Black Ball Ferry

Happy birthday, COHO!

Our local MV COHO ferry celebrated her 60th birthday yesterday. The COHO is the Black Ball Ferry Line vessel that travels a 90 minute passage between Port Angeles, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia, my favorite means of international travel.

In her 60 years Black Ball notes that the COHO has carried over 26 million passengers and 7 million vehicles. She has a reliability record of 99.99%.

A chief reason COHO does so well is that she is taken out of service for maintenance for a month each year. She’ll be in drydock in 2020 from January 6th to February 6th.

The Coho ferry

One of the nice things about Sequim is the ease – and pleasure – of travel to Canada. A 90 minute ferry ride on the Black Ball Ferry M.V. Coho takes travelers across the international border into Victoria B.C.

Day trip or longer, it’s like travel in the olden days of the last century. Dare I say it? You don’t have to remove your shoes, belts, keys, or day packs as stern people x-ray you and your gear for overly large bottles of shampoo or lotion. The lineup for customs isn’t onerous and the agents are even polite, if not pleasant. It’s a welcome throwback.

I’ll show you some of what I saw on my recent trip to Victoria in the coming days.

Here is MV Coho docked in Victoria, B.C. Operated by Black Ball Ferry and berthed in Port Angeles, the Coho can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 115 vehicles. Sailing time from Port Angeles to Victoria is 90 minutes. Want to plan a cheap thrill? You can travel free on Coho on your birthday.