Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 4 at Silva Bay on Gabriola Island

We left this morning at 9:00 to head out for Silva Bay Resort and Marina on Gabriola Island. The www.gabriolamuseum.org website gives a short summary of the history of the local shipyard. "In 1945, Les Withey moved from Vancouver to Silva Bay where he partnered with fisherman Norm Sear to establish the first shipyard at Silva Bay, from 1945-1949. In 1950 Les took over ownership and incorporated Withey’s Shipyard Limited. Power yachts, naval personnel boats and pleasure boats were some of the watercraft built at Withey’s Shipyard. The business also included maintenance and repair work. The shipyard employed about thirty people in the mid-1950’s. Les and his wife Marg expanded the business to include a coffee shop, eventually Withey’s Restaurant, as well as Silva Bay Marina in the 1960’s. The marina was sold in 1968 to Silva Bay Resorts Ltd., and the shipyard was sold to a couple from Maple Bay in 1974. Les Withey died in 1987, and his wife Marg in 1992.

[The complete history of Withey’s Shipyard is available in SHALE : the Journal of the Gabriola Historical & Museum Society, Issue 22, January 2010]  The shipyard is still there and gets most of its work from the many boats that cut the corners and ignore the buoys that guide captains into the harbor. 

I managed to catch some really nice pictures of everyone's boats with beautiful scenery in the background. The last pictures shows the entrance to Silva Bay.

 

 

There are strong currents in this area and some very large underwater rocks to be aware of. We left early in order to hit slack tide. The rocks are well marked but many a captain has tried to cut the corner and found themselves caught up on the rocks. As long as you keep to the right of the bouys, you won't have a problem. These pictures show the rocks that are often underwater and also the entrance to Silva Bay. A captain needs to be quite diligent during approach.

Once we got tied up and settled, Bob and Sue took their kayaks out for awhile. They said it was a wonderful place to row and even found a little raccoon washing itself on the beach. You can see the raccoon just to the left of Sue.



After another afternoon of relaxing, we gathered on the dock for appetizers that turned into a full dinner. We spent the evening visiting, laughing, and sharing our lives with each other.