ED NOTE: Rumor has it this work has been cancelled and the Narrows are open. We can’t verify either way, so, sorry, you have to figure it out. If you can nail down a reliable source of information, please pass along their contact info. Thanks.
Amazing what you find on Facebook. I came across this and figure its a need-to-know for sailish.com cruisers. If you come across things like this, please pass them along to us and we’ll spread the word.
DODD NARROWS CLOSURES
July 14th to 18th, 2019
This notice is to inform all concerned boaters that Dodd Narrows will be closed to all vessel
traffic starting at 0915 on Sunday, July 14, 2019 until Wednesday, July 17, 2019 and possibly
extending to Thursday, July 18, 2019. The reason for this closure is that BC Hydro will be
upgrading, and replacing, the cables across Dodd Narrows. They will be using a helicopter for
some of the time as they replace the cables and put them on some new towers.
The Nanaimo Port Authority will have vessels on site to stop vessels from transiting the narrows
during the closure periods.
This work is scheduled to start on a Sunday as that is deemed to be the least disruptive to BC
Hydro customers on Gabriola and Mudge Islands as they will be without electricity during the
duration of this job.
There will be a scheduled opening for vessels to transit Dodd Narrows for one hour around
slack water on Sunday evening. The scheduled closure times are shown at the bottom of this
notice.
The information on the closures will also be broadcast on VHF radio. At this time I’m not sure if
it will be on Ch. 16 or there will be a short notice on Ch.16 directing you to the complete notice
on the weather channel.
I apologize for the short notice on this and the impact it may have on weekend plans. My
assistance was only requested earlier today, Wednesday, and the NPA was only informed of
this work on Monday, July 8.
Having said all this, there is a chance that none of this will happen and the work will be put off
for several months. At this time that is not a likely option but a slim possibility.
– Bill Wilson
Schedule
Sunday, July 14th:
Outage Day – 09:15-15:30
Flying Rope – 16:30-20:00
Pulling New Conductor
Monday, July 15th:
Pulling new conductor – 10:15-16:00
Tuesday, July 16th:
Stripping old conductor – 11:00-16:45
Wednesday, July 17th:
11:45-17:15
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.