Pender Harbour, Sechelt Peninsula

Known for its laid-back lifestyle, scenic beauty and wide array of events and festivals, Pender Harbour. The harbour is a fabulous place to relax and play. A place dripping with salty history and modern leisure. The community once relied on fishing and forestry to drive the economy, but now they have turned their efforts to creating an inviting escape for boaters and tourists.

Pender Harbour is an intricate amalgam of bays, sloughs, and islands only five kilometres long from its entrance to the head of Oyster Bay. But if you were able to stretch its twisted beachfront out, it would measure over 60-kilometres.

At some point Pender Harbour was nicknamed “the Venice of the North.” It wasn’t a clever marketing device thought up by a tourism association, but a name earned be every kid who rowed to school or women who took the putt-putt to the store for their weekly grocery order.

Before the first Europeans discovered the area, a population of First Nations occupied the harbour. Sex’wamin, the Shishalh winter settlement was one of the largest winter settlements on the BC Coast. It’s estimated that as many as 5,000 people occupied the shores of the harbour.

Navigation in and around Pender Harbour is straightforward if attention is paid to the charts, buoys, and day beacons. There is a 7-knot speed limit in the harbour and applies to all boats.

Pender Harbour is home to a few marinas and wharfs that offer transient moorage, and several good anchorages. John Henry’s Marina & Resort in Hospital Bay is a popular moorage, offering a nice grocery/gift store, Osprey restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining, and has the only fuel dock in Pender Harbour. The Coho Marina in Gerrans Bay offers transient moorage in unoccupied slips; maximum boat length of 40-feet. Pender Harbor Resort & Marina has transient moorage available in unoccupied slips; maximum boat length of 50-feet. The Sunshine Coast Resort Hotel & Marina, located to starboard before the entrance to Gunboat Bay, has guest moorage for vessels up to 80-feet.

Other options for moorage include the Harbour Authority of Pender Harbour docks at the Madeiran Park basin, where you can walk to nearby grocery and drug stores for provisions. The Harbour Authority also operates an additional public wharf in Hospital Bay. Harbour Authority docks are on a first-come, first-served basis, and rafting is mandatory.

For members of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, or  Seattle Yacht Club there are out stations located in Garden Bay.

Pender Harbour host a number of festivals such as May Day, Pender Harbour Wooden Boat Festival, and the Pender Harbour Blues Festival.

There is plenty to explore and do but don’t overlook the food scene. Despite being a small community, it packs a punch when it comes to tasty eats. The Lagoon Restaurant at  Painted Boat Resort Spa & Marina offer upscale dining with stunning coastal views. In Maderia Park there is a plethora of dining options. For the best burgers in the harbour, it’s Triple B’s Burger Shack in Madeira Park. Harbour Pizza and their Detroit-style pizza. For fresh sushi try Mama’s Japanese Kitchen. If looking for Mexican fare, try Aquí es Mexico. For a good cup of coffee, it’s the Java Dock.

Would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Grasshopper Pub in the Pender Harbour Hotel with pub food, indoor and outdoor dining, and a bird’s eye view of the harbour below. The hotel sits high on a steep hill and the walk up is a bit much. Take your dinghy to the Pender Harbour Hotel Marina’s dinghy dock. Call the Grasshopper Pub (604-883-9013) about 10 minutes prior to your arrival, and they will come and pick you up by hotel van. If you are having dinner, time your reservations so you can enjoy the sunset.

Pender Harbour is an excellent place to tour by dinghy or kayak, each cove within the harbour has a character all its own. Exploring by dinghy, picking-up provisions by dinghy, and going out to dinner by dinghy is all part of the fun in Pender Harbour.