Peninsula Boat Ramp

C

cpony

Well-Known Member
After reading the thread about Tulista boat ramp, seeing the bad the winds off of Sidney this weekend, and the up coming season of congestion at Tulista Boat Ramp, it is time to let the Politicians know we need another ramp out here on the Saanich Peninsula.

With the provincial election coming up maybe we should remind them of the economic impact to the area. When they knock on your door please ask them about this and mention not only is it about the Peninsula economy but the whole CRD and Gulf Island economies. Tulista can be dangerous when the winds pick up so it is a safety issue as well. A survey of Tulista Ramp users two years ago showed most users were families going out and enjoying water in smaller boats that cannot afford moorage or big fancy boats.

Some possible options are the Ocean Sciences Center or working with the Float Plane base since that is technically owned by the province and years ago it was used by the public as boat ramp.

Maybe even consider buying a chuck of waterfront and making it a park/boat ramp for the public.

Anyone else have any suggestions?
 
I know about the Tsartlip Ramp but that doesn't address the growing demand for access to the local waters. That ramp suffers from congestion at times and would be used even more if it was fixed up.

Years ago there use to be ramps at Gilbert's Marina, Deep Cove Marina, and Van Isle Marina and all those have been removed. As mentioned above the Float Plane base was used by the locals.

Most boating/fishing is done around the Gulf Islands and Sidney so we need another ramp at the North end of the Peninsula. The longer we wait to get another ramp the tougher it will be.
 
Is there still a ramp at Island view ?
last time I launched there was about 20 years ago and it was not in the best shape.
 
There is a group trying to save the Island View ramp but that still would only serve car toppers and can is even more dangerous with the SE winds.
 
Thought it is time to bring this subject up again and see if I can get some momentum going on this. Again we are having an election so time to contact your local candidates running and get their support.
The Tsartlip ramp is closed and rumour has it indefinitely.

We are now down to one practical ramp serving the recreational boater in the Greater Victoria area, the Tulista ramp in Sidney. This summer saw huge increase in trailered boat traffic at the Tulista ramp with tempers flaring not only at the ramp but the local neighbourhoods with all the parking issues.

It's not going to better so let's get going on this now.
 
Two ramps, don't forget Esquimalt! And Cattle Point is pretty good for boats under 20'. And its free! I think the big challenge for that ramp at Island View is it's so exposed to the SE, and there is no natural bay for any protection.
 
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Esquimalt Anglers have an excellent launch ramp.
Buy an annual membership and launch as often as you want. The members are also involved in salmon enhancement programs in our local waters.
Stosh
 
No boat ramp between Cattle Pt. and Sidney. (Island view doesn't count) That's a long way if a land based emergency service has to respond to an incident out that way. Cattle points a little tricky with not having a wharf, especially when the kayaking crew decide to park at the bottom to gear up.
 
Yes, the Esquimalt ramp is an excellent ramp and we are fortunate that years ago someone had the foresight to create and protect the ramp for following generations. It is primarily used by sports fisherman but when you want to spend the day boating with your partner and kids you will probably being heading up to the gulf islands. Cattle point works for the local fisherman but not ideal with a bigger boat and when the winds pick up and dealing with kids.

If we don't start working on getting another ramp on the peninsula what will our kids do?
 
There are some options for new boat ramps, and the demand is certainly there but I'm not sure the politicians care.
 
The bigger part of the problem is finding a spot that isn't battered by winter storms.
Creating a breakwater will viewed by ENGO's as marine environment destruction
 
cpony said:
After reading the thread about Tulista boat ramp, seeing the bad the winds off of Sidney this weekend, and the up coming season of congestion at Tulista Boat Ramp, it is time to let the Politicians know we need another ramp out here on the Saanich Peninsula.

With the provincial election coming up maybe we should remind them of the economic impact to the area. When they knock on your door please ask them about this and mention not only is it about the Peninsula economy but the whole CRD and Gulf Island economies. Tulista can be dangerous when the winds pick up so it is a safety issue as well. A survey of Tulista Ramp users two years ago showed most users were families going out and enjoying water in smaller boats that cannot afford moorage or big fancy boats.

Some possible options are the Ocean Sciences Center or working with the Float Plane base since that is technically owned by the province and years ago it was used by the public as boat ramp.

Maybe even consider buying a chuck of waterfront and making it a park/boat ramp for the public.

Anyone else have any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Are you sure Pat Bay comes under the Province? Ocean Sciences and the Airport are Federal land, so it would be surprising for the Province to own the ramp. Great location and I understand there has been a history of trying to gain permission to use it.
 
Not much chance to gain access to the float plane ramp. Ocean sciences has a lot of suitable land for a ramp and parking development...but good luck getting the federal government to move on this.
 
ryanb said:
Not much chance to gain access to the float plane ramp. Ocean sciences has a lot of suitable land for a ramp and parking development...but good luck getting the federal government to move on this.
Click to expand...
Probably a real uphill battle but if you never try you’re guaranteed to fail. Hats off to those who take a shot, sometimes the results can be surprising, especially around election time. We know we got a Provincial one now and I can see a Federal one on the horizon. Politicians listening ability seems to pick up when their jobs are on the line.
 
The float plane base in Pat Bay has been tried for before. First time was in the early 90's. Almost approved but then turned down. Latest try was four years ago, again the big rejection from both the province and Airport authority. Both attempts there were hundreds of hours put into trying to achieve the ramp. Unless someone knows something or someone go ahead and try. I've got all the info you want on this.

The reason the province is involved is the Float plane base was built on landfill for the war back in 1939 and is technically Crown Land. The land above the Float Plane Base is Federal.

Ocean Sciences is a big NO now because of security issues.
 
Large chunks of waterfront property have become very valuable. Most of this land goes to high end residential uses. The future is for local govt's to build public launches with adequate parking. The only way to make it happen is to keep pressuring local politicians to make it a priority.
 
I think the only way you’ll see any additional boat launches is if the local FN Band decides to go into that business. Getting a permit from the government for anyone else would take many years and buckets of cash for environmental studies. Maybe some kind of partnership will be worked out, but it would be a good cash maker for a local band.
 
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