These cruises are in partnership with the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society. They feature a local naturalist/historian, and have a social and natural history focus. For more local history, as well as visitor info and more, please visit the CIMAS website: https://cortesmuseum.com

Thursday, July 13 – Low Tide Reef Exploration

Join Misty Isles as we slip lines and head south for the reef systems of Manson’s passage, between Savary and Hernando Islands. With gumboots, buckets, and curiosity, a rendezvous with a very low tide will set the stage for a foray into the semi-diurnal tides of BC.

Gently explore tide pools with local guides and naturalists, and meet some of the most interesting examples of evolution in the Discovery Islands. Themes of geology and biology and the human philosophies they have inspired will aid and abet us as we examine one of the truly dominant cycles of our planet. 

9am-4pm

Departs from Cortes Bay

$165

Thursday, July 27- Refuge Cove

With long-time Refuge Cove residents, Norm Gibbons and Lisa Weyler-Gibbons as your guides.

Refuge Cove, a boardwalk community on West Redonda Island, was founded in 1913 and once was home to over 200 residents. The general store and post office opened in 1918, and continue to connect communities to this day. With a dedicated, year-round population of 12, local artisans tend to an art gallery, pour pints and brew espresso at the pub, and see to it that Refuge Cove remains a social hub where mariners have restocked and refreshed for well over one hundred years. An eclectic rite of passage for travel by water in the Discovery Islands, Refuge Cove cannot be missed!

10 am- 5 pm

departs from Cortes Bay government dock

$165

Sunday, August 13– Háthayim Marine Park (Von Donop)

On the northwestern reaches of Cortes Island, a slender saltwater inlet projects itself from Sutil Channel into a biodiverse wilderness known as Háthayim. For centuries, human beings have sought shelter and sustenance alongside the steep sided fjords, old growth forests, and tidal estuaries. An army of high functioning ecosystems within Ha’thayim have led to its designation as a 1,277-hectare marine park.

Join Misty Isles for a pilgrimage by sea to engage in one of the most revered marine parks of the inside passage. Local guides and historians will lend narrative and interpretation while we parallel the Discovery Islands for a look at a wilderness where no road exists.

9am- 4pm

Departs from Mansons Landing

$165