2 of 5 ferries out of service ahead of busy weekend on Toronto Islands

The City of Toronto says two out of its five ferries will be out of service ahead of a busy weekend on the Toronto Islands.

City staff say the extra ferries they ordinarily use for surge demand will not be available because they are currently undergoing repairs.

The two undergoing servicing are the Trillium, which is a heritage ferry that can only operate in certain weather conditions, and the Thomas Rennie. Both are anticipated to be back in service in the coming weeks.

The City strongly urges visitors to the Toronto Islands this weekend to be patient and plan ahead as well as buy tickets online and recheck the ferry schedules.

The three vessels in service, the Ongiara, which holds 220 passengers per trip, the Sam McBride, which holds 915 passengers, and the William Inglis, which holds 399 passengers per trip, will be operated at full capacity.

The trip schedule has also been adjusted to increase the frequency of boat visits to the busiest island dock after 6 p.m. to help get people back to the mainland as quickly as possible.

 The Toronto Dragon Boat Festival is scheduled for this weekend on Centre Island so the City anticipates long wait times for all those traveling to the islands.