Pacific Hovercraft "Sure", an SR.N6, landing at Nanaimo Harbour in 1969

 Here is film footage from 1969 of the only public hovercraft service that I know of from BC.


This was a passenger hovercraft service between Vancouver and Nanaimo.   The Saunders-Roe SR.N6 (Winchester class) hovercraft could carry 38 passengers at up to 60 miles an hour in calm weather.

Pacific Hovercraft operated the service from Sunday February 23rd to June in 1969 with two trips per day between Vancouver and Nanaimo.  The fare was $7 per passenger and the trip took between 45 and 60 minutes.  Correcting for inflation over that period this would a $50 2014 fare.

If the service has been successful Pacific Hovercraft would have purchased one of the much larger SR.N4 which would have carried cars as well as passengers.

The hovercraft was built in 1966 at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the UK.  It was called the Sure (GH-9001) while in service in BC.   This hovercraft was retired in 2002 and as of November 1st 2004 is at the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent in the UK.
More details about this ship at this link:

Original footage is courtesy of the Nanaimo Archives and can be seen at this link:
http://youtu.be/RYFQidtU4Gk

Here are three articles about the service from the late 1960s

Article from December 4th 1967

Article from February 21st 1969

Article from April 14th 1969