Silva Bay two night Anchor & Hiking Gabriola Island

People & history

• Silva Bay was once Gabriola's biggest industry — a shipyard that built navy patrol boats — Self-taught boatbuilder Les Withey arrived in 1945 and built his first marine ways with, as he put it, a boxful of tools and his fish-packer stake; by the 1950s–60s the Silva Bay Shipyard was the island's largest employer, launching fishing boats, yachts and even three 75-foot Royal Canadian Navy patrol boats (1955). The site later housed the Silva Bay Shipyard School (1999–2009), Canada's only accredited wooden-boat-building school, and a historic plaque now marks the yard. Museum-researched history drawn from the Withey family's own diaries and BC Archives records.source →
• Silva Bay: a meeting ground of the Snuneymuxw since time immemorial — Gabriola sits in Snuneymuxw First Nation traditional territory; thousands of people lived in coastal villages here over the centuries, the largest near False Narrows on the southwest shore — just around the corner from Silva Bay. Petroglyph rock carvings believed to be thousands of years old are found across the island. Respect protocol: view from the water or trail, don't touch or disturb carvings or village sites.source →

Land & views

• Malaspina Galleries — a 100-metre frozen wave the Spanish sketched in 1792 — This sandstone overhang on Gabriola's northwest shore runs roughly 100 metres and curls about 4 metres high like a barreling wave — carved not mainly by waves but by salt weathering of the soft 90–65-million-year-old Nanaimo Group sandstone. It was drawn by Malaspina's Spanish expedition artists in 1792, making it one of the earliest European-documented natural landmarks on this coast. Best walked under at low tide; the rock is soft and still eroding, so view beneath rather than climb on top.source →

Good to know

• Gabriola Passage is an official CHS reference current station — treat it accordingly — The pass at Silva Bay's back door is important enough that the Canadian Hydrographic Service lists it as its own current-prediction station (07545, Tide and Current Tables Vol. 5), alongside heavyweights like Active Pass and Sechelt Rapids; published tables set flood direction 080° True and ebb 260° True. CHS notes the printed Canadian Tide and Current Tables remain the authoritative source over online figures. Final judgment rests with the captain on the water.source →

Final judgment rests with the captain on the water.

Nearby services

• Silva Bay Marina today: paddle rentals yes, resort no — a midden stopped the bulldozers — Current state ashore, per the marina's own site: limited transient moorage (phone booking), kayak and paddleboard rentals, boat launch, washrooms, visitor parking and a food-truck area — but the planned resort and restaurant are on hold. Construction that began in spring 2022 was halted when a shell midden was uncovered, and the archaeological permit process plus costs stalled the whole development. So the bay's ancient Snuneymuxw history is literally what's shaping its shoreside services in 2026.source →

Getting there

• Crew can join or leave at Silva Bay by floatplane — the seaplane base is inside the marina — Gulf Island Seaplanes operates from a float right at Silva Bay Marina (shown on the marina's own site map beside the docks and visitors' parking), which makes this anchorage a practical crew-change point: guests without a boat can fly in and step almost directly onto the docks. Note the marina flags float-plane activity within the bay, so arriving dinghies should expect aircraft movements near the south end. Booking and current schedules are via the operator; the marina office (250-247-8662) coordinates moorage.source →

Things to do

• Drumbeg Park — watch an 8-knot tide race from a Garry oak meadow — A dinghy-hop south of the anchorage, this 1971 provincial park has ~2 km of easy trails through shoreline sandstone, open meadows and endangered Garry oak ecosystem — one of BC's rarest habitats — with front-row views of the current ripping through Gabriola Passage. It's also a recognized shore-dive spot, and BC Parks warns swimmers about riptides off the beach. Land access is via the 20-minute BC Ferries run from Nanaimo; by boat, BC Parks notes only very limited anchorage in the busy passage.source →