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Brent Swain · 10-02-2011, 17:00

Boats over 30 feet are no longer welcome at Newcastle Island Park in Nananimo harbour. The anchorage has been completely filled with mooring buoys at $12 a night , with "Boats over 30 feet not allowed " written on each, just the kind of cruisers who will be willing to spend $12 a night for what their anchors can provide for free, and far more quietly. Also written on each is "Not to be used in winds over 30 knots or over 55MPH". Guess which people will choose? If the winds come up overnight, you will be required to move in the night , or to another harbour, if the rest of the anchorage is full.
There was a sign on the Newcastle dock saying" Boats over 9 meters prohibited" The have painted over the 9 meters part, but that could change any time.
So, now if you visit Nanaimo , and the anchorage is full, you can tie loosely to the hard plastic buoys, and listen to them pound your hull overnight , or tie tightly to them, and listen to the chain rasping up and down in them all night, and pay $12 a night for the sleep loss.
Anchoring is no longer allowed in Newcastle Island park, and there is no room left to do so anyway.
As charges only apply after 6PM , expect a huge rush of boats, abandoning the buoys at 6 pm sharp, to fill an already overcrowded anchorage, and the resulting collisions in the night.
Also written on each buoy is " Sponsered by the BC Yacht Brokers Association "
Perhaps we should all call them up and ask if they plan to sponser the screwing up of more BC anchorages.
Boaters are only allowed to tie their dinghies at the down town dock one day a week. One live aboard, who had to go to dialisis three times a week, was told he was only allowed to tie his dinghy in town one day a week.
Does this sound like the kind of people you want to give your cruising funds to, or what you want to encourage?

highseas · 11-02-2011, 05:23

I have heard of hairbrained schemes enacted by our government before,but this really tops it.Time to cross Nanaimo off my travel plans.It was a convenient place to resupply and nice place to visit(since I was a young boy),I find this very sad news.

trevordean · 11-02-2011, 10:35

To bad. That was a part of summer plans

**Lancerbye** · 11-02-2011, 13:24

I am just a bit south in Ladysmith and am seeing a migration of Nanaimo boats here for many good reasons such as this. There is a good anchorage spot here and friendly services. Nanaimo is shooting themselves in the foot. I guess the other smaller communities will reap the benefits.

**hummingway** · 11-02-2011, 13:41

Bouys at most parks include a fee that is in line with that and a warning that the bouys are unsafe in a gale seems reasonable.

It's unfortunate that they limit how often dinghies can tie up but that doesn't seem uncommon to me either. If the same people are tying up all day, everyday, then visitors can't use it anyway and that potential is certainly there.

Capt Phil · 12-02-2011, 14:12

I hope the charter fleet out of Seattle and Bellingham are aware of these new rules in Nanaimo, BC. It used to be a popular stopping off anchorage on the way to Desolation Sound. Fortunately, there are plenty of other stopovers just as enjoyable and great for provisioning and fuel other than Nanaimo. I wonder if the rule makers in N-town have ever been to other similarly situated anchorages on the west coast? Like Catalina, Mission Bay, etc? From the sounds of Brent's description, those businesses in town that are marine oriented are going to be negatively effected by these new regulations. As a former cruiser of those waters, I find it deplorable and short sighted of the regulators.

Brent Swain · 14-02-2011, 15:37

I've been told that the Blue Water Cruising Association has crossed Nanaimo off it's list of places for rendezvouses, due to harassment of it's members by the Port Authority there.
When a dinghy moors between permanently moored boats at a dock , the space is useless for any one else in bigger boats ,and couldn't be rented anyway. It's no skin off anyone's ass. There is no excuse for limiting access via dinghy.
It' simply harassment for harassment's sake.
Ladysmith is a great place to stock up , before heading north, via Silva Bay. They now have a shuttle bus to take you up the hill to the swimming pool . The fare? Whatever you feel like donating.

capnorv · 14-02-2011, 16:11

I was never impressed with Nanaimo anyway, guess now I know why. Even before this I was debating about going up the east side of Rosario this year. This pretty much seals it. Depending on the currents of the day.

jrd22 · 14-02-2011, 20:53

Brent- are you saying that there is NO anchoring allowed in the huge anchoring field near Newcastle Is. Park? Must be a LOT of mooring buoys if that's the case. I've emailed the park for confirmation.

Brent Swain · 15-02-2011, 13:20

There sare so many mooring bouys, there is little room for anchoring, at low tide. There are a lot of mooring buoys, including south of the park dock. They have filled almost all available park space.
Those who anchor outside the park can expect a huge influx of boats around them at 6pm, when the fees kick in, and peolpe abandon the park buoys en mass, to avoid the fees and the all night noise of the buoys. They can expect a lot of bumps in the night from boats anchored to close.

**hummingway** · 15-02-2011, 13:43

Do you know a lot of people that tie to bouys during the day and anchor at night? A strange conjecture that seems to have more to do with your mission to drive people away from Nanaimo then peoples anchoring habits. I suspect the reason they have so many bouys is because they are in demand. As you say, it is a very popular anchorage.

Reporter3 · 16-02-2011, 15:29

My name is Rachel Stern and I am a reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin. I am interested in talking to Nanaimo boaters about how these changes are effecting them and the boating community as a whole.
My understanding is there are a number of issues with the buoys and many boaters are unhappy with the changes.
Please give me a call at 250-734-4624 or e-mail me at reporter3 (@) nanaimobulletin (dot) com

bwindrope · 16-02-2011, 21:56

I'm a US sailor who spends a lot of time in BC and has historically used Nanaimo precisely as mentioned here. I think Newcastle is a great island and my two young sons have loved playing on the lawn after a fun day of sailing. I've anchored in that harbor numerous times, but have not been back since last summer.

From what I can discern here, it sounds like A. No anchor space anymore and B. No boats over 30 feet. As for no anchoring, I sympathize with concerns about eel grass and bottom conditions, but I hazard that Nanaimo harbor health has far worse problems than anchors stirring up the mud. As for boats over 30 feet, you must be kidding.

I mean that literally. You must be kidding.

Most boats I have ever seen there are over 30 feet. Mine is a Gulf 32 by local man Garden himself. If they can't anchor the buoys well enough to handle a boat over 30 feet, they are lame. I cannot imagine a rationale for this.

Long and short, if this is true, then my days of shopping and playing in Nanaimo are over. I have gone outside several times too and will just stay wild rather than come in. What a shame though.

**Bash** · 16-02-2011, 22:26

No boats over 30'? Good effing grief! Was that rule written by a risk management professional? Obviously not written by anyone knowledgeable about boating.