Active Pass — BC, Canada

Active Pass is a deep, winding channel between Galiano and Mayne Islands, leading from Swanson and Trincomali Channels into the Strait of Georgia. The fairway is about 0.2 mile wide at its narrowest, and two bends in the channel hide what is coming the other way. Large, fast ferries between Victoria and Vancouver use it, and a vessel in the pass can meet as many as three of them. (PAC 201)

How the pass behaves

The current reaches 8 knots. The flood runs north, toward the Strait of Georgia, and the ebb runs south. Fraser River freshets increase the rate of the ebb. (PAC 201)

The flood is the rough one. Coming from the south it gains speed quickly off Helen Point, follows the bends past Matthews Point and Laura Point, and runs along the east shore to Fairway Bank. On strong floods, violent rips dangerous to small craft cover the area from mid-channel south of Mary Anne Point to Laura Point. More rips form near Fairway Bank, worse in strong northerly winds, and Fairway Bank is marked by rips at every stage but slack. (PAC 201)

No rips of any violence occur on the ebb. (PAC 201)

Both streams set eddies into Miners Bay, on the Mayne Island side: clockwise on the flood, anticlockwise on the ebb, with up to 2.5 knots off the Mayne Island wharf. (PAC 201)

How slack works here

Active Pass is a reference current station: the Canadian Hydrographic Service tabulates its slack water and maximum currents in the Canadian Tide and Current Tables, Volume 5. Its currents do not follow the Strait of Georgia's. Most of the strait can be timed from Point Atkinson, but the major passes, Active Pass among them, run on their own timing and are published under their own headings. (PAC 201)

Planning a transit

Active Pass is not recommended under sail, and local knowledge is advised. Report to Victoria Traffic on VHF channel 11 before entering and after leaving the pass. Vessels sound the Rule 34(e) signal for a blind bend. (PAC 201)

Ferries, tugs with barges, coastal tankers and freighters use the pass, and in summer there are many fishing and pleasure craft too. (PAC 201) Under the Collision Regulations, a vessel under 20 m or a sailing vessel must not impede a vessel that can navigate only within a narrow channel, and small craft should avoid passing close to ferries at all times. (PAC 200)

Wind against the flood raises steep, confused seas off the entrances to Active Pass, and heavy rips form near Gossip Island, Lion Islets and Salamanca Point on the Strait of Georgia side, especially with a flood and a strong northwest wind. (PAC 201)

Nearby

Several passages lead west from the Strait of Georgia through the Gulf Islands: Boat Passage, Georgeson Passage, Active Pass, Porlier Pass and Gabriola Passage. The usual route for tugs and pleasure craft between Juan de Fuca Strait and the Strait of Georgia runs through Swanson and Trincomali Channels and out through Active Pass. To avoid the ferries, many go through Captain Passage and Trincomali Channel and out through Porlier Pass instead. (PAC 201)