Notes are derived from visits in 2018 and 2025; GPS positions are in Degrees/decimal minutes; the usual caveats apply to the use of GPS positions.
General. The archipelago now known as Haida Gwaii (“Islands of the Haida People”, or “Islands at the Edge of the World”) was formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, after a ship skippered by English captain George Davis, who named the group in 1787. The first European sighting had been in 1774, by the Spaniard Juan Perez. The islands had by this time already been inhabited for an estimated 13,000 years or more.
Haida Gwaii was officially renamed in 2010. The current population is estimated at 4500, of whom 45% are indigenous Haida. The largest town (pop 960) is Daajing Giids (formerly known as Queen Charlotte City), smaller settlements include Sandspit, Skidegate and Masset. Skidegate is served by overnight car ferry from Prince Rupert, and a smaller car ferry links the two principal islands – Moresby in the south and Graham in the north – across Skidegate Inlet. There are airports at Sandspit and Masset.
About half of the southern large island (Moresby) now forms the Gwaii Haanas (“Islands of Beauty”) National Park Reserve; this includes a number of abandoned indigenous villages, the most intact and famous of which is SG̱ang Gwaay Llnaaga formerly known as Ninstints, on Anthony Island. These sites are in summer staffed by Haida Gwaii Watchmen; the only other site of habitation within the Park is at Rose Harbour, where three to four families live year-round.
Haida Gwaii is separated from the BC mainland by Hecate Strait: 169 miles in length, 90 miles wide at its southern end, 30 miles at its northern end. Much of the Strait is only 10m to 20m deep: when the wind blows against tidal currents, steep and dangerous seas can form very quickly.
Guidebooks. The only sailing guide with substantial information is Exploring the North Coast of British Columbia, by Don Douglass and Réanne Hemingway Douglass (Fine Edge, Anacortes WA; 2nd edition 2002); any and all references to mooring buoys in this publication can be disregarded (they have all been removed), but the book is otherwise very useful. The annually updated Waggoner Cruising Guide (to the Pacific Northwest) lists a few popular anchorages and may have up-to-date marina information. My own recent book, Under Wide and Starry Skies – Fifty Sailing Destinations in Seas Less Travelled (Bloomsbury/UK. 2025) includes a chapter featuring Haida Gwaii.
Permits for Gwaii Haanas. Vessels intending to visit the Gwaii Haanas National Park (which contains the most interesting, protected and intricate cruising grounds in the archipelago) must make an advance reservation, pay the necessary fees and attend an orientation briefing (the latter can be done online). If you are planning on staying in the Park more than a few days, it makes sense to obtain a Seasonal Pass. Full details see here.
Weather forecasting. For a map of weather reporting zones and a list/map of key stations see here.
The relevant zones to listen for are Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait (North and South), West Coast Haida Gwaii and (further offshore) Bowie.
For the crossing of Hecate Strait, check the reports from the automated weather buoys at North Hecate and South Hecate, from the automated station at Bonilla Island (all hourly) and (every 3 hours, 04:00 to 22:00) from the (staffed) Bonilla Island lighthouse. For the east coast of Haida Gwaii, listen for the automated reports from (N to S) Rose Spit, Sandspit Airport, Cumshewa and Cape St James; for the west coast listen for the lighthouse at Langara, the offshore buoy at West Moresby and the automated land station at Kindakun Rocks. Note that the automated stations at both Sandspit and Cumshewa are located such that they tend to report inflow/outflow winds that may not be representative of what is happening offshore.
VHF weather reports are transmitted from repeaters at Van Inlet (west coast) and Rose Inlet; coverage is by no means universal.
If you do not have Skylink or other means of web access, these reports are also transmitted on Single Side Band (SSB) on 2054 kHz 4 times a day by the Canadian Coastguard (but not on a continuous loop; be ready to take notes). The times are:
- 0450, 1050, 1650, 2250 PST for weather reporting zones Explorer, Queen Charlotte Sound, West Coast Vancouver Island North, West Coast Vancouver Island South
- 0515, 1115, 1715, 2315 PST for weather reporting zones Bowie, Dixon Entrance West, West Coast Haida Gwaii.
