Cortes Community Docks has had a very busy winter. The projects in Whaletown and Squirrel Cove are nearing completion, and a new one is about to begin in Cortes Bay. Cortes Community Docks has a new website, and all the railings on its docks have been painted blue as a visible reminder that they are not a government organization.
“We never have been. These docks are here for the community, they’re utilized by the community and they’re supported by the community,” explained Harbour Manager Jenny Hartwick.
Narrator: That was also the rationale behind their recent name change.
Jenny Hartwick: “We wanted to choose a name that really reflected the direction we want the organization to go and why those docks exist.”
The Whaletown Dock Rebuild
“Our biggest news is that the rebuild of the Whaletown dock is almost complete. Cortes Community Docks was extremely lucky. We got a $560,000 ReadUP grant to rebuild the Whaletown dock. There’s been a lot of construction in Whaletown Bay recently, and the Ferry Construction has kind of overshadowed what we’ve had going on at the dock, but we’ve had a contractor there since about September of last year. There’s been an extensive rebuild done, and the facility looks phenomenal.”
“The Whaletown dock is owned outright by us. So to obtain a contractor we solicited bids from several local Vancouver Island contractors, based on recommendations from engineers. We are extremely thrilled to have Rob Clarke of Coastal Marine Maintenance doing the work for us at Whaletown. Rob incidentally is also doing some Small Craft Harbours work on the other docks, but we didn’t have a role to play in awarding those contracts.”
“Rob was the maintenance manager at the Comox Harbour Authority for well over a decade before he opened his own company doing dock maintenance and repair. He’s now a familiar face up and down the entire coast doing maintenance work. Rob incidentally also was the president of the Harbour Authority Association of BC, which is our umbrella organization for all of the harbour authorities on the coast.”
Rob Clarke, of Coastal Maintenance and Repairs, explained, “The Whaletown rebuild project went really well. We rebuilt 11 footings and nine separate pilings, reconstructed the top side and shortened the whole facility up a little bit.”
Jenny Hartwick: “The majority of the construction material for a marine structure is a very specialized type of material, which is treated with ACZA, which is not a standard pressure-treated material, and there’s actually only one plant in Western Canada that manufactures it. So a large portion of our material was actually specially ordered, but outside of that, wherever possible, Rob made an effort to get everything he could locally. So the cedar decking for the railings, the upright posts, everything on the Whaletown dock that he could was specially ordered, milled through Klahoose at their sawmill.”
Cortes Currents: “You also mentioned that the concrete foundations were local.”
Jenny Hartwick: “Absolutely, that was done through Island United. Rob worked with them multiple times over several consecutive weekends and low tides to get their crew to bring local concrete and keep the project on island.”
“The project is shaping up absolutely beautifully, and we actually have our final engineering visit happening next week. At that point in time, we’re just dealing with crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s.”
“The dock isn’t open to vehicle traffic, but we hope to have that whole project complete for the spring, and we’ll be hosting an opening ceremony at that dock. The beautiful part about the Whaletown dock is that it is actually owned entirely by the community. It’s not owned by Small Craft Harbours or Transport Canada. It was divested to Cortes Community Docks in 2009. So that is our community infrastructure, and it’s extremely exciting to see that being brought back to life.”
Finishing the Squirrel Cove Project
“The four remaining docks on Cortes are owned by Small Craft Harbours. While Cortes Community Docks has the management lease for those facilities, we receive zero government funding for the operations of those docks, which means that Cortes Community Docks is responsible for raising enough funds to facilitate a large portion of the repairs on those docks.”
“What you’re seeing happening on Squirrel Cove right now is just a completion of that project. In 2020 there was a very large project done on that dock. All the old wooden pilings were replaced with steel pilings. The wharf head was replaced and a portion of the decking. What we’re seeing now is just a completion of that decking project. It’s taken them six years to actually get the funding in place to be able to complete that project.”
Rob Clarke: “The Squirrel Cove rebuild project here consists of redecking the approach from where it was stopped last year. We’re continuing to redeck the entire approach out to the wharf end, as well as standing up the new crane for the users.”
Jenny Hartwick: “The big piece of news actually, which I’m sure all the aquaculture users in the community and also some of our boat-access-only and Refuge Cove clients will be happy to know is that our new hydraulic winch is going on the Squirrel Cove dock. We’re just waiting for the new hydraulic unit to ship and then that will be installed and ready to go.”
