Destinations
The Central Coast
Destination: Klemtu (Swindle Island)
Tuesday, August 12, 2014TheCambrians
Our travels over the past few weeks have taken us north from
Shearwater on Denny
Island North Coast
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| Looking up Klemtu Passage with the guest dock to the left and Cambria tied to the fuel dock center right. |
Fuel Dock: 52°35.62’N, 128°31.29’W
Klemtu, a Kitasoo village
of approximately 300 residents, is located along the west side of Finlayson
Channel behind Cone Island
Approaching from the south, the first building
you see along Klemtu Passage is the Spirit Bear Lodge – a modern resort that
specializes in tours to see the Kermode, a
subspecies of the black bear that has a recessive gene which causes their coat
to be white or cream-coloured – making Klemtu a good place to inquire about
recent Spirit Bear activity. Beyond the lodge,
sitting prominently along a point, is the village Big House.
The fuel dock is located at the northern edge
of town in front of the fish processing plant and has approximately 55 metres (180
feet) of linear dock space, but only the middle section is within reach of the
fuel hose. The dock is open to Klemtu
Passage and the wakes from passing boats can stir things up quite a bit if
they’re not considerate and adhere to the “No Wake” limit, so an extra fender
or two may be in order. Diesel is the
same price here as it is at any other Petro Canada dock along the coast and
CA$0.20 a litre less than in Shearwater (if not more). You can also purchase petrol and propane and fill
your tanks with treated water.
A band store with an ATM is located at the top
of the dock just south of the fish processing plant. The store is larger than the one in
Shearwater but the selection isn’t as good, especially if you arrive a day or
two after the latest shipment. Both the store and fuel dock are open Monday
through Saturday, closing from noon to 1:00 pm for lunch, with limited hours on Sundays. There’s also a pay phone, which was out of
order when we were there last, but the village has excellent cellular
coverage. And there’s a café just inside
the store building to the right.
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| The Big House. |
You can arrange a tour of the Big House from the
local guide, George Robinson. If he
isn’t at the fuel dock to greet you, he can be reached on VHF channel 06, along
with the rest of the village residents. In
the past, tours were free and donations were accepted but, according to the
2014 edition of Waggoners, they cost CA$10 per person now – a little pricey,
but still worth the time and effort.
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| Inside Klemtu's Big House. |
The Big House and all of its contents are constructed
from cedar and the workmanship, from the house pole carvings to the large crossbeams,
is impressive. It was built about 10
years ago in effort to protect and maintain the Kitasoo culture. Many residents, George included, were raised
without knowing their language because of strict efforts by the Europeans to
“convert” native people and are now finding their way back to their through
songs and dance.
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| A cedar drum inside Klemtu's Big House. |
For
temporary moorage, you can tie up to the fuel dock if there’s extra space and
they’re not busy. There’s also a
210-foot concrete dock in the main bay, south of the processing plant, where
you can tie up but chances are the float will be full with local fishing
boats. At one time, the village seemed
to be catering to passing boats and there was a tourism kiosk, restrooms and
laundry facilities at head of the float, but they’ve since closed or fallen
into a state of disrepair. If neither of
these options is available, temporary anchorage
can be found off the Big House in 10 metres (33 feet).
Overnight anchorage
can be found south of the village in Clothes Bay
Services:
- Fuel Dock
- Band Store
- Café
- Water
- Excellent Cell Phone Coverage
Things to Do:
- Take a tour of the Big House
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