High winds trapped 21 passengers aboard a B.C. ferry for seven hours near Tsawwassen early Thursday after the captain decided the sea was too rough to dock.

The Queen of New Westminster ran late and left Duke Point in Nanaimo at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday night and passengers finally disembarked around 7 a.m. Thursday at Tsawwassen.

BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said docking can be extremely difficult during rough weather and the captain decided the safer option was to wait out the weather just offshore of the Tsawwassen terminal.

High winds caused some overnight power outages in parts of the Lower Mainland.

Wednesday night’s ferry delay was one of several occurring Thursday morning due to weather conditions.