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The Mayne Event
by Lynn Ove Mortensen
British Columbia's Mayne Island is a delightful and historic getaway
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Nestled in a quiet corner of British Columbia's Gulf Islands chain, 8 square mile Mayne Island helps to buffer the whimsical moods of the Strait of Georgia from the more protected inner islands and waterways.
Back in the late 1850s, Gold Rush hopefuls swarmed Victoria seeking supplies, then jumped aboard almost anything that would float, heading for the mainland and the route to riches. The big bay on Mayne Island's northwest shore -- at the south side of Active Pass (then called Plumper Pass) -- became a popular stopover for the rowdy rowboating hordes.
There, at Miners Bay, enterprising businessmen built the Grandview Hotel and the Mayne Island Inn, housing a couple of saloons that earned the island a colorful nickname: "Little Hell."
But the island settlement prospered, outlasting the veins of ore. After the miners left, hard-working, adventurous emigrants, many from Great Britain, arrived to gentrify Mayne Island. They turned the island's rock-bound evergreen forest into farmland, creating rolling pastures reminiscent of their homeland.
At the heart of this lively and unusual community, Miners Bay offered lodging, a store, a wharf large enough to accommodate small steamers and, most important, a post office. The wild attractions of "Little Hell" disappeared, as residents began seeking their fun in regattas, cricket matches and all-night dances.
Today, boats putting into Mayne's harbors will find the mellow brand of life there much unchanged. Over many parts of the island, dense forest and high rock ridges enclose rolling pasture land. Sawtoothed split-rail "snake" fences corral the herds of sheep that still graze on the island.
But it is not only historical interest that brings contemporary boaters to Mayne. Visitors respond to the relaxed atmosphere, the good beaches, the ample opportunity for hiking and biking and the wealth of culinary offerings that is unusual in so small a community.
Getting There
To explore Mayne, you'll need Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) Chart #3442. CHS #3473 also provides excellent detail for negotiating Active Pass, while CHS #3477 covers Mayne's east side, including Horton Bay and approaches.
The newly rebuilt Miners Bay government wharf offers boaters both gasoline and diesel fuel. The floats have room for only a few small boats, although the settlement continues to be Mayne's "downtown."
Boaters will find a full range of supplies -- including groceries and video rentals -- available at the Miners Bay Trading Post.
Moorage in Miners Bay is a bit dicey, owing to depths, currents from the pass and continual wash from marine traffic, but it is the best jump-off point for exploring the northwest side of the island.
Pleasureboaters might want to wait to enter Miners Bay or negotiate Active Pass at slack tide, since maximum currents can run up to eight knots. While the westbound ebbs are relatively innocuous, strong floods, especially against a north wind, can produce violent rips south of Mary Anne Point on Galiano Island -- from midchannel to Laura Point on Mayne.
During fishing season, hot spots at either entrance to the pass may be crammed with sportfishing craft. This congestion is exaggerated when huge ferries and other commercial vessels cruise through.
Mayne's best anchorage is on the island's east side. Peaceful Horton Bay makes a good hideaway spot in all weather, and the safest entrance is south of Curlew Island.
Currents can run up to five knots, so an approach near slack is recommended. A government wharf in Horton Bay has room for several boats, although there are no facilities available other than a dumpster and a telephone.
Just to the north, Bennett Bay is open to southeast winds. But its lovely sand and gravel beaches make it an ideal spot to anchor during northerlies or settled weather.
Campbell Bay, northwest of Bennett Bay, has a fine swimming beach and sandstone caves for exploring. It is best approached by dinghy, since it is totally open to southeast winds.
Other popular spots on the island include Village Bay, an old Indian village site; and Dinner Bay. Both are open to Trincomali Channel and suffer disruption from ferry wash.
Dinner Bay, which has a lovely beach and fine exposure to the setting sun, might be risked in settled weather as a prime spot for a "dinner hook." Manicured lawns, picnic tables and a barbecue shelter are in the community park, at its head.
When traveling between Village Bay and Dinner Bay or approaching Active Pass from the south, beware of Enterprise Reef, a popular scuba dive site, which extends into Trincomali Channel in a line with Crane Point. Do not pass between buoy U51 and the fixed light tower on a drying rock, which flashes red and white. Boaters can safely cruise between U51 and Crane Point.
A Variety of Attractions
At the head of the dock in Miners Bay, the original Grandview Hotel -- long-ago renamed Springwater Lodge -- holds the record for being the longest continuously operated hotel in British Columbia. At the water's edge, the old landmark has a fine view of the bay and pass.
Besides the Springwater, visitors will find a deli, the Mayne Mast Pub, a natural food store and a new mall that houses the local post office.
A short walk directly up from the wharf, the islands' original "gaol" (jail), built in 1894, now serves as a local museum. Called the Plumper Pass Lockup, it contained so few prisoners over the years that one constable was able to reside in the tiny building -- when he wasn't out rowing from island to island, keeping peace and searching for wool smugglers.
It's a couple of miles' walk or bike ride on Georgina Point Road to the Georgina Point Lighthouse, the first light erected in the Gulf Islands. The landscaped grounds of the lighthouse, open daily from 1 to 3 p.m., present a fine view above the entrance to the pass.
The same pleasant route rims the bay and passes St. Mary Magdalene Church, erected in 1897. Visitors might want to check out the unusual baptismal font, a natural sandstone bowl transported in 1900 from Saturna's East Point.
A long dock is available in front of the Mayne Inn, an establishment that dates back to 1911, originally built to house workers at a local brick factory. Today, the renovated inn is an attractive eatery and nightspot.
Food and Fun
Mayne offers a surprising number of restaurant options, no matter where one moors.
For snacks, light meals or take-out, the local deli, just up the hill from Miners Bay Trading Post, serves up tasty well-prepared treats, innovative lasagna and steaming pirogis, as well as meats, cheeses and sweets.
Award-winning cuisine is served daily at the Oceanwood Country Inn, 630 Dinner Bay Road; (604) 539-5074. And perhaps the most unusual spot, Fernhill Lodge, serves daily dinners by reservation; (604) 539-2544.
The offerings served at this retreat, nestled amid a hilltop herb garden, reflect careful attention to fine flavor, and the owners' intense interest in historical cuisine results in memorable meals. Where else could a tired boater come ashore and find "A Dinner in Honour of Captain Vancouver" or an elaborate medieval repast?
Other island culinary opportunities vary from the homestyle cooking at Perry's Place, near mid-island on Fernhill; the "three squares" at the Springwater or the Mayne Inn -- and breakfast, lunch and dinner in the relaxed atmosphere of the Mayne Mast pub.
Once ashore at Mayne Island, it's no wonder that many boaters lose the urge to cruise farther north. Despite its early boomtown reputation, the relaxing environment of today's Mayne just may be the best kept secret in the Gulf Islands.
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This article first appeared in the August 1, 1995 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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