Whitehorse resident Josephine Sampson says she's 'still in a state of shock' after being aboard the BC Ferries' Queen of Oak Bay last Thursday when it ran aground into Horseshoe Bay, B.C.

'It was awful,' she said in an interview in Whitehorse this morning.

Sampson had been wrapping up a month-long vacation in B.C. last Thurday. At around 8 a.m., a friend she was visiting on Vancouver Island drove her to the bus station, where she caught a Greyhound onto the ferry in Departure Bay, B.C. She was then scheduled to go to the Vancouver airport and catch an Air North flight to Whitehorse.

'That all fell through,' she said.

It was a nice ride aboard the Queen of Oak Bay until the vessel began landing.

Passengers knew they were landing because the bells started ringing. Sampson said she could see the smaller boats the large ferry was running into. She's thankful no one was hurt.

The ferry had more than 500 passengers on board

Sampson said there wasn't much in the way of announcements to tell passengers what was happening during the ordeal, except to say that they would have to wait about an hour before they would be able to leave.

As they continued to wait past the one hour, and then onto eight hours, passengers became 'very restless and very depressed,' she said.

'Everyone was in a state of shock,' Sampson said.

The long delay came because divers had to be brought in to check the ferry for damage, she noted.

When she was finally able to depart the boat, the line of traffic of those who had been waiting to catch a ride was 'horrendous'.

Though Sampson ended up missing her 6 p.m. Air North flight, she said the airline booked her on a flight for the following day in business class.

In a statement Sunday, BC Ferries said management and insurance representatives have began meeting with those who had their smaller boats damaged or destroyed in the crash.

Since last Thursday, marine surveyors have been on the site gathering information from the owners and Sewell's Marina.

So far, a total of 22 boats have been identified as damaged or destroyed.

The meetings with boat owners, which began Saturday, will continue through the week, the company stated.