The renovations at Gorge Harbour Marina are finished. This has been much more than a facelift. It includes a new water system, upgraded septic and electric systems, yet the face of the resort has also been dramatically improved. The RV sites, campsites, much of the grounds and internal layout of the lodge have all been redesigned. Six new visitor domes, 2 cooking stations, a new massage hut, a new bridge across the creek and a food truck have been added.
There is one big decision remaining. Will QXMC, the business arm of the Klahoose First Nation, build a restaurant to take the place of the former Floathouse restaurant? General Manager Marco Bedetti says a decision is imminent and, for now, the food truck serves the resort’s needs.
The last three months at the resort have been a success story, which Bedetti insists starts at the board level.
“Obviously we had ideas on the direction that the Gorge Harbour should go. Those ideas became more focused and clear towards the beginning of March. There was a board meeting at the end of March and we decided to go ahead with a bigger project which left us with basically April, May, and parts of June, to be able to get them all done for the opening on June 28th. We couldn’t have done any of this without the Klahoose community, without council and chief, without the board of directors who:
- A – purchased the property, and
- B – had a vision of wanting to own a better run resort like this one. So I want to give a big thank you to the Klahoose Community Chief and Council and Board of Directors.”
Darryl Czegledi, the general contractor during this final stage of renovations, added, “This is a big project. It doesn’t make a lot of money up front. So you have to have the vision and then you really have to want to put the money forward so the vision can come together. From my perspective, the Klahoose seems to want to invest in the community.”
It has been 30 years since Czegledi came to a Roots Round-up on Cortes Island. When he was 19, he moved in with Sam Stuart and Grant Web, who were renting Howie Roman and Bernice McGowan’s house.
“Sam and Grant had an oyster farm, and I just quit working for my dad pouring concrete in the Comox Valley. I came to Cortes and thought, ‘wow, this is a neat place.’”
Four years ago, Czegledi purchased Barry and Amanda Glickman’s house on the far side of the Gorge.
“We bought that house 25 years after I first saw it. I used to sit on that beach, look at that house and think, ‘how does a guy own a house like that?’ I went away to Australia for 10 years, became a DAB instructor, and got really involved with boats. I came home, bought a boat, and started coming to the Gorge all the time because I had friends here and love this place. Every time I drove away from the Gorge, to get fuel or hang out, I had to drive past that house.”
Czegledi owns Valley Creative Concrete, which is based in the Comox Valley, but also works on Cortes Island.
“I have lots of crew coming to my house and staying at my house in the off season to do jobs. This year I told a lot of the young ones, ‘let’s see where you’re at in 20 years and let’s see if this experience on Cortes Island changes where you go or what you do. I think that happens to a lot of people here.’”
He has been watching the marina for a long time and was one of the partners of a group which wanted to buy it. That was just before the Klahoose purchase.*
QXMC went through several general managers before it hired Marco Bedetti a little over nine months ago.
Darryl Czegledi: “Marco’s great.” (Laughter)
Cortes Currents: Why?
Darryl Czegledi: “Because he’s just what the Gorge needed.”
Cortes Currents: Why?
Darryl Czegledi: “Well, you can see for yourself. The last few years, the Gorge Resort went downhill. This year, it has gone uphill and uphill fast. It’s a beautiful, thriving resort. One of the things Marco told me, after the Canada Day long weekend, is that the domes are already completely booked for next year. Everybody who was here on this busy weekend, booked so that they could have the same busy weekend next year. That goes to show you that it’s a success.”
“I am the general contractor, but it doesn’t feel like that. It feels more like I’m solving problems with Marco. We talk a lot, we walk around, he expresses what needs to get done, what budgets he has, what time frames he has. Then I figure out a way to solve those problems with that budget, with that time frame, and with my vision that I’ve had about this place or with this place for years.”
Marco Bedetti: “We saw Darryl as the best candidate to have for the vision and to execute it, which turned out to be the best decision we could have taken.”
