eliberate and measured approach乌鸦传媒� to ensure long-term viability. Amin said the decision on when to return to a full schedule is forthcoming.

乌鸦传媒淎nd really, that乌鸦传媒檚 because the biggest feedback that we乌鸦传媒檝e had is that guests want to know well in advance if there are potential cancellations,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淎nd with the conditions that we乌鸦传媒檙e looking at 乌鸦传媒� we said, let乌鸦传媒檚 make sure that we can take the two most popular sailings 乌鸦传媒� Beyond that, we乌鸦传媒檒l be back up to four and then we乌鸦传媒檒l slowly move into a fuller schedule.乌鸦传媒�

For more information or to make an online reservation, go to .

RELATED:

karl.yu@nanaimobulletin.com
Follow Karl on and subscribe to our for the latest news.