Provisions/Fuel - Preliminary notes

   Gibsons: (from Waggoner) A store on the main street carries an excelent produce selection, but is not a supermarket. Will need a ride to the nearest supermarket (Super Valu). Gibsons Marina has showers and laundromat. Gibsons Landing Harbour Authority nearby, but has limited guest moorage. Fuel at Hyak Marine fuel dock.  map, p. 186 Waggoner

   Secret Cove. Full service marina with liquor agency, restaurant, store with groceries, block and cube ice, fishing licenses and tackle. Reservations requested. See ad p. 190

    Pender Harbour Public Warf. According to Waggoner, if you want to reprovision, this is where you'll do it. Docks close to two grocery stores.

   Squirrel Cove. Squirrel Cove General Store is a good provisioning stop. Groceries, charts, books, liquor and post office. The public wharf has garbage drop (charge assessed). Squirrel Cove General Store now has an ATM. Most debit and credit cards are accepted for a small fee.

   Gorge Harbour Marina Resort. Laundry, no-time-limit showers, well-stocked convenience store and complete, well-stocked liquor agency.

   Heriot Bay. Public dock, supermarket, garbage disposal. Quadra Island Market is the best-stocked grocery store in Desolation Sound.

   Campbell River. Complete facilities.

   Refuge Cove General Store. Guest moorage available along 2000 feet of dock space. Laundry available. Most popular resupply port in the heart of Desolation Sound. Garbage barge. Ad on p. 224. Crowded. Early morning and late afternoon access to dock recommended.

Pumpout Stations and No Discharge Zones in B.C.

     About pumpouts. Holding tank pumpout stations are becoming more common in British Columbia, but all boats with holding tanks should be equipped to pump overboard as well. Most of the B.C. saltwater areas do not have cities or large towns, which means they have no sewage treatment facilities and no pumpouts.

     No Discharge Zones. Nine saltwater bays, harbors and areas with poor water circulation in British Columbia have been designated No Discharge Zones for solid waste (sew-age, also called black water). Approved holding tanks are required in these areas. Macerator treatment systems, even if approved in the U.S., do not qualify. It is legal to pump holding tanks overboard in B.C., but not in No Discharge Zones. Once in deep, cold water, the relatively minute amount of waste from a boat, or even a fleet of boats, is insignificant. "Gray water" is not included in the no-discharge regulations. It's okay to take a shower and wash dishes.

     These are the No Discharge Zones:

Carrington Bay

Pilot Bay

Cortes Bay

Prideaux Haven

Mansons Landing

Roscoe Bay & Gorge Harbour

Smuggler Cove

Montague Harbour

Squirrel Cove