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Denny Island and Shearwater (Heiltsuk Territory)

The community of Shearwater is located on Denny Island, 4.8 km (3 mi) from Old Bella Bella. In 1941, Shearwater was built as a Royal Canadian Air Force base, to patrol the central coast of B.C. during WW II. At one point over 1000 people lived on the base; it remained operative until 1944. The community was named after a Royal Navy vessel called the HMS Shearwater, active on the B.C. coast from 1902 to 1915. The vessel was then transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy.

In 1947, Shearwater Resort and Marina was purchased by Andrew Widsten, a former officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Recognizing an opportunity, Widsten constructed a marina on the property.

Approximately 50 full-time residents live in Shearwater. The community has a one-room K-7 community school that is part of School District #49 (Central Coast).

On July 1, 2021 the Heiltsuk Nation finalized the purchase and transfer of Shearwater Resort and Marina. The day is now celebrated in the community as “Heiltsuk Day.” The purchase was made using funds from a reconciliation agreement with the government of Canada. The resort and marina will employ people from the Heiltsuk community.

Plane

Pacific Coastal Airlines offers daily flights to Denny Island from Vancouver and Port Hardy. Denny Island also possesses a 900 m (3,000 foot) airstrip for private airplanes.

Boat

Denny Island is approximately 185 km (100 nautical miles) north of Port Hardy, and 140 km (76 nautical miles) west of Bella Coola.

Port Hardy to Shearwater: BC Ferries offers sailings to Shearwater from Bear Cove on northern Vancouver Island, a ten minute drive from Port Hardy. The trip is a non-stop, eight hour boat ride.

Prince Rupert to Bella Bella: BC Ferries offers sailings to Bella Bella (McLoughlin Bay) from Prince Rupert. The trip lasts from ten and a half to fourteen hours, depending on the sailing. Some sailings include a stop at Klemtu.

A connector service provides sailings from Bella Bella to Shearwater, Ocean Falls, Bella Coola and Klemtu.

Central Coast Adventures
https://centralcoastadventures.ca

Ocean Adventures
https://www.oceanadventures.bc.ca

Shearwater Fishing Resort and Marina
https://shearwater.ca

Explore more Communities found in the Great Bear Rainforest.