The Cortes Bay Project
Narrator: Following the work at Squirrel Cove, they’re going to be moving to Cortes Bay to do a small repair there.
Rob Clarke: “We’re realigning the gangway to the float, as well as some structural repairs to the small pedestrian approach.”
Jenny Hartwick: “We should be shiny and ready to go for the spring opening.”
Getting Ready for A Busy Boating Season
Cortes Currents: “Are there any changes regarding the spring influx of tourists?”
Jenny Hartwick: “No, there are no real changes to the process this year.”
“The docks have changed colour. All of our red railings are gone. We understood that it was unclear how the docks on the island were being managed and operated. Historically the red railings signified to the boating community in BC that these were free government docks.”
“The reality is that relationship doesn’t exist anymore. We don’t receive funding from the government to operate these docks, and moorage revenue and user fees from boaters using these docks are what sustain us. It’s extremely important for our boating community to recognize that every dollar they spend allows us to make things happen on the dock. We’re a nonprofit. Every last penny gets rolled back into keeping these docks alive.”
“We have assigned head lease agreements with the federal government, which very clearly stipulate who’s responsible for what on the docks. The general rule is a bit gray right now. It’s not quite as black and white as it was, simply because DFO is getting their funding levels cut, but the general rule is that the organizations that manage the docks are responsible for what you interact with when you walk down the dock. So anything that you might touch during your daily use of the docks, in tying up your boat, such as the decking, the handrails, the boll rails, the electrical kiosks, the tie rails—anything you might come into contact with on your journey up or down the dock—that’s our responsibility. Those are things that we have to raise revenue for. I’d say probably 60% of a facility falls under the community organization’s responsibility to repair and maintain.”
“The remaining substructure is often, but not always, Small Craft Harbours’ responsibility. However, we’re seeing that relationship change. I do know other docks up and down the province that have had larger-scale items fail on their facilities and they have had to repair them themselves.”
“We’re in the process of having brand-new signage designed to help make it clear where your moorage dollars go and what they do go to support on the docks.”
“We have a lovely blue color on all of the docks that ties into our brand-new logo and our brand-new website, which is actually going to come out today to the public. We’ll be posting that later today on the Tideline, on Facebook pages. It’s https://cortesdocks.ca/ and we’ve streamlined the moorage application process. There’s lots of great information up there.”
“We’ve got a page for each of our docks where we’ll be updating projects that we have going on and things like that. So right on the homepage, the first thing you see is a button that says moorage application. Clicking that button is going to take you to our brand-new moorage application page. That document is required legally for anybody using our docks.”
“Like past years, moorage applications for the summer will open at 9:00 AM on April 1st. As those moorage applications come in, we’ll be processing them on a first-come, first-served basis with the understanding that we have room for everybody. We can’t always guarantee that we’ll have room for you at your first choice dock, but we have 100% capacity to accommodate all of the people who are looking for moorage on the island.”
Cortes Currents: “Is there anything else you wanted to say?”
“We really value your moorage fees. We’re the ones that pay the hydro bills down on the docks. We’re the ones that pay the materials. Those docks have been a part of our community for a very, very long time, and we’re working as hard as we can to keep them in the best shape that we can so that they’re here for the next 40, 80, or 100 years.”
“Ask us your questions; engage with us. We’ve got great staff that are down on the dock. They’re extremely knowledgeable, they’re lovely and they’re very helpful. So don’t be afraid to reach out. We’d love to make your boating experience the best we can. We live in a beautiful place, and access to the water for everybody is one of the reasons that we all love the island. We do have space for everybody. So while our moorage applications for the summer open on April 1st, we will always fit you in somewhere. It’s not a question of not having a spot, so don’t stress out about that.”
Links of Interest:
- Cortes Community Docks
- Small craft harbours – DFO
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Cortes Bay Dock
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Squirrel Cove Dock
- Articles about, or mentioning, the Whaletown dock
Sign-up for emails:
To receive an emailed catalogue of articles on Cortes Currents, send a (blank) email to subscribe to your desired frequency:
- Daily, (articles posted during the last 24 hours) – cortescurrents-daily+subscribe@cortes.groups.io
- Weekly Digest cortescurrents – cortescurrents-weekly+subscribe@cortes.groups.io