Bute Island stern ties preserve natural beauty and improve shoreline boater safety
The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), with technical, materials and funding assistance from the BC Marine Parks Forever Society, installed 8 stern tie pins and chains to improve anchoring safety for boaters at Bute Island Regional Park in Ladysmith Harbour.
The BC Marine Parks Forever Society was approached by the CVRD to partner on installation of the eight stern tie chains, as they have been active for a number of years with fundraising to both secure marine parks (primarily with BC Parks) and invest in improvements that benefit and enhance boating within the marine environment along the coast here in British Columbia.
The stern tie chains are bolted to the bedrock along the foreshore on the west side of the Bute island and allow boaters to anchor just off the island, with a stern line attached between their vessel and the stern tie chain for additional anchoring stability.
Stern ties provide a safe, secure and reliable method for anchoring boats and help preserve the natural beauty of the surrounding environment. Before the stern tie chains were installed, boaters were informally tying ropes to trees (such as Arbutus trees) along the foreshore.
The rubbing of the ropes on tree trunks was inadvertently causing tree stress and raising the potential risk of tree health issues and damage. The stern ties provide a safer method to anchor in Ladysmith Harbour and prevent boat drift.
They were put into good use by boaters just days after installation of the stern tie chains.
Bute Island was acquired by the CVRD in 2018, and has a rustic walking trail encircling the island with access to the marine foreshore at low tides. The island is accessible by boat, kayak, or canoe and a public floating dock/small pier is available for day use access to the island.
“The BC Marine Parks Forever Society www.bcmpfs.ca/, is pleased to participate in this project to add to the number of stern ties available to boaters on the BC coast,” said Jim Phillips, President, BC Marine Parks Forever Society. “The society has donated over $130,000 for the installation of stern ties since 2015 and looks to continue its efforts with federal, provincial, and municipal governments, to improve the environmental and safety aspects for all boaters.”
