Nature and history await you aboard the Misty Isles exploring local waters during the Cortes Island Museum’s sailing season.
Explore Desolation Sound, circumnavigate Maurelle Island, and to discover the channels in the area frequented by humpback whales aboard the schooner-rigged Misty Isles during July, August and September.
Much of Desolation Sound is designated as a Marine Park and is abundant with wildlife and home to spectacular mountains, fjords and islands. It is also the focal point for some of the area’s most fascinating maritime history. Stories abound on some of the anchorages used by British and Spanish explorers in the 1700’s. Desolation Sound cruises are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 2 and Saturday, Sept. 14 this season.
Maurelle Island hugs neighbouring Read, Quadra and Sonora Islands so closely that 18th century explorers mistook them for one larger island. The result is tight passages through which the tide squeezes at a boil. This year, July 19 is one of just a handful of dates when it is possible for Misty Isles to circumnavigate Maurelle Island during slack water. At most other times of the day, the tides thunder through at 10 knots forming rapids. Don’t miss this date.
With the recent comeback of humpback whales, chances of seeing them off the west coast of Cortes Island are very good. Join the Sails & Whales cruise on Sunday, July 21 and explore the waters just west of the community of Whaletown where, in the late 1800’s, the Dawson Whaling Company was certainly not invested in merely sightseeing the whales.
Misty Isles Adventure’s skipper, Jonas Fineman, and partner Amy Bockner, recently purchased the business from Mike and Samantha Moore, who have partnered with the Cortes Island Museum since 2002, offering various cruises in proximity to Cortes Island. Fineman and Bockner share a common passion and curiousity for the natural world. Fineman worked for Bluewater Adventures for seven years, skippering several vessels with eco-tours to Haida Gwaii, the central B.C. coast, the Gulf Islands and Alaska. Bockner is a third generation Cortes Islander whose grandparents, Otto and Mary Weiler, ran the Whaletown post office in the 1950s and 60s.
Fineman and Bockner recently relocated to Whaletown, Bockner’s childhood roots, with their two children. As the new owners of Misty Isles Adventures, they look forward to providing high quality and thought provoking experiences for people who want to celebrate this beautiful part of the world.