Darryl Czegledi: “I’m a guy that loves boats. I live in a house across the way from here. We had to boat to work every day. I’m a guy that likes to solve problems. This place was filled with problems. I’m someone that likes to work hard and create while I go. I’m not one that draws pictures and plans, so to speak, I design better on the go. This project was all of that. Looking back, it was almost three months of 8 to 10 guys, 10 hours a day, 5 days a week.”
“It was almost all pleasure, not work. I don’t feel like I was working for three months, although we were.There were a lot of rainy, muddy days and a lot of hard things, but it was my best job, my favourite job. Valley Creative Concrete has been doing this for 20 years. I started out pouring concrete slabs for people and only pouring. Over the years I developed into a guy that designs backyards and solves problems and builds things. Now 20 years later, this has been my most rewarding and fun job. I actually thought, ‘maybe I should quit because I don’t think it’s going to get better.’ I can’t picture a job coming along that will work quite like that. In fact, I know they won’t be because I don’t own another house in front of another resort with water between where I can boat to work. That little icing on the cake made it my favourite job and a lot of my crew feel the same.”
Cortes Currents: So what have you done at the marina?
Marco Bedetti: “First of all, we had to deal with main services. That means our septic system needed work, our water lines had to be re installed. We had a lot of electrical changes. We had to shift a lot of the power from where it was before to a new area on the property, so we have better distribution.”
“Let’s start from the top of the property. There’s the so-called alder grove. There used to be tent platforms, they were pressure treated pine. Over the years, they became pressure treated traps for people to fall through. So we took all those away. We got beautiful cedar from the Klahoose sawmill. We had Max build six absolutely stunning tent sites, 16 by 16 feet, so that campers have something nice to camp on.”
“We basically recreated all the RV sites. We made sure that all the sites are full service, but also that they look better, better definition of where to park and where your area is. We have curbs, we have gravel, we have a defined grass area. It just looks much more, as an RV park, than a grassy spot that could be anything.”
“We built the six domes where the tent sites used to be. We decided to do beautiful cement paths that lead up to the domes. Instead of using wooden decks, we actually made this beautiful cement floor and installed the domes on top of that. We were able to finalize all those projects for opening on June 28th.”
Cortes Currents: From either of you, I want to hear about the screens, the two cook sites. I want to hear about what the customers are saying.
Darryl Czegledi: “It’s bloody amazing! We had already put the dome pads in. We made the slabs last year and then this year Marco came back to me and said, ‘I want to make this better. We need to somehow join this together. What can we do?’ So we came up with some ideas of sidewalks between. How we actually did it was we got some really neat, long plastic boards and started laying them on the land until they looked right. We got a really neat design, a really nice flow from dome to dome.”
Marco Bedetti: “We realized that he was creating something very beautiful, but it was just that area that was nice, and then the rest of the property was still not matching. There was this old RV site and camping site.”
“So Daryl took the initiative to lay it out further and to make the entire upper part of the property flow. So instead of just having curbs and pathways where the domes are, you actually come into the campsite and you’re pushed by how it’s designed into going to the RV sites or to the dome sites, or down to the gazebo.”
“It’s one beautiful spot now, instead of these different elements that don’t work together.”
“We also looked at privacy. The property is not huge, so we have to fit things in a certain way. The RV sites on one end are very close to the domes. I started saying maybe we should build a fence, or maybe we should put cedar hedges up. They all sounded okay but Daryl came up with this company that makes these beautiful CNC panels and they come in Northwest Native designs.”
Darryl Czegledi: “It left a really neat area in the middle of a big void, so we turned that into a rock garden and little gurgling water fountain and we even topped it off (this was Marco’s idea) with the Gorge logo on the rock with the water falling down around it. It’s just a subtle little thing. It makes a bit of noise, but it’s the right kind of noise. You’re sitting there at night, there’s not much going on and you hear this little waterfall sound in the background. We even put light into the fountain. So at nighttime, it looks neat.”
