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Big tides disrupt mooring buoys

Have any of the Qualicum Beach town council members had or used a mooring buoy in our tidal zones?

Have any of the Qualicum Beach town council members had or used a mooring buoy in our tidal zones?

A tidal range of up to five metres means that the buoy must be placed a considerable distance from the high water level. Assume a pleasure craft ties up to the buoy at high tide and comes to shore in their dinghy. As the party is in the downtown village, the tide is going out leaving an exposed tidal flat a minimum of 100 metres from high water mark to the water. The only way back to the vessel is to drag the dinghy to a place where there’s enough water to float it.

If the the vessel moors at low tide, the opposite will be true.

Other considerations — “jurisdictional and legal issues” — are minor, compared to the effect of the tides.

If the town wants to attract “marine tourism,” study the feasibility of building a full service marina.

Warren Bailey

Qualicum Beach