Tag Archives: Gorge Harbour

Rivers & Oceans

Long term moorage in Whaletown and Cortes Bay fully booked for the summer 

As the weather turns warmer, some recreational vessels seek moorage at Cortes Island docks for periods of between one and six months. This is called long-term-moorage. On Wednesday, May 3, the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island (HACI) issued a press release stating that their docks in Whaletown and Cortes Bay are now full for long-term-moorage this summer. 

“When we’re talking about long-term recreational moorage, we’re just talking about individuals who are looking to moor a boat and not live on it,” explained Harbourmaster Jenny Hartwick

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Rivers & Oceans

Growers Perspective: Boats and Aquaculture in Gorge Harbour

On Monday March 6, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) closed the waters and intertidal foreshore of Deep Bay Harbour, on Vancouver Island, to oyster and scallop growers, due to ‘sanitary reasons.’ 

 Erik Lyon, owner operator of Rising Tide Shellfish on Cortes Island explained, “The problem is too many people  in too close a proximity to shellfish farms. You can’t have any shellfish destined for human consumption in  water where there’s any kind of a man-made dock, boat liveaboard or float house within 125 metres. That’s a setback that’s always been in place.” 

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Animals

George Sirk: Frog Stories 

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Cortes Island naturalist George Sirk knows a lot about frogs.  

GS: “A lot of people know me because of my interest in birds, which is really an addiction, isn’t it?  I’m just hopeless when it comes to birds.  I’m just totally into them. They’re so fascinating.  I came from Venezuela when I was 10. My parents immigrated to Vancouver and I couldn’t speak English. I could speak Spanish and I knew a little Estonian and I could understand German because my parents argued in German.”  

“So there I was in Vancouver, a little weird guy 10-years-old, and I met some other weird young people too, what we would call nerds.” 

“They were into frogs. Jim Palmer was one,  Lowell Orchid, that’s another.  Jim just passed away actually in December, but Lowell’s still with us all here. We used to collect frogs  very close to Kits Beach, the Lacarno beach area. It used to be a military base at one time.  So there used to be a lot of empty properties,  fields and it  got very wet in the wintertime. The tree frogs would all go in there and have a great time.” 

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History

‘Wayfinding’ at the Cortes Island Museum

‘Wayfinding: Stories of Maps & Place’ opens at the Cortes Island Museum, between 1 and 4 PM on Sunday, March 26.

“I think wayfinding really touches on so many aspects of our current life.  We have a really fabulous series of maps and artifacts. It’s an opportunity to share that with the public for the first time on many counts. I think everybody, on some level, has a personal story to do with wayfinding. This is a celebration, and a reminder that we all have stories to tell of place and an evolving relationship to the landscape,”explained Melanie Boyle, Managing Director/Curator of the museum.

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Rivers & Oceans

Little room left for Liveaboards on Cortes Island docks

On Monday, Dec 12, Gorge Harbour Marina Resort (GHMR) announced that its seasonal liveaboard program will come to an end next Spring. 

“GHMR has never, to the best of my knowledge, offered year-round live aboard opportunities but has run a small seasonal program in previous years where under ten vessels were hosted,” wrote Jason Johnson, General Manager of QXMC as well as the resort.

“In 2022, the program has seven vessels, under short term live aboard contract ending the end of April 2023. In all cases, the stays were contingent on contracts being signed, liability insurance coverage for each vessel and one vessel per person. While these changes were difficult for guests, it allowed the 2022 program to continue.” 

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