heriot bay

Note. What we refer to on this page as Heriot Bay, is on the traditional, stolen, unceded, overlapping and/or shared territory land of the Homalco, Klahoose, We Wai Kum, Kwiakah, and K’ómoks First Nations, the We Wai Kai Nation, as well as members of the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group.

We arrived in Heriot Bay on August 10th 2023, and left on August 11th.

Heriot Bay is just north west of Rebecca Spit on the southeast side of Quadra Island near Discovery Passage.

This bay houses many facilities with docks, and has a few anchoring options, too.

Heriot Bay Inn.

pino moored at the heriot bay marina docks, on the outer finger

In all, this is a fine marina and a very good provisioning stop, better than Refuge Cove in terms of selection. Although, it would be better if it wasn't priced like a luxury marina, lacking both some of the conveniences (no power/water on fingers, all on main dock, bad docks overall) and pristineness of such a facility.

Pros:

Good fully-stocked grocery store nearby (5 min)
Potable water via a long hose at the bottom of the main ramp
Courtesy dinghy dock (no fees for tying up)
Recycling and garbage disposal behind the Heriot Bay Inn
Showers and laundry

Cons:

High dock fees (2.20$/ft in 2023)
Rickety, uneven docks
Only one outlet for water, meaning that you have to wait until others aren't using it.
Not a lot of spaces between fingers. If docked at head of a finger, other boats need to leave first so you can exit
Power on main finger only, must use long extension cord to reach it (note: we didn't use power while here, we don't trust power outlets on older docks anymore after an incident in Silva Bay)
Lots of traffic (ferry, and high-speed boats from the public dock)
During the height of summer, docks can get fairly busy with visitors from the RV park wandering along the various fingers.

Taku Resort

Despite bearing the features of an expensive place, it is still cheaper than Heriot Bay Inn. Dock space there is very limited, reservations are often necessary. They don't offer water refills for short stays, only for overnighters.

We didn't stay here because there was no room on their docks that day, but we spoke to the owner a bit. We don't have much to say since we have never been.

Heriot Bay public dock

The dock appeared full the day we were there, with a lot of space alloted to local boats. Moorage there is cheap, but the water isn't always potable (there are signs posted if it isn't). We were told that they don't use the same water source as Heriot Bay Inn.

Anchoring

Once upon a time, anchoring just north of the Heriot Bay public dock would have been great, but now like all anchorages in BC the place is clogged with local boats on moorings. The spot just south of Heriot Island would be especially good on a provisioning run if a NW wind is blowing, the island would offer protection. Our friends on Nanamuk anchor just south of the mooring field, north of the public docks. There is some room there, but it's a very busy place to anchor. It is then a short dinghy ride to the dinghy dock.

Rebecca Spit is a good nearby option, but it's a busy anchorage, especially the spot on the NW tip of the spit (which offers the most north wind protection). Rebecca Spit is a marine park and there is a lovely trail all along the spit. Drew Harbour to the south seems like it would be great in a SE blow, but it is a longer trip to the Heriot Bay Inn dinghy dock (can't dock a dinghy at the nearby Taku Resort).