“Page M22 May 16,1990. This Week

TOP STORY

ISLANDS IN THE SUN |

Continued from Page 20
shore of D’Arcy Island.
The best. way to find good campsites on
D’Arcy is simply to circumnavigate it, a total
of two miles. One of the nicest, and largest,
beaches is on the east side, facing Little
D’Arcy Island, which is privately owned.
Above the beach on D’Arcy is a grass-covered
campsite with room for three or four tents.
Take your own fresh water.
The forest on the island is

virtually impenetrable with
no trails. Most beaches are
rocky with lots of driftwood
logs piled against the edge of
the forest. Beachcombers who
walk the perimeter of the
island at low tides often see
small brownish raccoons for-
aging along the shores.
Fishing around the reefs off
the south end of the island,
and between D’Arcy and Lit-
tle D’Arcy, can be good for cod. Snorkelling is
good here too. D’Arcy has a rather sordid past
as a leper colony. From 1892 until 1924 lepers
were marooned on the island and given
supplies every three months. Many tried to
escape on makeshift rafts and boats, but few

survived. There were plans to run it as a
prison, but instead it was taken over by the
provincial government in 1958 and estab-
lished as a marine park in 1967.

The marine park best known to Victorians
is Discovery Island, off the shores of Oak Bay
where Haro and Juan de Fuca straits meet.
During winter it is frequently battered by
south winds funnelling up Juan de Fuca:
much of the vegetation at the
south end of the island stands
as mute testimony of the
fierceness of the storms. The
branches of stunted ever-
greens cringe away from the
sea, appearing even on a still
day as though they're stand-
ing in a howling gale. Logs
and flotsam are piled high up
the shore and occasionally
hikers find driftwood in fields
far above the high-tide line.

From Oak Bay’s Cattle
Point, where there are two large boat ramps,
Discovery Island lies two nautical miles due
east. This is treacherous water, with strong
tides and frequent winds, and should not be
done by inexperienced paddlers or in small
boats on windy days. It’s almost a mile and a

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A Facific Showcase?

MAY 23

| SAANICH

AONOID> “GREE A TIGER = NV aIe f Ockale aA

MAY 27

Pacific Coast Music
Festival Gala
May 24 - 8 PM

University Centre Auditorium

Admission: $3
$2 Seniors/Students

The Pacific Showcase invites
you to our concerts featuring
the finest young musical
talent in B. C.!

Provincial Concert
May 25 - 8 PM
Royal Theatre

Admission: $8
$7 Seniors/Students

Tickets Available at the MacPherson Box Office
and usual outlets. Phone 386-6121.

National Concert
May 26 - 8 PM
Royal Theatre

Admission: $8
$7 Seniors/Students

Sponsored by the Province of B.C, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation

& Culture through the B.C. Lottery Fund.
ig ry j

B.C. FERRIES PASS BY as recreational boaters turn logs into

pillows and relax on Portland Island's shell beach.
(Photo by BRUCE OBEE)

half across Baynes Channel to the nearest point of land, in the
Chatham Islands group. From here there are several choices
through a maze of waterways, islands and islets. This is terrific z
paddling territory but the Chatham Islands and the north side ~
of Discovery are Indian land and therefore private.

Discovery Island Provincial Marine Park, a
total of 61 hectares, encompasses about two-thirds of the
island, on the south side. It was donated to the people of British
Columbia by Captain E.G. Beaumont, who died in 1967 after
living there for nearly half a
century. A generous man, Capt.
Beaumont would ferry boy
scouts and sea cadets back and
forth on his boat, the Discovery
Tsle, for summer camping trips.
He also donated the land for
Beaumont Marine Park on
North Pender, and for Beau-
mont Park at Fraser Lake, in
the B.C. interior.

Much of the uplands above
the beaches are open grass
fields. Camas, broom and other
wild plants bloom here. There
are places to camp and a few
crude trails along the shores
and through the forests.

One service road leads to a
lighthouse on Sea Bird Point,
established in 1886. The point is named for an American paddle
steamer which burned off the point in 1858. Gravel beaches,
lined with logs, are small but plentiful. Salmon fishing in
Plumper Passage, particularly off the mouth of the channel
between Discovery and the Chatham Islands, is often excellent.

Continued on Page 23

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