Namu Dock

Namu sits at the mouth of Fitz Hugh Sound where the Heiltsuk name says it all: "place of high winds." Humans have lived here for at least 11,000 years, making it arguably the longest continuously occupied site in Canada. The salmon cannery that Robert Draney built in 1893 drew that history into industrial focus. By mid-century BC Packers was running five canning lines here, housing 400 seasonal workers in segregated camps (Indigenous, white, and Japanese), and producing Rupert Brand and Cloverleaf tinned salmon for world markets. The 1962 fire that levelled much of the site was quickly rebuilt, but falling salmon stocks ended canning operations in 1969-70. Cold storage limped on until 1988. Then nothing.nnBy 2013 the last caretakers, Pete and Rene Darwin, had relocated their floating home to nearby Lizzie Cove --- reportedly the first time in 11,000 years nobody lived at Namu. The BC government and Heiltsuk Nation have been in remediation talks as recently as January 2025, but the cleanup bill runs to $30 million and the buildings continue collapsing into the sea. Mercury levels in the foreshore sediment run 93 times the regulatory standard; tributyltin hits 233 times. Trespass signs are posted at the landing sites.nnNone of which stops the curious from stopping. The standard move is to anchor in Rock Inlet, roughly a mile past the cannery ruins in Fougner Bay, then go ashore by dinghy, beaching on rocks rather than trusting any dock structure. What you find is genuinely atmospheric: tin roofing stamped NAMU peeling back in a breeze, bunkhouse windows shattered, a powerhouse with dangling pipes and rusting drums, entire boardwalk sections hanging over the water. Waggoner calls it "ghostly," cruisers tend toward "post-apocalyptic." Heiltsuk hereditary chief Harvey Humchitt puts it plainly: "It's just a pile of garbage." All three are accurate.nnBeyond the cannery the Namu Conservancy (10,312 hectares, established 2008) protects the surrounding watershed specifically for grizzly bear habitat. The salmon streams behind the settlement are prime bear country, plan accordingly if you go ashore. In 1965 the orca named Namu was captured just offshore here, becoming only the second killer whale held in captivity.nnFitz Hugh Sound funnels wind hard in both directions. NW is the prevailing summer condition; SE gales are the storm scenario. The anchorage in Rock Inlet offers the best available protection but is not enclosed. Time your approach and departure with the forecast.