We have a Grundig Traveler G3 for receiving these SSB forecasts.
Getting there. There are no Ports of Entry in Haida Gwaii; a vessel proceeding from southeast Alaska must first check in with Canada Customs/Immigration at Prince Rupert.
For a sailing vessel approaching from the BC mainland, the conventional wisdom is that it is wisest to position yourself in the vicinity of Browning Entrance (SW of Prince Rupert) to await propitious weather for a crossing of Hecate Strait to Lawn Point, north of the entrance to Skidegate Inlet. From Browning Entrance, either of the prevailing winds (NW or SE) will allow for a comfortable reach; slower vessels may wish to make the passage overnight so as to ensure a daytime arrival.
The best all-weather anchorage near Browning Entrance is at the Spicer Islands; GPS 53°14.318’N, 131° 51.758’W (depth 12m). When arriving at/leaving this location, take account of tidal currents in Beaver Passage, which run at 2 – 4kts. Distance from the Spicer Islands to Sandspit: 68 nm.
Approach to Sandspit and Skidegate Inlet. A long spit with very little water over it extends several miles north from the low land on which Sandspit airport is located, making a direct approach to Sandspit/Daajing Giids/Skidegate impossible.
Most sailing vessels with an average draft can cross the spit two miles south of Bar Rocks (depth 4m at zero tide). Larger vessels and/or more conservative navigators may wish to follow the more northerly track that BC Ferries’ Northern Adventure takes: coming from the east, close in on the sector light at Lawn Point before turning south (inside the spit) and making for Sandspit. The light is only visible at night (theoretically) at 7 miles; an array of red lights at the airport may be visible much earlier.
As well as Northern Adventure, you may encounter cruise ships in Hecate Strait and prawn/crab fishers that lay unlit traps and follow unpredictable courses.
Sandspit Marina. Unless you are planning on traversing Skidegate Channel/Narrows to the west coast of Haida Gwaii, you may wish to tie up here rather than proceeding further up the inlet to the larger settlement at Daajing Giids (formerly Queen Charlotte City), which also has a marina. The shallows off Sandspit are so extensive and the tidal range so great that anchorage in the vicinity of Sandspit is not advisable, but it is practical off Daajing Giids.
Approach the marina carefully, through an L-shaped channel that has been excavated from the surrounding shallows, and which is marked with tall steel poles with port/starboard indicators. The office is only staffed through restricted hours and does not monitor VHF; they may however answer the phone (250-637-5700); tie up on the inside of the long E-W float at GPS 53° 14.318’N, 131° 51.758’W, opposite the fuel and Coastguard floats. Showers; laundry; water; diesel/gasoline (limited hours). For further details and a local map, see here.
Fifteen minutes walk to the east is a chandlery/marine repair shop, catering mainly to local sports fishers; it is a further 45 minutes’ walk to the Sandspit supermarket (Super Valu; reasonably stocked; fresh vegetables) and a small public library. When available, cars can be rented from the airport, which is a short distance past the supermarket. With advance notice it may be possible to eat out at Sandspit Adventures (a lodge favoured by sports fishers) close to the marina and/or the Smoke and Mirrors food truck (on the road towards the airport). Hitch-hiking is easy.
Anchorages to the south of Sandspit
Moresby Camp/Gordon Cove. Moresby Camp (47nm from Sandspit by sea but only 40km by land) is a roadhead at the head of Cumshewa Inlet, 20 nautical miles north of the northern boundary of the Gwaii Haanas National Park (i.e. no permit required). It is the terminus of the only road on Moresby Island (gravel road via Alliford Bay to/from Sandspit) and as such is a favoured putting-in place for kayakers and the pick-up/drop-off point for Maple Leaf Adventures’ cruises. There is a large parking lot, an enclosed area where the Parks service keep their launches (on land), a park with camp sites, a boat ramp and a small floating dock used by the Maple Leaf. There is no permanent habitation here.
