Cortes Community Docks ( formerly called Harbour Authority Cortes Island) received the necessary funding to carry out needed upgrades to the 111-year-old dock in Whaletown. In today’s article Harbour Master Jenny Hartwick gives the details, and also talks about the upcoming August 30 dock swap.
“One of our mandates is to create good employment for Islanders who are here full-time year round. And for our youth returning in the summer as well. It’s a great place for people who move to the island to start out and get to know the culture of the island by working with us.” –– Mary Lavelle
Originally published Mar 1, 2023
The Cortes Natural Food Co-op is one of the top five or six employers on the island, an attraction for tourists and visitors, and the go-to grocery store for many year-round residents. Active members enjoy several benefits, but membership is not required to shop there — so the store serves many times more people every year than its approximately 360 active members.
Employing 20 people even in the off-season, and with over $2 million in sales each year, the Co-op is a significant island business. But it also makes a conscious effort to be a good neighbour. As General Manager Mary Lavelle put it during our interview, “Staff, board, management — we’re always considering the community. That is one of the factors that we always consider in our decision making: our community. And I think that’s part of what makes us so special.”
Continue reading More Than Just A Store: Cortes Natural Food Co-op
There are some Cortes Island elements in the story of a boat stolen from Campbell River on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Someone living in the Potlatch Road area of southern Cortes Island observed ‘big military type planes’ and some helicopters flying around the ocean that morning and thought it might be a Sea-Air Rescue excerise. He did not think about it again until reading about the incident on CHEK News.
Continue reading Cortes Island Elements In A Boat Theft StoryHarbour Authority Cortes Island (HACI) started taking applications for summer moorage spots at 9 AM on April 1st.
Harbour Master Jenny Hartwick explained, “What’s happened over the last few years on Cortes, especially after Covid, is we’ve seen a steady increase in summer visitors and local residents getting out on the water. That puts additional pressure on the available moorage that we have at the docks.”
“The one point that I want to make really clear is we have ample space available for anyone who is looking for moorage at the docks. What we do not necessarily have available is moorage at your first choice dock. We have some areas of higher population density and the docks that are in those areas tend to be the most popular. For safety reasons, we cannot accommodate every single boat that puts in a request for moorage at those docks. If we tried, there would be too many security issues: be it vessels getting damaged or the possibility of people getting hurt and, literally, the facilities themselves wouldn’t be able to support the weight of all of the boats that we have asking to stay there.”
Continue reading Summer Moorage Spots on Cortes Island
There were 45 people on the Whaletown dock when Cortes Currents left half way through the Open House on Monday, September 16. Some were listening to Andy Ellingsen, a Director of Harbour Authority Cortes Island (HACI), talk about the current condition of the wharf and what needs to be done. Others gathered in small groups, eating the free pizza, sharing memories or their perspectives on the matter. HACI has owned the 110-year-old structure since 2009 and now it is in need of extensive repairs.
Continue reading Open House at the Whaletown Dock; Renovations Needed
