Living on an island one becomes quite enamored of the ferries that link us to the mainland. The M.V. Coho, filled with 1950s character, not only provides a link between Victoria B.C. and Port Angeles, Washington but also provides a link to the past.
The Coho was built in Seattle at a cost of $3 million - privately financed by Black Ball Transport.
Since 1959, the Coho has transported 21 million passengers and five million vehicles over the 22.59 nautical miles between Victoria's inner harbour and downtown Port Angeles.
A 2006 study showed the Coho, which can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 120 vehicles on any one sailing, ferried more than 205,000 return passengers and brought $123.7 million into the Victoria economy.
And as a a deckhand explained to us before boarding on a very stormy day, "Oh, yes we're sailing. There's no seas rough enough or waves high enough to stop this ship."
The Coho was built in Seattle at a cost of $3 million - privately financed by Black Ball Transport.
Since 1959, the Coho has transported 21 million passengers and five million vehicles over the 22.59 nautical miles between Victoria's inner harbour and downtown Port Angeles.
A 2006 study showed the Coho, which can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 120 vehicles on any one sailing, ferried more than 205,000 return passengers and brought $123.7 million into the Victoria economy.
And as a a deckhand explained to us before boarding on a very stormy day, "Oh, yes we're sailing. There's no seas rough enough or waves high enough to stop this ship."