“I think it also complements the fact that now at every RV site where they install the post, they put a solar light on top of the post. In the past, there was this issue that at say 11, 12 at night, you’d basically be in the dark. Now if you go from the furthest RV side and you walk your way down towards the food truck and the bathrooms, it’s like this glowing path of nice light, not too bright, it feels subtle. It feels like being at home.”
Cortes Currents: So you have a massage parlor, a bridge, and a Gorge food truck.
Marco Bedetti: “Let’s start with the massage parlour. There was a prefab building that was at Klahoose Wilderness Resort. They didn’t have any use for it. It got sent to our aquaculture division. They didn’t have any use for it. So they called me up. At a certain point, Daryl and I looked at the building and the idea came up that it might actually work as a massage studio.”
“So his carpenter, Johnny, built it in one location, and then we started walking around the property and finding the right spot for it. It’s past the bridge, in an area that works very well for various reasons. The only time it really gets a lot of sun is in the morning. As soon as it hits noon, the sun goes behind the trees and casts a nice shade on the building so that it doesn’t get too hot. We furbished it to all the needs of all the masseuses and massage therapists that work there.”
“There are four bodyworkers right now. We have acupressure, Reiki, your normal, typical massage. If you want to know the details, visit our website. It’s all in there.”
Cortes Currents: You changed the bridge.
Marco Bedetti: “Yes, the bridge that was there before was cute. It used to go downhill and at an angle and come back up from the creek. There are definitely some regulations about how close you’re allowed to be to the water, and I think the old bridge didn’t comply with that. Also, it wouldn’t allow for anyone with a gator, or a side by side, or four by four to be able to cross the creek. We do have two vehicles that we use daily, to get from A to B on the property. So we installed a very simple, straightforward aluminum bridge. Valley Creative did all the pouring. Then McCrea Welding basically welded the bridge in Campbell River and brought it over on the ferry. It makes for a beautiful bridge you can walk and drive on.”
There is also an cable underneath the bridge, carrying electricity across the creek.
Cortes Currents: Tell us about the new food truck and how it is set up differently.
Darryl Czegledi: “That was ‘a Daryl job.’ We had the measurements of how big the thing was going to be. So we just roughly laid gravel out before the food truck arrived and leveled the area a little bit. Once it arrived, we pulled it up into the spot and got it looking right. You stand back from one direction to make sure it looks right. Stand in the other direction, make sure it flows with the building that it’s beside. Look at the actual area that people use and look at how they use it.”
“Marco and I couldn’t agree on which direction was going to be in and out for the lineup. So we made it Bi-directional, now you can choose whichever you like, it is direction neutral.”
Marco Bedetti: “Due to the unfortunate decommissioning of the restaurant, we had to find a solution for the interim. So this last fall, last winter and this spring, we’ve worked on designing and getting a food truck built. Initially it was thought we would have it by February. Unfortunately the build took longer and also the entire certification around it. So we received it on June 15th.”
“I was looking for a chef who would run the food truck. I had a lot of people in mind, luckily Josh okayed it, and created a menu together with Wayne, who’s currently the chef at Klahoose Wilderness Resort. We got the menu certified, we got the truck in its location certified, we got the prep kitchen for the food truck certified, and opened our doors June 28th. The difficulty right now,and I think it’s happening everywhere, is staff retention. So we were cavaliering into a season with about five people, two actually never came and then one quit. So Josh, Jay, and Eva are currently three people who are running the truck four days a week for breakfast and for extended lunch until 3 PM.”
“We decided upon a very simple menu and I hope a good menu. There’s your typical burger. There’s an incredibly well made salmon burger, because it’s just not the filet itself, but it’s actually pureed and chunks that are put together with spices, and then it makes for a great meal. There’s a chickpea burger, which is a vegetarian variant, and then we definitely have gluten free options. We decided to make three different hot dogs and fries. I see happy faces. Customers are enjoying it. So we’ll just keep on running that way. We’re currently training another cook so that we can at least open up for five days a week.”
Cortes Currents: When will you decide whether to have another restaurant there or not?
