Firm Plans To Sail Marguerite 3 To B.C.

SEATTLE - The Victoria Clipper Line has agreed in principle to lease for five years, with an option to buy, the car ferry Royal Victorian, which it would rename the Marguerite 3.

Darrell Bryan, the line's general manager, said the 1,070-passenger boat will go into service on the Seattle-to-Victoria route beginning May 16 and running through mid-September. It has been operated by the province of British Columbia for the last two years.

Bryan said the firm will furnish the vessel with memorabilia harking back to the Princess Marguerite, a historic steamship that attracted a large following on the same route. That vessel has since been scraped.

The Marguerite 3, built in the mid-60s as the provincial ferry Queen of Burnaby, will also take vacationers to Tofino, Campbell River and Nanaimo.

The Port of Seattle, which has agreed to lease Pier 48 to Bryan's firm, and the British Columbia government, which owns the vessel, are expected to formally close the deal in Seattle and Victoria ceremonies on Feb. 27.