We took OBX for a weekend holiday to Campbell River. Initially we were just going to try & get some photo's of OBX with the lighthouse from across Discovery Passage but we decided to make a day of it & took the ferry over to Quadra Island to visit the Cape Mudge Lighthouse & explore the island.
Cape Mudge Lighthouse was built in 1898 and is the only one in BC that is accessible by road and is still staffed and fully operational. Unfortunately there is much controversy as the Canadian Coast Guard has recently made announcements that Cape Mudge is one of four manned lighthouses that they plan on de-staffing & fully automating. There is much opposition to the plan though so the future of the Cape Mudge Lighthouse is still up in the air.
The lighthouse marks the southern entrance to the Discovery Passage, "a significant shipping route as it is the preferred channel for vessels entering or leaving the Georgia Strait from the north, and as such forms a part of the Inside Passage shipping route." It is a very active route for Alaskan bound cruise ships. North of the lighthouse is Seymour Narrows, described by Captain George Vancouver as "one of the vilest stretches of water in the world." Linked by a trail to Cape Mudge Village, the lighthouse is located below the bluffs visited by Captain Vancouver in 1792. Petroglyphs from centuries ago can be found at extremely low tide just south of the lighthouse.
The waters off Cape Mudge have fooled many fine mariners and cost a good many of them their lives. It is in these waters that the tides flowing in from the north and south of Vancouver Island meet in tumultuous union. We witnessed this tumult on the afternoon we visited the lighthouse & took some amazing photo's of the rough waters.
It was a beautiful sunny Saturday & we hope OBX enjoyed his visit to Cape Mudge Lighthouse as much as we did!!