People travelling on BC Ferries Thursday found themselves facing long waits thanks to a fall present from Mother Nature.

High winds and a strong frontal weather system prompted the cancellation of all ferry sailings between Vancouver Island and Tsawwassen after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Many Southern Gulf Island routes also saw cancellations.

The cancellations saw many ferry passengers sleeping in the terminal overnight and many more relying on friends and family for somewhere to stay.

One ferry passenger told CTV News he was forced to find a hotel room in Tsawwassen after being turned away Wednesday night.

"We got up at three o'clock so we could get here before it became too much of a zoo,"

One woman said she arrived at the terminal at 7 a.m. to catch a 1 p.m. ferry, but she wasn't surprised by the long wait.

"This is the mainland. This is normal."

By 7 a.m. Thursday, sailings on the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. ferries from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay were 100 per cent full, with 75 per cent of bookings gone for the 1 p.m. trip.

The situation was no better at Swartz Bay, where sailings for the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. were already full by sunrise.

Most of the backlog was cleared up by the 3 p.m. sailing.

A strong frontal system

A frontal weather system battered B.C.'s south coast with winds up to 90 kilometres an hour Wednesday night.

The winds knocked out power to more than 20,000 BC Hydro customers.

Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Howe Sound remained under a rain warning Thursday night, with up to 70 millimetres expected overnight.

Environment Canada forecasts winds of up to 70 kilometres an hour for West Vancouver Island and western sections of the Fraser Valley. However, the winds are expected to ease late Thursday night as a low pressure system sweeps into the B.C. Interior.