Tag Archives: Whaletown dock

Rivers & Oceans

HACI: Parking Restrictions While Work Underway At Gorge & Whaletown Docks

Harbour Authority Cortes Island is asking the public to not use its upper Gorge Harbour parking lot or park at the Whaletown Commercial Dockhead until further notice. There is work underway at both locations.  

“A few years ago the Harbour Authority entered into a lease agreement with MOTI, the Ministry of Transportation, and we actually hold the road allowance leases for the lower part of Robertson Road. We  did some clearing,  graveled and then developed a parking lot,” explained Harbourmaster Jenny Hartwick.

Continue reading HACI: Parking Restrictions While Work Underway At Gorge & Whaletown Docks →
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

Continue reading Long term moorage in Whaletown and Cortes Bay fully booked for the summer  →
Rivers & Oceans

Harbour Authority Cortes Island: The Small Craft Harbours connection

Harbour Authority Cortes Island (HACI) has embarked upon a campaign to inform the public who they are and what they do. Harbourmaster Jenny Hartwick provided Cortes Currents with a concise description of the organization. 

“The Harbour Authority is a nonprofit organization, which is made up of an eight volunteer board of directors. All of whom are local year round, residents  and are actively involved in boating on Cortes, either commercial fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, or as recreational boaters. Under contract with Small Craft Harbours, the Harbour Authority is responsible for the operation and basic maintenance of the four government docks on the island: Squirrel Cove, Manson’s Landing, Cortes Bay, and Gorge Harbour,” she said. “We also operate the Whaletown Dock, which was formally divested from Transport Canada in 2009. The Harbour Authority actually owns that dock outright.” 

Continue reading Harbour Authority Cortes Island: The Small Craft Harbours connection →
History, Rivers & Oceans

When fishing was an industry in Whaletown

A great many fisherfolk once worked out of Whaletown. The Cortes Island Museum’s list goes back to the 1930s, at which point there were 7 men and a woman. Three of them used rowboats. 

“There used to be a huge fleet rafted out, both six and seven abreast all along  both sides of the dock, in Whaletown.  In the last 10 years or so, there’s only been three or four boats in there, fishing. The main one  that I know of in the last little while is the ‘C-Fin,’ but he goes outside of the Vancouver Island area and fishes tuna. When he comes back he doesn’t sell it to a fisheries, he sells it from the dock, and the same with his prawns.  So he’s not using a middle man to sell his products, which I suppose is one of the few ways you could make a little bit of money now,“ said Lynne Jordan, former President of the Cortes Island Museum, in the latest instalment of her history of Whaletown.

Continue reading When fishing was an industry in Whaletown →
History, Transportation

The Union Steamships arrive in Whaletown

When the Union Steamship company started operations, in 1889, there was a single ship servicing Burrard Inlet. Three years later they expanded their market to include the canneries, logging camps and small communities springing up along the coast. The first reference to a ship stopping in Whaletown is found in an 1899 edition of the VANCOUVER PROVINCE. 

Continue reading The Union Steamships arrive in Whaletown →