Many, many islanders gathered on the beach and at the ferry terminal Thursday night (April 20) to welcome back the Queen of Prince Rupert.
The QPR slowly glided into the dock around 8:30 pm, a little bit later than scheduled. She was a welcome sight to islanders, who haven't seen a ferry here since the Queen of the North departed from the Skidegate terminal the morning of March 21, never to return.
There were tears and cheers as the first passengers and cars began rolling off the vessel.
In Sandspit, a meeting on forestry issues took an abrupt break after the QPR's familiar white shape was spotted from the windows of the community hall, and the room broke into spontaneous applause.
If all goes according to schedule, the QPR will be back again early Monday morning, and will continue her three-sailing-a-week schedule throughout the summer.