Larger vessels often anchor off Moresby Camp, but this location is exposed to afternoon inflow winds; much more sheltered is nearby Gordon Cove; anchor at GPS 53° 02.609’N, 132° 01.462’W, in 15m. Some leftover chop works its way in from the inflow in Cumshewa Inlet, but this settles down at night. The mooring buoys/float indicated by Douglass are long gone but there is one large black buoy in the centre of the cove. By landing on the west side of the cove, you can access an old logging road that takes you overland to Moresby Landing (35 minutes’ walk). The location is imposing: over the head of the bay towers Mount Moresby, at 1164m the highest peak in Haida Gwaii. There is a rough path – “challenging and steep” – that branches off from the old logging road and leads to the summit; a sign reading “MM” indicates the start of the route.
From Gordon Cove, if you head south through Carmichael Passage, the heavily wooded mountains on either side gradually close in until the passage looks to be impassable. But Louise Narrows – a shallow and narrow dredged channel – can be transited (with care) by all but deep-draft vessels and allows the vessel to remain in well-protected waters. The ideal time to transit is half-way up on a rising tide, when the spoil ridges on either side of the channel are still visible; current is minimal. There is good, protected anchorage just north of the Narrows.
Trotter Bay is on the western shore of Carmichael Passage, south of Louise Narrows, 13 nm from Gordon Cove. Anchor at GPS 52° 52.971’N, 131° 53.112’W, in 13m. There is a conspicuous abandoned cabin on the SE headland of the bay; if you land at the head of the bay you can walk to this along an old logging road. We found many Lewis’s Moonsnail shells on the tidal flats; here and in all locations to the south, be aware that the large tidal range can at high water make bays look a lot larger than they really are.
Thurston Harbour, off Selwyn Inlet and indented into the north shore of Talunkwan Island, is the best all-round anchorage in this area; like Trotter, it is outside the Park limits and no permit is needed. Anchor at GPS 52° 50.485’N, 131° 44.667’W in 21m. There is good wildlife viewing here, including many racoons that forage on the beach at low tide, and deer in the meadow at the head of the bay. An abandoned, lopsided cabin is on shore. The mooring buoys described by Douglass are gone but one or two may be found abandoned high above the tide line.
Crescent Inlet is the last anchorage before the Park boundary is crossed. Moresby Explorers maintains a floating camp for kayakers at its entrance, on the port side; in an emergency they may be able to assist. Anchor near the avalanche slide and off some old pilings that uncover at low tide, at GPS 52° 44.883’N, 131° 52.945’W, in 12m. Bears are commonly seen on the beach here. By climbing up the avalanche slide, you can reach an abandoned and overgrown logging road that leads north and which will eventually take you over to the head of Tasu Sound (Wilson Bay), on Haida Gwaii’s west coast; the evidence indicates that this path is particularly popular with the bears. VHF reception is poor to non-existent here.
South of Crescent Inlet are several features named after Victorian scientists: Darwin Sound (into which all the inlets hereabouts ebb, however counter-intuitively), Lyall Island, Huxley Island.
The next inlet to the south of Crescent is Anna Inlet, at the head of Klunkwoi Bay. In the middle of the bay that forms the approach to the Inlet’s entrance, the otherwise-invisible Klunkwoi Rocks are helpfully marked by a grey, barrel-shaped concrete marker that is 1m above HW. Reached through a narrow passage, the anchorage itself is picturesque and very well-protected; anchor at GPS 42° 42.307’N, 131° 50.428’W, in 20m; contrary to Douglass, no stern-tie is necessary. From the SW corner of the bay, you can access a trail that is well-marked to begin with and which, after 100m or so, turns intermittently into shakes and a.corduroy track. This leads uphill and eventually to Anna Lake. We could find no sign of the old mining settlement called Locksport that is supposedly on the west side of the entrance to Anna Inlet.