Marco Bedetti: “It is one of the points that will be brought up at the next board meeting. If it were to be decided that we go ahead, the other question is how fast can we have it standing? And how easily can we find the right chef for what our vision is? Because we definitely want to have great food, a great atmosphere, and it takes a while to build that.”
“When the restaurant was decommissioned, it was torn down , and basically left like a demolition site. For a long time, Darryl was bugging me that we had to do something about it and I always told him it was the lowest priority. We finally decided to do it and it became one of the nicest spots on the property. If we walk towards the dock, there are all these different levels of gravel and beautifully laid out rock elements where you can sit, you can have a drink, you can enjoy the view out in the bay. We call it Darryl Land.”
Cortes Currents: Other improvements in the property?
Marco Bedetti: “The store: just the typical improvements of having to change 15 year old freezers and coolers. One big thing is the way we used to receive merchandise in the past was not always ideal because there were multiple locations on the property where we would store different types of goods, be it frozen or alcohol and whatnot. I received the go ahead to invest in a big walk-in freezer. Next to that, beautiful new racks with dried goods. Valley Concrete poured a cement pad on the outside of the receiving area that seamlessly flows into the inside, where the walk-in freezer is. That way we can unload in one spot on the property. put the pallets in, worry about them when we have time to, and there’s no more gatoring things around everywhere. That also gives a better quality for the food because you deal with it right away instead of keeping it out in the hot for a long time.”
“The lodge has changed a tiny bit. It used to be that they had access to a fully equipped kitchen inside of the building. We had to certify the food truck, so we can’t have customers and staff working in the same area. So we closed that off, but we gave access to the large living room where now there’s a fridge, a counter with everything you need from cups to knives and forks and pots and pans. Then a beautiful deck with a new roof that Valley Concrete built. Most of the wood is 10 years old, comes from Toba Inlet, and was left over from when they built the Klahoose Multipurpose Building. There are barbecues with side burners, stainless steel counters and sinks with hot and cold water. That made it a very nice area that wasn’t used as much before and I think will be used much more nowadays.”
Cortes Currents: What about the pool?
Marco Bedetti: “We’re open and completely certified to run it. We have a limit on how many people are allowed in the pool but on any given day, if I see that it’s fairly calm or there’s not as many people in there, please go ahead, go enjoy the pool. The only thing I ask is that they do come and talk to us. They’d have to pay anyway.”
“There haven’t been many changes at the marina. We did change the anchor blocks and the chains just to make sure everything is safe. I think a lot of the projects are going to be in the next coming years. One of the priorities: the pilings are flaking off, paint those and make them look nice again.”
Links of Interest
*Footnote: Gorge Harbour Marina is on the unceded territory of the Klahoose First Nation, whose ancestors occupied the land for thousands of years before the ‘settlers’ came. Archaeologists believe First Nations arrived in the Discovery Islands about 13,000 years ago. The archaeological site at Yeatman Bay, on Quadra Island, is 11,000 years old. The Klahoose, Homalco, K’omox and Tla’amin spoke a Northern Salish tongue called ʔayʔaǰuθəm (Ayajuthem) and are said to have once been a single people.
In a previous interview, Klahoose elder Norm Harry explained that the traditional boundaries of the Klahoose Nation are the big rocks in Toba Inlet, Squirrel Cove, Lund and Campbell River. This is within their traditional territory displayed on the BC Treaty Commission interactive map, above. There is a cluster of undated pictographs at the entrance to Gorge Harbour, including one of a man and a whale. During the 1800s, the government of British Columbia pushed the Klahoose onto 10 small reserves between Squirrel Cove and Toba Inlet.
James Dawson set up the Whaling station, from which Whaletown gets its name, in 1869. He left after a year and a half, but other settlers followed. Doug and Jenny Morton opened the ‘Hacienda Marina’ sometime after they purchased Charlie Allen’s Bute Ranch in Gorge Harbour, during the 1940s. One of the subsequent owners renamed it the ‘Gorge Harbour Marina.’ Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation (QXMC) purchased Gorge Harbour Marina from Richard and Michelle Glickman on August 4, 2021.
Sign-up for Cortes Currents email-out:
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