After departing Brentwood
Bay, we paid a visit to Goldstream Boathouse at the end of Finlayson Arm in
Saanich Inlet.
We had an enjoyable visit
with Alida Seymonsbergen of Dutch descent and owner of the marina.
She was happy to share their plans for future
marina improvements.
She also had some
interesting bear stories to share, including a big black bear that wondered around
their boatyard earlier that day.
After a
pleasant visit we headed back north, rounding Saanich peninsula and anchored
for the night in Roberts Bay just north of Sidney.
Roberts Bay offers good holding in a flat mud
bottom.
The only drawback are a few
large wakes from passing boats that make their way into the anchorage, but the
bay becomes settled in the evening as boat traffic subsides.
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| Anchorage, Buoys, and Sandy Beaches along Sidney Spit |
The following morning we made a stop at
Sidney Spit to check on the park buoys, buoy regulations, and water
depths.
We found the area to be quite
shallow with extensive eel grass; however, there is still suitable anchorage
and buoys appropriate for moderate size boats; smaller boats and dinghies can make
use of the park dock.
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| Attractive Gonzales Lighthouse |
From Sidney Spit
we continued south down Haro Strait in calm seas.
Passing the attractive Gonzales Lighthouse,
we rounded the point and soon entered Victoria Harbour, active with
pleasure craft, commercial vessels, little water taxis and seaplanes.
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| Entering Victoria Harbour |
Since seaplanes land and take-off in the
narrow entrance to the harbour, boats must follow a marked lane along the shore,
keeping a row of yellow spar buoys (like the yellow line down the center of a road) to
port when entering and departing the harbour.
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| Yellow Spar Buoys mark the boat lane into Victoria Harbour |
Moorage space was available in front of the Empress
Hotel and Parliament Building within easy walking distance of other downtown
attractions.
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| China Town district in Victoria |
Mixing pleasure with work,
we toured Olde Town, China Town, and enjoyed dinners out in the vibrant city of
Victoria.
While looking for the Thrifty
Foods grocery a few blocks south on Menzies Street, we found a nice lunch venue
nearby.
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| The Bent Mast Cafe |
‘The Bent Mast’ café, serving
light tasty dishes, is in one of many historic homes found throughout Victoria.
Construction on the house began in 1884, one
year before the ‘last spike’ of the Trans Canada Railroad was driven in.
The house is located in the James Bay
district, but was then called the Beckley Farm area, land that was used
by the Hudson’s Bay Company to grow vegetables.
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| The old Hudson's Bay Company Building |
The old Hudson’s Bay Company building still stands at the corner of Menzies
and Simcoe Street adjacent to ‘The Bent Mast’ café.
Rumor has it that the house (café) was a brothel in
later years, what with it being relatively close to the docks.
Drugs were also a problem of the time, the
Port of Victoria became one of North America’s largest importers of opium from
Hong Kong.
The opium trade was legal and
unregulated until 1865 and not banned until 1908.
The Hudson’s Bay Company was established by British
agent James Douglas and his entourage who arrived in 1842 to set up a trading post.
It was feared that Fort Vancouver would fall
into American hands due to the Oregon territory boundary dispute.
 |
| Olde Town District in Victoria |
Fort Victoria was built in 1843 in the area
known today as Olde Town in the heart of Victoria’s downtown. Miners later made
their way to the region in the late 1800’s when gold was discovered.
Victoria was a convenient seaport and major
outfitting center for the mainland goldfields.
Through the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Victoria became the busiest
seaport north of San Francisco.
Vancouver
Island joined British Columbia and together became the sixth province of the
Dominion of Canada in 1871, with Victoria named as the capital.
 |
| The beautiful Parliament Building |
The beautiful Parliament Building was
constructed between 1893 and 1897 and the impressive Empress Hotel was
constructed in 1908 by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Other grand buildings include Craigdarroch
Castle built by Robert Dunsmuir, owner of coal mines and a railway on Vancouver
Island; his son James Dunsmuir built his own grand residence at Hatley Park in
present day Colwood in Esquimalt Harbour.
And then there’s the cute Emily Carr House & Garden on Government
Street.
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| The Impressive Fairmont Empress Hotel, Victoria |
With much to see and do within
greater Victoria, it’s hard not to have a great time.
With the winds picking up and more Waggoner work to
be done, we decided to stay another night at the Victoria Harbour Authority Docks, a
good excuse to have ‘Tea at the Empress.’
Having started our position as managing editors late in the 2016 season,
this summer was our first opportunity to fully explore and gather updates for
the next edition of the Waggoner Guide.
Like many followers and readers of the Guide, it’s always surprising how
much can change from year to year. We
are happy to report that we have gathered numerous updates, including
changes for chartlets.
Work begins in
August on finishing the last chapters of the Waggoner Guide and then we are off
boating again to collect updates for the front chapters, including San Juan
Islands, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Hood Canal and Puget Sound (watch for more
blog posts to come). Then back to the
office to work on edits once again and prepare a print-ready version in time
for the Seattle Boat Show and marine shops and book stores followed by seminars
and classes. Soon spring has arrived and
it starts all over again, like a wheel that goes round and round. It’s a labor of love by the Waggoner Team to
create a substantial contribution for the boating public. We appreciate all the kind words and love
shown for the Waggoner Guide, we constantly hear encouraging words from boaters
who tell us the guide is an invaluable resource of information and convenient
planning tool.
