When ferry traveller Wendy Beatty found herself looking at a one-sailing wait on the afternoon of July 10, she did what many islanders may have contemplated.

With the Howe Sound Queen plainly in view at the end of the Crofton wharf, she went for it . . . assumedly hoping that once she’d arrived on the boat they wouldn’t have the heart to turn her away.

But they did. And disobeying the directives of BC Ferries personnel and even “nudging” one with her vehicle in the process has had pretty serious consequences — as it should.

It’s easy to sympathize with “ferry rage” because the system gives us so much fuel for the frustration tank. Enforcement of the three-minute cut-off rule is certainly one of the contributors. A number of people have complained to the Driftwood in the past year or so about it, and we all know people who’ve been hurt by Crofton ticket sales and loading ending three minutes before sailing time for vehicles and five minutes for footies.

When conflicts with a public service like this arise, there’s usually an obvious suggestion that can be made to the service-provider to improve the problem.

But in this case there isn’t. The cut-off rule is a reasonable one. Islanders simply have to learn to allow enough time to get the ferry terminal from wherever their trip originates. They must do the same when they’re trying to leave their home island in order to cut down on the reckless speeding that occurs around ferry departure times.

We often criticize BC Ferries in these pages because there’s so much that can be improved, but the employees clearly do their best to serve the public to fulfill whatever duties they’re charged with and should not be abused or endangered.

To balance this paper’s regular string of ferries complaints somewhat we should express thanks for two things. One is the recently implemented eight per cent rebate on the fuel surcharge for minor route travellers — yes, a fare reduction. The second is improved e-mail communication when ferries are late for whatever reason.

It would be silly to criticize the company’s attempts to improve on-time performance, which is the point of the cut-off rule.

When it comes to ferry travel, we all need to chill out a little.