Just south of Anna Inlet (2nm) and similarly scenic is Echo Harbour, with a meadow at its head and a drying lagoon west of its head (again contrary to what Douglass indicates, the lagoon is NOT suitable for anchorage, but is favoured by kayakers). Anchor at GPS 52° 41.549’N, 131° 45.856’W, in 18m. VHF reception is poor, but better than Crescent.
The entrance to Sac Bay, off De la Beche Inlet, is half-obstructed by a drying shelf – keep well to port if you enter when the shelf is hidden. Steep, black walls – rather gloomy in rain/fog, but well-protected. Anchor opposite the conspicuous land slip on the east shore, at GPS 52° 32.008’N, 131° 40.467’W, in 16m. There is less beach at the head of this bay than in most comparable inlets, but landing is possible.
Hutton Inlet, off Juan Perez Sound: anchor at GPS° 52 30.060’N, 131° 34.017W, in 13m. There is an extensive meadow at the head of the inlet, where the remains of massive log booms have been stranded. Deer and bears frequent the meadow.
A bar with (reportedly) 1.2m at LW obstructs the entrance to Matheson Inlet, but on a rising half-tide, entry is straightforward. Very spacious and secure. Anchor at GPS 52° 27.060’N, 131° 28.500’W, in 15m. There are extensive mud flats and a meadow at the head, which are rewarding to explore at low tide.
Continuing south, you will pass a large and vocal colony of Steller’s sealions hauled out on Joyce Rocks. There is another large colony at Garcin Rocks, further south.
Ikeda Cove is an excellent anchorage, but strong southeasters blow through it. Anchor at GPS 52° 17.878’N, 131° 09.365’W, in 15m. Our anchor held well but we watched a much larger vessel (60ft) struggle to set its anchor in gusty winds. High above the head of the bay the skyline is oddly straight – this is a spoil tip. From 1907 to 1920 Arichika Ikeda and the Awaya Ikeda Mine company operated a profitable copper ore mine here. Towards the head of the bay, where it begins to dry, is a set of ruined pilings and the remains (a grid) of an old stern-wheeler; behind here, in the woods, an overgrown track with railway lines leads up towards the mine site (3/4 of a mile). The Japanese gravestone shown in a photo on p474 of Douglass is at nearby Jedway, NOT Ikeda.
Entry into Houston Stewart Channel, at the south tip of Moresby Island should ideally be combined with a favourable tide – the current runs up to 4kts.
On the south shore of Houston Stewart (Kunghit Island) is the only permanent habitation within the park – Rose Harbour, where two or three privately-owned cabins function as lodges in the summer. There are also the remains of a whaling station that operated 1910 – 43. The National Parks Service maintains a cabin on Ellen Island, to the west of the bay. If Parks staff are in residence, they monitor VHF Channel 06 and may permit you to use the pink mooring buoy (there is just one) in front of the houses. Anchorage is otherwise tight: and should be undertaken with care; there are many covering rocks and kelp patches. Buoy at GPS 52° 09.013’N, 131° 05.197’W.
Most of the abandoned Haida villages within the Gwaii Haanas Park are, counter-intuitively, not good anchorages at all: they were sited so as to allow for canoes to be hauled up easily on low-sloping beaches, and with a wide view to the open sea (whence attacking canoes might come). The most interesting and photogenic site, SG̱ang Gwaay Llnaaga formerly known as Ninstints, is on Anthony Island, 3 miles to the west of Rose Harbour. There is a tight, rock-encumbered anchorage on the north side of this island, but it is open to the NW; if you plan to anchor here, first call the watchmen on VHF Ch 06 or 16. It may be more advisable to take your inflatable (be prepared for windy, open water) or hitch a ride on a fast tour RIB out of Rose Harbour (in summer, tour groups arrive daily at Rose Harbour, by floatplane or launch). Anchoring off the site of the village is prohibited.
For illustrations and further narrative, see Haida Gwaii and XXXX.