Captain's Blog

• Now this make perfect sense!
• We Aim to Please!
• How to create ‘memories’
• What the Little Boats Do When You Think, They Are Resting - By Valerie Walther
• Save Victoria Harbour
• Victoria Harbour Ferry Santa Ballet touches a heart!
• Thank you from City of Nanaimo
• Check out NANAIMO ON YOUTUBE!
• A Bouquet
• IT HELPS TO HELP!
• A Great Tour in Nanaimo
• A Very Happy Wedding Planner
• Nanaimo Harbour Ferry Skippers aim to please!
• A Happy Newly Wed Couple
• Happy Engagement… Happy Couple

BROCHURE - Download a FREE copy of our brochure. It’s filled with pictures and information to help you with your travel planning. Print a copy to share with your family and friends.

DINING GUIDE - On The Waterfront - Victoria Harbour Dining Guide
Introducing the “On The Waterfront” Victoria Dining Guide. Find out where to step ashore to savour some great food while enjoying a view of Victoria’s harbour front activities. Good Food - Great Views

WATER BALLET - Watch a video of our world-famous Harbour Ferry Water Ballet. You’ve never seen anything like it!

VICTORIAHARBOURFERRY BALLET - Fast, Fun Facts- 2010

• The Victoria Harbour Ferry is in its 17 year of performing The Harbour Ferry Ballet on the waters of Victoria’s inner harbour. The ballet that began in 1993, as a 10 minute performance to entertain guests and locals and to showcase the agility of the sweet little pickle boats and has become an icon of the City’s harbour, alongside the Empress Hotel, the Parliament buildings and the hub of tourist activity, the Causeway. 
• Every Sunday morning from May to September, the little boats line up at 10:45 AM, in front of the Victoria Causeway in front of the Empress Hotel and begin their dance.  You will never see a ballet like this one anywhere else in the world, as the proud little ships and a proud team of Harbour Ferry Captains seek to entertain everyone who looks on.
• When the charming little green boats were originally brought to Victoria 20 years ago, the Skippers were amazed at their manoeuvrability, so pulling together the first “ballet” harnessed the fascination of pushing the adorable and functional boats to their limits, while not having any passengers on board.
• The original manoeuvres of the dancing boats were new and complex and certainly not anything that anyone had ever seen performed on the water.  The Harbour Ferry Captains who volunteered to become ‘ballerinas’ back in 1993 had no idea just how big their little performance would become.   However, what they quickly became aware of was that they needed practice and lots of it and that they needed to start learning on shore.
• Back in 1993 if you walked by the Westbay Marina parking lot you would often see five men, all over 50, in Harbour Ferry uniforms, walking around the parking lot, practicing their ballet moves.  These were brave men indeed since they were subject then and still are now, to a little teasing from their fellow Captains.
• Today the ballet performance is 20 minutes in length.  There are now five boats in the performance and the ‘dance steps’ have become much more complex are based on a combinations of  military marching manoeuvres, a few RCMP Musical Ride manoeuvres and a touch of choreography from the minds of the Ballet Leader and even a professional ballet choreographer.
• The Victoria Harbour Ferry Water Ballet has always been performed to the music of the Blue Danube Waltz and with over 350 performances to date, it has been the subject of tens of thousands holiday photos, news article in papers around the globe and TV shows from as far away as Australia.
• Ballet Captains can be spotted in their new red jackets and shirts that proudly display the Harbour Ferry Ballet crest.
• 2010 will be the second year for the Santa Ballet, as the Harbour Ferries take to Harbour for a holiday version complete with reindeer, Christmas trees and the Nutcracker Suite.
•  In 2010 the Ballet was performed at the 100^th anniversary of the Canadian Navy, celebrated by the members of CFB Esquimalt and the City of Victoria on May 4^th, 2010.

 BC FAST FACTS - Some quick and interesting facts about British Columbia.

CAPTAINS BLOG - Read Our Ferry Captain’s Reports-Updated Daily
Find out what’s happening out on the water: marine life sightings, weather and water conditions, mariner’s tales and more.

SEA SHANTIES - Learn and practice some Sea Shanties as you get set to sail around the sheltered waters of Victoria’s harbour side communities.

The Victoria Harbour Ferry Company is proud to serve the following communities around Victoria’s waterfront:

The Inner Harbour - with Stops at:

• Empress Hotel
• Hyack Air Terminal
• Reeson’s Landing - Gateway to Old Town
• Delta Ocean Pointe Resort
• Coast Harbourside Hotel
• Fisherman’s Wharf
• West Bay Marine Village and RV Park
• Songhees near Spinnakers

The Gorge Waterway - with Stops at:

• The Canoe Club at Swift Street