High winds led to the cancellation of several B.C. Ferries sailings Thursday afternoon.
The 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m. sailings from both Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen were all called off.
As a result, the 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 p.m. ferries from Victoria to Tsawwassen were fully booked by about 2:30 p.m.
The capital region near Haro Strait and the southern Gulf Islands was experiencing winds of 70 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 90, that were expected to continue into the evening.
Other routes that could be affected include Tsawwassen to Duke Point, Comox to Powell River, Port McNeill to Alert Bay to Sointula, Campbell River to Quadra Island, Quadra Island to Cortes Island and Denman Island to Hornby Island.
B.C. Ferries said it would contact customers with bookings on cancelled sailings to inform them if there was space available on an alternate sailing, or if their booking had to be cancelled.
The Swartz Bay terminal reached its capacity for standby customers by Thursday afternoon.
B.C. Hydro reported more than 5,800 customers without power on the north Island and close to 4,200 on the south Island as of 2:30 p.m. as as result of the high winds.
