New investors in the Victoria Harbour Ferry are planning to set sail into new coastal markets while growing their tourist-pleasing business in the B.C. capital.

“Practically every week we have inquiries from people who have been passengers, who get back home and think, ‘We could do it here,’ ” says Barry Hobbis, director of operations and one of four new owners of Victoria Harbour Ferry, which operates eleven 12-passenger ferries in the city’s harbour and nearby waterways.

“We’re looking at developing a foundation or template that could be used to build a successful business elsewhere.”

Selling their experience and expertise to other would-be fleet owners is but one facet of a business plan Hobbis and partners have drafted to grow the company.

Don Denton photo, Business Edge
Barry Hobbis, centre, checks out one of his firm’s ferries as employees Yves Trottier, left, and Kevin Cochrane look on

“We were attracted by the growth of the business over the past 14 years – growth we see continuing,” adds Hobbis.

Victoria Harbour Ferry was launched by boatbuilder Paul Miller in 1990 on a wave of development in the Inner Harbour; the new owners see new tourism and residential development on nearby waterways fuelling new growth.

The ferries now transport nearly 200,000 passengers annually to regular stops on a 45-minute circle tour of the Inner Harbour and on 50-minute tours of the adjacent Gorge waterways. During tourist season a ferry chugs up to destination docks in Victoria every 12 minutes and Gorge docks three times an hour.

But Hobbis and business partners Nick Samsom, John Chew and John Heraghty hope to build numbers by adding stops and vessels, hooking up with cruise ships and increasing charters. They are also considering ways to build business November through February, when the ferries have traditionally run only on weekends.

“We are looking at adding at least two extra vessels as soon as possible,” says co-owner Nick Samsom, adding that queues for tours, already forming this early in the season, represent lost business opportunities as would-be passengers opt for other entertainment.

When new vessels arrive, the company will add two or three more to its roster of 28 skippers.

“Capacity is an issue,” says Hobbis. “Each vessel carries 12 passengers; to carry another 25,000 passengers, we’d have to add another vessel into the fleet.”

Larger capacity would also help in better serving tourists. “We see growth in tourism all the way to 2010” and beyond, says Hobbis. “Growth has been consistently upward, even in recent tough economic times,” thanks in part to a loyal local ridership.

Larger capacity will also accommodate cruise ship service. “We should have a bigger ferry capable of carrying 100 or more passengers” from ship to downtown, says Samsom. “They’ll also need dock privileges.”

Although too late for this tourism season, the company is already negotiating for dock space to serve cruise ships as early as 2005.

“We’re expecting 144 cruise ships this year,” says Hobbis. While a number of companies already provide ships’ passengers with transport to restaurants and tourist facilities, a ferry trip would allow passengers to continue their nautical adventure rather than leap on a bus or into a taxi.

As well, “cruise ships often pull in at 7 or 8 at night,” says Hobbis. “This gives us the opportunity to provide sunset cruises. Victoria’s Inner Harbour is spectacular at sunset.”

Hobbis also notes the residential and office development taking place along the Gorge provides passengers for commuter runs downtown. “The business was built on reliability. People know one of our little ferries will be at each stop every 12 minutes,” from 9 a.m. to 8:15 p.m., says Hobbis.

The key to residential service will be building in that reliability for other stops, which will require negotiating rights for a number of more docks as well as providing more vessels.

November through January are also prime convention months.

Charter tours currently account for only five per cent of the company’s business, but the partners believe they could market to convention-goers by providing vessels sized to handle larger crowds and equipped for colder weather.

Web watch:
www.victoriaharbourferry.com