Pacific Yachting Magazine
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Pacific Yachting has been serving the recreational boating community since 1968. Power or sail, Pacific Yachting helps you get more from your time on the water with high-quality and up-to-date content on a variety of topics. Read the latest information on cruising destinations, news issues, local attractions, upcoming events, do-it-yourself projects, fishing spots, and more.
Pacific Yachting Magazine
20h ago
“Can we anchor just off here?” I call back to the skipper from my location at Aquila’s bow. I love dropping the hook within view of that gorgeous white shell beach at Russell Island’s western end.
“Where else?” smiles the helmsman. “OK let her go. You’re in five fathoms.” Located at the entrance to Fulford Harbour on the southeast side of Salt Spring Island, this tiny island has been called a slice of Hawaii, partially for this tropical-looking white shell beach but primarily for its history of Kanaka occupation. (Kanaka means “human being” in the Hawaiian language.)   ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
20h ago
Marine surveyor Kelly Thody inspecting a boat’s propellor during a haulout.
My husband and I have been living on sailboats for a couple of years now. In the past two years, we have purchased two different sailboats that were very different from one another in many ways. The first boat was a very well made, production-built, 1982 Ontario 32. The second was a custom-built 45-foot cutter rigged sloop—and quite a different bag of beans. Prior to purchasing both boats, we hired a surveyor to check them over for any obvious issues that might be deal breakers. With the first, we felt satisfied with ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
2w ago
It was a beautiful late summer day in the San Juans when my wife-and-first-mate Peggy and I noticed that tiny “Eagle Cove” was open and beckoning us. This is our name for a small, one-boat anchorage between Eagle Point and Rolfe Cove on Matia Island, and seeing it open is a rare and welcome sight. Light northwesterly breezes were coming in directly from our anchorage at Sucia Island, but with little fetch between us and Matia Island, calm seas prevailed.
We pulled up anchor at Sucia in glassy-calm water and set a short course for Matia, just 1.6 miles away. This is a very tight anchorage, an ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
2w ago
One of the great pleasures of boating happens at the end of the day, sitting on the deck with a cold beverage in hand, discussing the day’s adventures and the area’s history while witnessing a beautiful sunset. That was just the situation as Easy Goin’ sat anchored in James Bay, Prevost Island after having enjoyed a day exploring this section of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve.
The approach into the bay is straightforward, except for a rocky reef that runs northwest off the southern shore. Although it is exposed to the northwest winds travelling down Trincomali Channel, the anchorage ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
1M ago
As Easy Goin’ swings on anchor, we are on deck enjoying the warm summer sun. Our imaginations are running wild speculating how Pirates Cove got its name. Located on DeCourcy Island and only accessible by boat, Pirates Cove is one of the most popular provincial marine parks in British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. Its name stimulates the imagination. One of the attractions to the park is a wooden treasure chest next to the park sign at the entrance to the cove. Somehow the treasure chest is always overflowing with toys, books and other treasures. The contents are free and are for the taking. A voy ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
1M ago
Entering the North Pacific Cannery National Historic Site—a collection of wooden, tin-roofed buildings spread along the tidal bank of the Skeena River and connected by a series of boardwalks—is like stepping into a time machine. Although salmon canning at this site, just south of the village of Port Edward and about 16 miles south of Prince Rupert, ended years ago, history lives on.
The cannery is one of the oldest in the province and was a key part of the early development of Prince Rupert, today the third largest port in Canada and bustling with boats. Salmon are a vital resource in Britis ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
1M ago
As a valuable member of the crew on Chinook Sunset I have been fortunate to experience some of the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest from the cockpit of our Lagoon 400. But occasionally there is a moment in time that becomes a special cherished memory exceeding any expectations that one could imagine. During one of our recent meanderings through Desolation Sound in June of 2020, I experienced such a moment. We had decided to anchor overnight at a tiny cove around East Redonda Island. The cove is just off Pendrell Sound and has been referenced as Lagoon Cove on some maps or Oyster Cove on ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
2M ago
About a year ago I was standing on the rocky bluff above Victoria Golf Course looking out at Trial Island, Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic Mountains. It is a scene that always grabs me, slowing me down long enough to appreciate this lovely corner of the world we call home.
On this occasion it went a bit further. Running through the panorama, I watched a steady procession of boats and ships passing by: motor and sail yachts, cruise ships, tankers and freighters, whale watching and fish boats, military ships and patrol vessels. No matter the type, size or speed of the boat, it occurred to me ..read more
Pacific Yachting Magazine
2M ago
As so often happens, someone will contact Pacific Yachting Magazine with a story idea. Musician, teacher and sailing enthusiast Andy Redhead alerted us to the Four Winds, one of the oldest wooden vessels on the B.C. coast.
theFourWinds
Andy’s friend Bruce Bott owned Four Winds for fifty years. Bott, a mariner, boatwright, nautical researcher, artist, author and environmentalist, used the sailboat extensively to learn about whales in their natural habitat. In fact, Bott was one of the first mariners to discover orcas in Robson Bight and communicate with them using modern sonic equipment and an ..read more