British Columbia
Destinations
the Gulf Islands
Way Back Wednesday | Wallace Island Marine Park
Friday, November 11, 2016TheCambrians
It’s Way Back Wednesday, an opportunity to dig through the
files and pull out an old blog post to
shed some new light on it. It’s a bit of a cheat, really: Reposting something old
rather than writing something new. But so much information gets lost in the mix
that it’s also an important part of the process. It's also not Wednesday. That's because today was going to be "Flashback Friday" until I realized my Wednesday blog hop, Word of the Week, is supposed to be posted on Fridays (which makes more sense, really).
Over
the years, I’ve written several posts about anchorages we’ve stayed in. Each
one includes anchoring information (i.e. holding, protection, GPS coordinates),
historical information and a list of things to do. To date, I’ve done 26 of
these (they can all be found on our Destinations page) and they’re some of my
favourite posts. For the next six months, I’ll be highlighting one every Friday
(from south to north) and adding a few new ones in where I can. First up, Wallace Island Provincial Marine Park in British Columbia’s beautiful Gulf Islands (originally posted here on January 20, 2015):
I like an anchorage with a
story to tell, so it’s no surprise that Wallace Island Marine Park in the southern Gulf Islands landed on our radar. What is surprising, though, is
that it took six years to get there.
Located between Galiano and Saltspring Islands in Trincomali
Channel, little is written about Wallace Island before the arrival
of David and Jeanne Conover, a newly married couple from Southern
California who purchased it in 1946 for CA$20,000 (approximately US$200,000 today) to build a vacation
resort. At the time, Wallace Island was a remote location and the living
conditions were difficult. The Conovers
had little experience or know-how but, through a series of ups and downs that
are recounted in a book later written by David called “Once Upon an Island”, they achieved their dream
and built the Royal Cedar Cottages. The resort was made
up of ten structures including guest cottages, the Conover’s home, a recreation
hall and some support buildings. Most of
them are gone today but there are three cottages still standing, one of which
is open and has become home to decorated driftwood and flotsam left behind by
visiting boaters.
The resort and most of the island were sold in
the mid to late 1960s to a group of teachers out of Seattle. The Conovers kept 5.25 hectares in Princess
Cove where they built a new house.
Jeanne moved to Victoria so their son could
attend high school while David lived on the island to pursue his new dream –
writing full-time. She went back and
forth for a while, but they eventually divorced. In the meantime, disagreements among the
new owners led to a court dispute and the island was once again put up for
sale. In 1990, through the efforts of the provincial government and BC MarineParks Forever,
it was purchased and a new marine park was created. However, the land in Princess Cove remains
private.
While Wallace Island Marine Park is no longer a
remote destination, it can still only be reached by private vessel and has
several anchoring options – the most popular are Conover and Princess Coves. We didn’t anchor in Conover Cove because it’s
shallow and tight, so we don’t have any first-hand information to share other
than to say there’s a BC Park’s dock on the eastern shore with room for several
boats (36’ feet or less). The cost is CA$2
per metre from May 1 through September 30 (fees are not collected during the
off-season).
Princess Cove, to the north, is a quieter
option with more room and depth for visiting boats but, like Conover Cove, requires
care when entering to avoid the rocks and reefs that surround the
entrance. Once inside, you’ll find good
protection from wind with good holding in depths of approximately 7 metres (23
feet). Swinging room, however, is
limited and stern-tying is the norm, especially in the busy summer months. The land and docks along the eastern shore
are private, but there’s a dinghy dock along the west side of the cove for
shore access. Anchorages offering more privacy can also be found along the entire
stretch of the island in Houstoun Passage during settled conditions and off
Panther Point at the southern end in an unnamed bay.
The park has a good trail system that will
take you from one end of the island to the other through a low forest with
several small beaches and coves to explore along the way. The interior trails are well-maintained and
easy to walk with little gain in elevation so they’re suitable for children,
but the ones that follow the coastline feel like they were blazed by goats at
times. The onshore facilities are
limited but include walk-in campsites, picnic areas and pit toilets.
Note: This blog article is not to be used for navigation. It is solely an opinion based on our personal
experience in Princess Cove during settled weather conditions. Consult charts and cruising guides carefully
before entering and anchoring.
.JPG "The HMS Trincomalee berthed in Hartlepool.")
.jpg "Standing in front of the HMS Trincomalee with Derek (left) and David (right).")
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.JPG)
.jpg "The crew's mess hall aboard the HMS Trincomalee. Hammocks hung from the joists, turning the mess into the bunk hall at night.")
.jpg "The captain's quarters aboard the HMS Trincomalee.")
.JPG "Wallace Island Marine Provincial Park.")
.JPG "The boater's cabin at Wallace Island Marine Provincial Park in Conover Cove.")
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg "'Road' signs in Conover Cove, Wallace Island Provincial Marine Park, point visitors in the right direction.")
.JPG "Feral sheep grazing on Jedediah Island in the Strait of Georgia.")
.JPG)
.JPG "Feral sheep grazing on Jedediah Island in the Strait of Georgia.")
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG "The view out to the Strait of Georgia from Mount Gibraltar, Jedediah Island.")
.JPG "Feral goats lazing in the sun on Jedediah Island in the Strait of Georgia.")
