With its many comings and goings each day, Victoria’s busy Inner Harbour can appear to an untrained eye to be a haphazard, chaotic jumble of activity; but nothing could be farther from the truth! In fact, behind every single movement is a carefully managed system that keeps everyone arriving or leaving the harbour, be it on the sea, on the land or in the sky, doing so quickly, smoothly and above all, safely.
There’s no question that the seaplanes are the stars of the harbour; with up to 160 flights each weekday, managing their constant activity into and out of the harbour takes a great amount of skill and precision. Three airlines-Harbour Air, Seair, and Kenmore Air- operate dozens of flights each day that link Victoria with Vancouver, the Gulf Islands, Nanaimo, and Seattle. In addition, several offer sightseeing-only flights.
Floatplanes arrive and leave the Inner Harbour via a designated runway, one that’s clearly marked by floating buoys; and if the buoys aren't enough to remind any boats and paddlers to stay clear of the plane’s pathway, the loud roar of the planes engines approaching them from behind are sure to do the trick.
To fly into Victoria, planes generally approach from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, then line up with the runway before touching down against the stunning backdrop of Parliament’s copper domes and the historic Empress Hotel. It’s a spectacular way to arrive in the city, complete with a “Welcome to Victoria” message spelled out in flowers visible from the air.
To fly out of the harbour, planes simply taxi the other way, opening up their engines fully just beyond the Laurel Point Inn. This allows them enough space to lift off, then gently rise up enough above the ocean before heading out over the open sea.
But there’s more than just floatplanes in the harbour–much more! Add in the twice-a-day Victoria Clipper and Blackball Coho ferries, both of which make regular runs to Seattle and Port Angeles, plus a plethora of pleasure crafts, kayaks, paddle-boards, and the 15 or so harbour taxis that shuttle people between The Empress, Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf. All in all, the harbour is one busy port!
Managing all this chaos are skilled air traffic controllers sitting in a tower high above the harbour, who oversee every movement and coordinate the flow of each flight. Meanwhile, in the water below, the harbour patrol (in grey and black Zodiacs) are always on hand to guide marine traffic. The two teams work closely together ensure all water vessels, big and small, stay safe distances from any approaching or departing seaplanes.
To help ease this delicate balancing act even further, in 2018, Victoria International Marina opened to accommodate luxury yachts over 65 feet and longer at the mouth of the harbour. As such, the new marina’s residents never have to cross the path of the seaplanes, which means they can come and go to sea without interfering too much with the ebb and flow of the harbour; both literally, and figuratively.
There is one group that gets to shun the rules and come and go in the harbour as they please; and that group is B.C.’s orca whale population. It’s true: in fact, whenever an orca (or often a pod) finds its way into the harbour (usually chasing a seal for dinner), all plane and boat activity must stop immediately to allow it to move about safely and freely. When it happens, sea and air traffic gets backed up for a few hours, but nobody minds; visiting orcas are a welcome sight to visitors and locals alike!
So whether it’s from above or below, Victoria’s busy Inner Harbour is never still, nor stagnant, or ever the same. As floatplanes, boats, helicopters (or orcas) etc., come and go each day, visitors and locals alike marvel at the ever-changing, yet unforgettable ballet they create. One thing everyone agrees upon however, is it’s a sight that can’t be missed!
Every one of our HIDDEN VICTORIA tours stops by the Inner Harbour! Why not book one and witness the beauty and ballet for yourself? For more information, CLICK HERE.