Editing Vancouver Island (section)

===Sea===
Marine transport is very important to Vancouver Island for access to the mainland of British Columbia and Washington. There are no bridges connecting the island to the mainland, although the idea of building one has been brought up many times. Major technical issues and cost are the largest barriers to a bridge currently though exact public support for the idea is not currently known.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/publications/reports_and_studies/fixed_link/fixed_link.htm |title=A Potential Fixed Link to Vancouver Island |publisher=British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure |access-date=2012-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821203226/http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/Publications/reports_and_studies/fixed_link/fixed_link.htm |archive-date=2010-08-21 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The only vehicle access to Vancouver Island is by ferry. [[BC Ferries]], [[Washington State Ferries]] and [[Puget Sound Navigation Company]] (Black Ball Transport) operate the seven vehicle-ferry routes to the island.

In the 1860s a plan was started to link Vancouver Island to the mainland at [[Bute Inlet]], by a bridge, using [[Ripple Rock]] as a mid-support for the bridge. This plan continued through the years, and caused political opposition to destroying Ripple Rock until it was decided to destroy the rock to improve safety for mariners.<ref name="Mindenhall2012">{{cite book |author=Dorothy Mindenhall |title=Unbuilt Victoria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yfEg0W4lTUC&pg=PA150 |date=12 May 2012 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1-4597-0175-5 |pages=150–}}</ref>

====BC Ferries====
[[File:Spirit of vi 3.jpg|thumb|BC Ferries [[MV Spirit of Vancouver Island|MV ''Spirit of Vancouver Island'']], en route from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen]]

* [[Tsawwassen, British Columbia|Tsawwassen]] ({{cvt|38|km}} south of Vancouver) – [[Swartz Bay]] ({{cvt|32|km}} north of Victoria)
: Crossing time: 1 hour 35 minutes; 8 sailings per day year-round with added sailings depending on day and season)
* Tsawwassen – [[Duke Point, British Columbia|Duke Point]] ({{cvt|13|km}} south of Nanaimo)
: Crossing time: 2 hours; 8 round trips daily – varies in winter.
* [[Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver|Horseshoe Bay]] ({{cvt|19|km}} northwest of Vancouver) – [[Departure Bay]] ({{cvt|3|km}} north of downtown Nanaimo)
: Crossing time: 1 hour 35 minutes; Sailings every 2 hours with extra sailings during the summer and holidays.
* [[Gulf Islands]] – Swartz Bay
: Crossing time: 35 minutes- 3 hours depending on island of departure; 4 or more trips daily.
* [[Powell River, British Columbia|Powell River]] – [[Comox, British Columbia|Comox]]
: Crossing time: 1 hour 20 minutes; 4 round trips daily.
* [[Port Hardy]] – [[Prince Rupert, British Columbia|Prince Rupert]]
: Service daily or on alternate days; changes seasonally.

====Washington State Ferries====
* [[Anacortes, Washington]] – [[Sidney, British Columbia|Sidney]]
: Crossing time: 2 hours (not counting stops in the [[San Juan Islands]])
: Note that this ferry service is inactive.
: According to the Washington State Department of Transport: International service to and from Sidney, B.C. remains suspended until further notice due to continued significant crewing and vessel availability challenges. There will be no service to and from Sidney through at least Spring of 2030.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wsdot.com/ferries/vesselwatch/terminaldetail.aspx?terminalid=19 | title=WSDOT - Ferries - Sidney B.C. Ferry Terminal }}</ref>

====Black Ball Transport====
* [[Port Angeles, Washington]] – Victoria
: Crossing time: 1 hour 30 minutes; 1 to 4 round trips daily; changes seasonally.

====Passenger-only service====
[[Hullo (ferry) | Hullo Ferries]] commenced operations between Nanaimo and Vancouver with crossing times of 70 minutes from downtown to downtown. 
* [[Clipper Navigation|Victoria Clipper]] (Seattle, Washington – Victoria)
: Crossing time: 2 hour 45 minutes; 1 to 3 round trips daily