We schedule departure and arrival times at Earls Cove to provide enough time to drive between the Langdale and Earls Cove terminals.

Captains on the Saltery Bay – Earls Cove ferry (Malaspina Sky) regularly monitor the Horseshoe Bay – Langdale route to keep track of departure and arrival times, weather delays, traffic volumes and road conditions. They decide how long to hold the ferry for delayed traffic coming from another route based on:

• An expected 2 hour and 20 minute travel window between Horseshoe Bay and Earls Cove in normal conditions. Captains may extend this window due to poor weather, highway conditions, etc.
• Captains may delay departure from Earls Cove by up to 20 minutes. They balance the option to delay with the ability to make up time on their sailing and get back to the regular schedule. They also consider traffic volumes at Saltery Bay.
• During peak traffic in the summer, the Malaspina Sky’s Captain may not be able to delay the sailing for traffic. Accumulated delays can affect southbound customers planning to proceed to a sailing at Langdale.

Depending on the circumstances, some sailings have more flexibility to hold up for up to 20 minutes to allow for a departure delay at Earls Cove to accommodate vehicle customers unloading at Langdale and heading for the Upper Sunshine Coast.

The specific sailings depend on the time of year and are as follows:
 

If the ferry on the Horseshoe Bay – Langdale route is running behind schedule, the Malaspina Sky Captain will revise the departure time from Earls Cove.
 

Once confirmed, onboard staff will announce the new Earls Cove departure time on the ferry travelling from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale to ensure customers proceeding to Powell River are informed.

We may also post a service notice on bcferries.com and at the terminal with the new departure time

The following procedures have been set to provide the best opportunity for timely travel:

• The Malaspina Sky will ensure the 8:05 PM sailing from Earls Cove (when scheduled) departs with enough time for customers to make the final Texada Island sailing for the day. Onboard staff may make an announcement for customers travelling to Texada Island to identify themselves at the Coastal Cafe.
• The Malaspina Sky will inform the Texada Island ferry that traffic is heading to Powell River terminal. Onboard staff will announce the departure times for the Texada Island ferry to the customers on the Malaspina Sky. 
   
• If the Malaspina Sky is expecting delays, we will post a service notice on bcferries.com and at the Earls Cove terminal.

The Captain on the Texada Island ferry will monitor the expected arrival time of the Malaspina Sky at Saltery Bay. If there is a delayed arrival, the Texada Island ferry can hold for traffic for up to 20 minutes. If the traffic volume exceeds five vehicles, the Captain may hold the ferry for longer.

• If the Malaspina Sky is delayed, onboard staff will notify the Langdale Terminal.
   
• If customers with a booking for a Langdale departure cannot safely make it to the terminal within the booking check-in period (30–60 minutes prior to scheduled departure) due to the delay, the terminal will whenever possible extend booking check-in until loading begins.
   
• If a customer with a booking arrives at the terminal after loading begins, terminal staff will assess whether they can redeem their booking*.
  * The Langdale Terminal Operations Manager reserves the right to extend reservation check-in times at their discretion.
   
• If the Malaspina Sky is not delayed and there are other circumstances that lead to a delayed arrival time at Langdale, bookings will be subject to standard procedures. When possible, Langdale terminal staff may allow Malaspina Sky passengers through beyond the cut-off time.
   
• The cut-off times allow sufficient time for staff to complete shore closing procedures and to ensure the safety of both our passengers and crew. These procedures include departure checks on the ferry, stopping traffic, aligning ramps, and counting passengers.