Protection Island is a small island located 1.5 km north-east of downtown Nanaimo, BC, Canada. There are no paved roads on the little island. Some residents move about the island in golf carts, others with cars, but most walk. Locals frequently transport their groceries from the community dock with their own wheelbarrows. Access to the island can be via private vessel or a small, privately run ferry. Some residents also commute by kayak or rowboat as well.
Marine History
Protection Island -Nanaimo
Newcastle Island -Nanaimo
Newcastle Island became a Provincial Marine Park in 1961, when the nearby City of Nanaimo granted it to the Province of British Columbia after having acquired the island from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1955. Situated in Nanaimo Harbour within sight of both Vancouver Island and the towering Coastal Mountains of the Lower Mainland, Newcastle Island possesses a rich natural and cultural history that makes it one of the most intriguing provincial parks in British Columbia.
Trial Island -Victoria
When British naval vessels were refitted at Esquimalt Harbour they were sailed to an island just off of Oak Bay and then sailed back, completing a trial run. Thus the island was eventually given the name Trial Island.
Trial Island can be found by lining yourself by using thefour tall radio antennas as a lead mark. To the north along the shoreline, stay clear of rocks and kelp beds at Templar Rock and Harling Point. Once clear of Harling Point, you have a choice of entering Enterprise Channel to the north east, or paddling to the south east to pass the right hand edge of Trial Island at Staines Point. The Enterprise Channel route is the more scenic of the routes, but the 3 knot current at full flood or ebb tide through the 100 metre wide channel can make for an interesting paddle. Several sandy beaches on the east side of Trial Island are good for landing. Other than the currents, rocks and kelp beds, you should keep an eye out for high speed whale watching boats that transit the area. The route through Enterprise Channel is 5 kilometres one way; approaching the Staines Point lighthouse directly is 3.5 kilometres.
More on Triple Island and its lighthouse at www.trailpeak.com/trail-Clover-Point-to-Trial-Island-near-Victoria-BC-671 or at www.fogwhistle.ca/bclights/
Holland Point -Victoria
Holland Point is a 13.80 acre City of Victoria park. Dallas Road is the park’s boundary on the north, Douglas Street on the east. The western boundary is between Lewis and Boyd Streets. All north-south city streets in this area end at Dallas Road. In the photo above of Holland Point Park, the path visible on the bottom left leads from Dallas Road to the cliff. There is no road built into the park and no parking area close to the sea, as is the case on Clover Point.
The information in this article is courtesy of the author Janis Ringuette and is excerpted, with permission, from her web site at http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org
Clover Point -Victoria
Victoria's most popular footpath travels through three public parks--Clover Point Park, Beacon Hill Park and Holland Point Park--as it follows the scenic shoreline of Juan de Fuca Strait.
The Central Segment of the Dallas Road waterfront park lands, from Douglas Street to Cook Street, is an integral part of Beacon Hill Park. The history of that segment was included in Beacon Hill Park History 1842-2004.
This article reprinted with permission of the author, Janis Ringuette from an excerpt of her web site http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org
Glimpse Reefs -Victoria
Glimpse Reefs lie in the Strait of Juan de Fuca very close to Victoria’s shoreline, unmarked by a buoy or other navigational aid. In the marine chart below, Glimpse Reefs can be seen east of Holland Point, and south of Government and Douglas Streets. The first photo, taken from Holland Point beach, shows Glimpse Reefs in the foreground with the Olympic Mountains of Washington State visible across the Strait to the south.
The information in this article is courtesy of the author Janis Ringuette and is excerpted, with permission, from her web site at http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org
Brotchie Ledge -Victoria
Brotchie Ledge is a submerged reef in the Strait of Juan de Fuca one-half mile south of the entrance to Victoria harbour. It remains underwater even at low tide and is a major hazard for ships approaching or leaving Victoria. Since 1843, a variety of markers have warned ships away from the dangerous rocks.
The information in this article is courtesy of the author Janis Ringuette and is excerpted with permission from her web site at http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org
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