by Warren Bailey A proposal has been submitted by Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation (QXMC) for the placement of a private marina in Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island, within Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park. The proposed development would encompass nearly all of the navigable waters of Squirrel Cove, and would make continuing free anchorage within the cove impossible. Keep in mind that the waters and shoreline of these bays and coves are still public property—that is, you have as much right to use it as any other resident or entity. QXMC’s proposal would give them exclusive rights to the waters and shoreline of Squirrel Cove, effectively making it private property.
The proposal from QXMC has exaggerated greatly the number of boats that use the cove for anchorage, stating that at times as many as 200 recreational vessels are anchored within the cove, creating unsafe conditions for the anchored vessels. QXMC proposes to solve this fabricated problem by filling the cove with pay-to-use mooring buoys. Rarely, if ever, are there more than 70 or 80 boats at anchor—a number that can safely be accommodated without any changes. Straw polls of Squirrel Cove boaters almost without exception see no need or desire for a marina or resort within the cove.
My wife Sandy and I have cruised extensively along the coastline of BC in our 24-foot powerboat. In that boat, we’ve made the cruise from French Creek on Vancouver Island to Southeast Alaska and back four out of the last six years (greater than 2,700 miles each round trip, done over a three-week period).
The greatest joy and most vivid memories of our cruises are of the awesome natural beauty of our coast. Few experiences compare with anchoring in an undeveloped cove or bay, and basking in the solitude. In the truest sense these quiet bays, inlets and coves are “God’s Country.”
Approval of QXMC’s proposal has neared completion with little public knowledge or input. Due process is being circumvented, or at least is being given short shrift in the name of expediency. (Does this sound familiar? Remember HST?) QXMC has been a major contributor to several BC political candidates.
My interest in what happens in Squirrel Cove is that as public waters get picked off one-by-one by private enterprise, we’ll eventually lose our unspoiled coastline. For sure, some carefully planned development is necessary and desirable. But a marina in Squirrel Cove has not been, and cannot be, justified.
If the stewards of our coast are looking for a project that will help protect the beauty, and will protect the health of its visitors, they should begin by establishing and servicing a network of pump-out stations that are convenient and available to all boaters traversing BC waters.
Warren Bailey is a resident of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island.
