For over three decades, Victoria Inner Harbour has played host to an 鈥渆xhilarating adrenaline-pumping鈥� show 鈥� all performed at the rather modest speed of six nautical miles per hour.
The stars of the spectacle are five Victoria Harbour Ferry pickle boats and their captains, who gather on the water opposite the Empress Hotel to perform a carefully synchronized water ballet.
鈥淚 often tell passengers we're like the Snowbirds, except they're at 600 knots 鈥� we鈥檙e at six,鈥� says John Palmer, who is entering his second season with the water ballet.
First created in 1990, inspired by the RCMP Musical Ride 鈥� a troop of up to 32 police officers on horseback who perform intricate formations and drills set to music 鈥� Victoria鈥檚 water taxi ballet has become a much-loved local tradition and also 鈥渨orld famous鈥� 鈥� so they say.
鈥淪elf-proclaimed,鈥� jokes Palmer.
But while the five captains are quick to poke fun at themselves, the ballet is a serious business.
Between 60 to 100 hours of training are needed before a captain is given the green light to join the 鈥榙ancing鈥� troupe.
鈥淚t takes absolute focus,鈥� says Paul Thomas, who has been with the ballet six years and the company eight.
Even those well-practiced need time to rehearse. Before performances resume in May for the summer season, captains attend at least three training sessions; a dozen 鈥渁t least鈥� for those new to the team.
And rehearsals are also held on the morning of each show, under the watchful eye of Stan Huston, who has been the ballet captain lead for eight years 鈥� a 鈥榬egular鈥� captain for 12 years.
鈥淚t's basically my 鈥榬aison d'锚tre鈥� for being involved with Harbour Ferry,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is more fun than barreling monkeys, truly. It's the most fun we have all week.鈥�
Huston describes the ballet as a 鈥渟eries of maneuvers in close confines,鈥� sometimes travelling only six inches apart, performed to music for 13 minutes.
鈥淪o I'm the monkey in the middle and the guys on the outside are coordinating their moves 鈥� but they don't do anything until they get a command from me,鈥� he explains.
However, the music is not as important as some might think.
鈥淲e're not coordinating our moves to the music,鈥� says Huston. 鈥淚t's incidental to what we're doing.鈥�
Which comes in handy when things go slightly off beat.
鈥淭here's no way, even if we get out of sync a little bit for whatever reason 鈥� we can't stop,鈥� says Huston. 鈥淲e do it no matter what happens. If the music stops, we don鈥檛."
While Huston says they have never had an orca join in, there have been boat failures, and he cites floating plastic bags in the harbour as one of the biggest risks to smooth sailing.
鈥淚f you wrap one around your prop, you're done,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t just stalls the boat."
Risks and hazards aside, the team strive to make each show one to remember for the watching crowds.
鈥淭here are lots of moving parts, but it's fun at the end to see the smiles on the faces of the people that are watching and know that we've given them a really special show,鈥� says Palmer.
For Thomas, who admits the captains can be their own worst critics, nothing beats the feeling when they 鈥渘ail鈥� a show in front of a big crowd.
鈥淲e know when we've done a good show, because we know how it should be 鈥� the crowd probably doesn't realize it,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 great knowing that people have really enjoyed it.鈥�
It鈥檚 not just the audience who get a buzz from the ballet; it鈥檚 the captains too, who enjoy the sense of camaraderie that comes with the role.
鈥淚 was in the Royal Canadian Navy for 25 years, so I'm always striving to be part of a team,鈥� says Palmer, who adds he also 鈥渇oolishly鈥� thought the ballet would help boost his skills as a captain for his day job.
鈥淭here's really not very much we do in the ballet that converts to what we do in regular service,鈥� he continues. 鈥淲e're not driving our boats six inches apart and doing manoeuvres really fast 鈥� we鈥檙e making nice, even slow movements for our passengers.鈥�
Looking ahead to the season, Palmer says the team is determined to deliver performances that will make both Victoria Harbour Ferry and the City of Victoria proud.
鈥淲e hope people will come out and enjoy our performances and acknowledge what the captains have done,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e're really here for the people to enjoy themselves 鈥� and it's absolutely free and there's not a lot in life that's free.鈥�
Victoria Harbour Ferry water ballet performances run from May through to September on select dates, starting at 10.30 a.m. The best spot to view the water ballet is at Ship Point in the Inner Harbour.
For more information, visit the Victoria Harbour Ferry website: https://victoriaharbourferry.com/water-ballet.
