Boating & Sailing
Sailboat (Canadian Tourism Commission photo)
Ladysmith is a pleasure cruising centre perfectly situated on the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island.
Salt Spring Island and the rest of the southern half of British Columbia's Gulf Islands archipelago – famous for its temperate sailing conditions, sheltered bays, protected green islands and welcoming ports of call – can be reached from Ladysmith within a few hours. Vancouver is a day's sail away and Ladysmith makes a good stop for boats heading north to the Inside Passage.
Ladysmith Marinas
Visiting boaters can moor overnight at Ladysmith Marina, Fisherman's Wharf and the town-run Ladysmith Maritime Society Community Marina (the first of the three marinas on the harbour's port side).
Facilities are being developed at the community marina (including washrooms and showers) to complement the 275m/900ft of visitor moorage space.
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Also located at the community marina is the Ladysmith Maritime Museum. Among the museum's exhibits is a painstakingly constructed diorama of the log-dumping operations once common in the harbour area. Next door is a boathouse holding such vintage craft as the Porlier Pass troller (a 1950s-era fishing boat) and the World War II workboat SS Sudbury.
Ladysmith Maritime Festival
The Ladysmith Maritime Festival, a family event, is held here on the last Saturday of May annually. The event marks the beginning of the spring/summer season of harbour tours aboard the 12-passenger wooden tugboat Saravan. Inexpensive two-hour outings aboard the Saravan are offered throughout the summer.
More Marinas
Given the world-class sailing in these waters, it's no wonder that both the Seattle Yacht Club and the Victoria-based Oak Bay Marine Group operate facilities in Ladysmith. The former runs the Ovens Island Outstation on Sibell Bay, a sheltered spot amongst the Dunsmuir Islands directly across the harbour from Transfer Beach Park. The latter, meanwhile, has built a collection of state-of-the-art boathouses at the Ladysmith Marina (formerly the Ivy Green Marina). A third marina, Page Point, is on the harbour's north side just past Woods Island and is affiliated with the Page Point Inn (site of the Jimmy O's restaurant, a favourite lunch spot for daytripping boaters).
Boat Launching
The best spot to access the water in Ladysmith is at the Rotary Boat launch adjacent to Fisherman's Wharf and a stone's throw short of the precise location of the 49th Parallel. Home to what remains of a commercial fishing fleet, the wharf offers moorage, public washrooms, showers and laundry facilities. No guarantees that fresh seafood will be available all days, but vacuum-sealed smoked wild salmon can typically be purchased here along with the occasional haul of prawns, halibut, scallops and sole.
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