Millbrook Cove
Port Harvey
Gorge Harbor Marina
Gorge Harbor Marina
Page's Marina
Page's Marina
Bamfield
China Creek
Tofino
Hot Springs Cove
Friendly Cove
The Coast Never Stops Changing
THE 2009 BOATING SEASON got off to a slow start, but quickly gained pace as increasing numbers of mariners made their way into the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound and the Broughtons. In late June I took a flight from Vancouver up to Smith Inlet to photograph some of the islands and anchorages along the way. The sea was flat calm and there was no wind. The skies were partly obscured by smoke from the massive forest fires near the coast. And there were very few boats to be seen, and practically none at the marinas. The busiest was Lagoon Cove. A month later, however, the marinas in general reported full docks and some, by the end of the season, were saying it was their busiest to date.
In August and September Carla and I spent time on the water, visiting marinas in Desolation Sound and the Brouoghtons. They were busy. Even the anchorages, in August, were filled to capacity, especially the more popular and well-known ones. In September we returned to the Gulf Islands and extended our trip into the San Juan islands. It had quietened down in typical fashion, but there was still a surprising amount of boating activity. We stopped at Stuart Island marine park in the San Juans and found the last available space at the dock. At Friday Harbour we easily found moorage, but as the latter part of the day arrived so did a flotilla of charter boats out of Canadian waters, turning the off-season destination into a busy place.Port Harvey
There is a new marina and it is up and running at Port Harvey. Correspondents Sharon Allman and Iz Goto stopped in there and checked it out. They say it is a nice place with a restaurant and overnight moorage. Watch for expansion.
Gorge Harbour
The environmentally friendly reconstruction of the resort and marina at Gorge Harbour in the Discovery Islands (Desolation Sound area) has caused quite a stir in the boating community.
Among the biggest improvements to the marina are the new “green” docks. These were built to new standards with light transmission panels in which light is filtered through to the waters and seabed by means of grids laid into the concrete floats. Replacing the former dock access ramp, a new, longer, wider one has been installed with child safety features and professional plumbing, connections and feeds for fuel, power and water to the docks.
A new marina pumphouse office incorporates a fuel distribution centre and a registration office with a mini store carrying books, oil and other marine products and a coffee bar. The store on the property is still intact with grocery and produce sales, movie rentals, and other supplies.
Earlier this year the new docks, built in Campbell River, were towed into the harbour and put in place. A house on the promontory overlooking the marina was skidded back to a new location and its former site was blasted and landscaped to accommodate a new pool and spa. The foreshore was upgraded with new landings, a fireplace and barbecue landing, a new patio and beautifully manufactured and laid pathways and railings. The upland area, intersected by a constantly flowing stream, was developed to include reconstruction of the pond to better support the local island wildlife. A large recycle programme is in place to complement the marina’s approach to a healthy environment.
Project development manager Chris Bunn provided a comprehensive tour of the new installations of electrical power, well-water supply and storage system, fuel supply and delivery systems. The bringing to the island of three-phase power for the project will benefit other islanders looking to upgrade their electrical supply.
Big features added at the marina are special evening entertainment programmes including jazz nights with local and visiting singers, fiddlers and a variety of musicians and performances. Movie nights are held in an adjacent recreation building. Special oyster nights feature presentations by local mariculture farmers.
A childrens’ playground has been developed for guests at the marina and adjacent RV campground. Canoe rentals are available and will be popular for excursions to the sandy beaches at nearby Marina Island or Mansons Landing. Owners Richard and Michelle Glickman say they wanted to see a fine, five-star environmentally friendly marina evolve that would replace the loss of Big Bay marina to the boating community. It would use local materials and employ many local people in the renovation work as well as for staffing the finished complex.
The new property manager is Bill Dougan who formerly ran the resort’s Floathouse Restaurant, a fine dining establishment that attracts a regular clientele from among visitors as well as local islanders.
Once word got out that the marina had been upgraded, boats poured in to visit the facility and check out the facilities, docks and amenities. The summer of 2009 became a very busy season for the long established marina.
Pages Marina and Resort
Substantial upgrades have been made at Page’s Marina in Silva Bay. The long-established marina, owned and operated for many years by Phyllis and Ted Reeve, this year saw renovations and improvements to the docks and access ramp as well as the store and grounds.
The former access ramp was very narrow and steep. It has been replaced by a new, longer, wider ramp that leads from the fuel dock directly onto the property. In the marina, additional transient moorage is now available on an extended main dock at the outer south end of the marina. The fuel dock has been extended, allowing easier boat access from the east.
Shore improvements include a new layout to the office and bookstore. The building includes the private home of the owners. There is a picnic area and a tetherball set adjacent to the main building. New picnic tables have been added to this area. Page’s is known not only for its marina but also for its quaint setting and rustic holiday cottages. These, and the marina’s well-kept campground attract regular guests throughout the year. The cottages have been maintained in pristine condition, and now the washrooms have been refurbished to more modern standards.
The new owners of Page’s Marina are Gloria and Ken Hatfield, daughter and son-in-law of the Reeves. Their plans for ongoing improvements at the facility include upgrading of the marina and power at the docks.
The marina is located at the south end of Silva Bay, opposite the Royal Vancouver outstation on Tugboat Island. For more information contact Page’s at 250-247-8931 or email mail@pagesresort.com
Barkley Sound (Call most facilities on channel 06)
This report courtesy of David Whitworth
Barkley Sound remains one of the best cruising grounds in the world. We have had far fewer boats this year and many times have had popular anchorages all to ourselves — come and join us sometime! The most significant difference has been the absence of large American power boats this year. The American sailors do not seem to have been affected as much.
Bamfield
Diesel fuel is now available again in Bamfield. The old Kingfisher fuel dock remains closed but Harbourside Lodge (1-250-728-3330 — requests@harbourside.com) is now supplying diesel. McKay Bay lodge still supplies gas. The folks at Harbourside are trying to supplement services on the West side. They offer mooring, power and water — for a fee, but water can be as much as $15 to fill up your tank. The West Side “public” dock still has “plans” to provide water and power, but as of September this year there is no indication of progress. Contact Rick McLeod, 1-250-728-3450. Our experience this year has been that the west side dock is being run as a commercial concern. I think it is leased from the government, but the majority of the spaces are reserved for local boats and those with reservations and it was almost impossible to get “public” transient moorage in July and August without a reservation. The East Side dock is still operated as a public dock and usually has space. Gas is still available up the sound at Poett Nook.
Kildonan
The Green Cove store in Uchucklesit Inlet (Kildonan 250-724-1832) still intends to supply diesel fuel (they do have limited gas). As of September they are still working on it. Both this supply and the Bamfield supply are important now that diesel is difficult to obtain in Port Alberni. Diesel fuel remains easily available in Ucluelet.
Port Alberni
The diesel fuel situation in Port Alberni remains difficult. I have had some extensive correspondence with the Port Authority about it. The Columbia Fuels dock closed early this year. The immediate response of the Port Authority was to prohibit fuelling at any of their facilities (e.g: from a jerry can). Gas is available at Clutesi Marina and China Creek Marina, and for sports fishing boats these facilities are quite accessible and the prohibition is not unreasonable — for reasons of safety and environmental issues. But for those with diesel powered cruising boats the only fuel supply is at China Creek marina which is difficult to access without local knowledge. The Port Authority do not accept that China Creek is difficult to access, but my experience and that of many fellow cruisers with mid-sized deep daft sailboats is that it is not viable without local knowledge — especially at low tide and with the usual summer inflow wind. The Port Authority are investigating the possibility of providing a dock where jerry can fuelling may be permitted, but at present discussions are still at the stage of liaison with the fire department. I will let you know if I hear of more progress, but my advice to cruisers with mid to large sized sailboats would be to fuel-up at Ucluelet before coming up the Alberni Inlet.
We have heard a few horror stories of cruisers coming to Port Alberni this year and being given poor locations to dock — untenable in some cases in the 30km inflow winds. The Port Authority certainly has priorities that mean cruisers are pretty far down the list (after freighters, cruise ships, commercial fishers, and sports fishers). It may be my particular peeve, but sailing cruisers seem to be at the very bottom of that priority. Let people know that they can contact the Habourmaster on Channel 06 — not 66 as usual — and that they should ask for sheltered space. People also need to know that while Port Alberni has all the services and provisioning opportunities necessary, some of them need local transportation to reach in good time. There is a good bus service to the Harbour Quay.
Ucluelet
Ucluelet remains unchanged. We find it the most friendly place in Barkley Sound. Steve Bird the Harbourmaster is one of the all time greats for the cruising sailor and accommodates some of our most eccentric needs. The boat basin has all services and provisioning is very close. The “52 Steps” dock has water, but no power — even though the per-foot charge is the same as at the Boat Basin. There is a public dock on the Port Albion side of the inlet that we often use (no power or water, but also no charge).
Tofino
We have been past Tofino this year but we avoid it as an overnight stop due to strong currents and the cost of moorage. There does not seem to have been any change there. We had a great evening in Adventure Cove — far from the tourist crowd.
Hot Springs Cove
PY published a letter from me this year explaining how we had stayed at Hot Springs Cove last year at no charge for the moorage at the dock. It had been explained to us that the responsibility for the dock was being transferred from F&O to the Parks Dept and that F&O did not want to charge because they wanted to avoid liability for moorage. PY investigated and when my letter was published there was an explanation from F&O and puzzlement as to why we were not charges moorage. Well, we spent a week at Hot Springs during the high tide in early September this year (high tide is “mandatory” for Hot Springs afficianados) and we were not charged a cent for moorage again. We go there in September with several other sailboats every year (please join us some year) and it is one of the most enjoyable weeks of the year - and the price is right.
Friendly Cove
We also spent a few days at Friendly Cove in Nootka Sound. The only thing worth mentioning is that the long straggling dock that lead to the Williams house and is illustrated in all the guides (including Laurence and Anne’s latest), has finally bitten the dust and no longer exists except as a few pieces of flotsam in the cove. The limited moorage at the wharf served us well. There was a standard flat rate of $25 boat, but when the attendant determined that our boat was 33 feet we were initially asked to pay $50, because we were much larger than usual. However, after revealing that we were “seniors” he was persuaded to allow us the regular rate! People need to know that the moorage $25 does not include the $10 per person landing fee. The total cost for us was $45, but well worth it. Tell people that the beach on the ocean side has an infinity of the most smoothly rounded pebbles that can be found anywhere.
While at Nootka we had a great conversation with the light-keeper and became involved in the effort to stop the de-manning of light stations. We seem to have had some effect, given the latest news, but perhaps we will only see the lights permanently manned when the CCG are part of the federal department responsible for safety rather than part of F&O. This might be another campaign that PY could support?
I cannot end this note without mentioning the “Music By The Sea” event in July in Bamfield. In the interests of disclosure, I am a director on the board. But this year we have had a huge increase in the number of boats attending. Last year there were two. This year there were 11 on the first weekend and 9 on the second. For more info on the event see , But this is clearly one of the “Destination” events on the west coast.