2024 Cortes Museum Cruises with Misty Isles Adventures
New exciting museum-sponsored cruises for 2024!
The waters around Cortes Island are famous for spectacular natural beauty, abundance of wildlife and significant maritime and cultural history. From British and Spanish explorers, who charted this area in the late 1700s, to homesteaders of the 19th century, right up the idealism of communities in the 1970s, rough and ready tales from these coastal communities abound.
Set sail this summer on four fascinating interpretive voyages aboard the historic schooner Misty Isles.
Each trip is led by Captain Jonas Fineman and features a local guide who will share first-hand knowledge of the region to make your voyage truly memorable.
We start this year’s cruises with our classic Mitlenatch Island Cruise.Mitlenatch Island, Thursday, May 30, 2024
10 a.m. – 5 p.m., departing from the Cortes Bay government dock $225 Guided by George Sirk, naturalist and filmmaker. George worked as the BC Parks Branch Naturalist stationed at Mitlenatch in 1969 and 1971. On this trip, George will share his first-hand experience of this island and his extensive knowledge of natural history.Natural Aspects of Western Cortes, July 4, 2024
9 a.m. – 5 p.m., departing from Gorge Harbour Dock $225 Guided by George Sirk. Join us for this rich, varied, and rare view of Cortes Island! George Sirk will guide your natural history experience through the legendary Gorge Harbour – an unusual island sea whose entrance, “THE GORGE,” pumps in and out millions of gallons of fresh tidal seawater daily.Dinner Cruise to the Laughing Oyster, Monday, August 5, 2024 – tentative date.
Details forthcomingHáthayim/Von Donop Marine Park Historical Cruise, Wednesday, August 28, 2024
9 a.m. – 4 p.m., departing from Gorge HarbourGuided by Bruce Ellingsen.
Join Misty Isles for a pilgrimage by sea to one of the most revered marine parks of the inside passage. Bruce Ellingsen will be your guide and historian and will lend narrative and interpretation. Misty Isles parallels the Discovery Islands for a look at a wilderness where no road exists.
Meet Jonas and Amy, the owners of Misty Isles Adventures!
Jonas Fineman and Amy Bockner live on Cortes Island with their two young daughters, Mila and Ava. Amy is a third-generation Cortesian, and Jonas immigrated to Canada in 2012 from the central Oregon Coast.
Jonas has been a professional mariner for all of his adult life. Raised in a small Pacific fishing town, he took to the decks of commercial salmon trollers at an early age and quickly fell in love with the life at sea. Over the years he made his way around the North Pacific on workboats before following the opportunity to Atlantic Europe and Scandinavia as an officer on a 30-metre sailing vessel. Since moving to Canada, Jonas has been leading wilderness expeditions by sailboat up and down the BC Coast, from the Southern Gulf Islands to Haida Gwaii and the Great Bear Rainforest. He has logged over 20,000 nautical miles on the world’s oceans and is a respected member of the West Coast maritime community.
Amy has spent the bulk of her professional life as a remote wilderness chef; from snowbound sites in Canada’s north, to tropical retreat centres, to sailboat galleys on coastal BC waters. She co-founded Tacofino, a successful restaurant business in BC, and is currently the owner/operator of Älska Food and Flora, which provides catering and floral design services for local weddings and events. She cultivates and manages a large organic flower and vegetable garden on the family’s property.
When Misty Isles Adventures was posted for sale in late 2018, Jonas and Amy stepped forward to take the wheel. Together, they share a common passion and curiousness for the natural world around them. As the new owners of Misty Isles Adventures, they look forward to providing high quality and thought-provoking travels for people who want to experience, learn about and celebrate this beautiful part of the world.
To book your trip please contact mistyislesadventures@gmail.com, visit www.mistyislesadventures.com or call 250-935-6756.
The museum is also a tourist information booth and can give suggestions regarding accommodations and dining on Cortes. Give us a call and stay an extra night or two to explore the island! Or, check Tideline, our community’s bulletin board website, for more information regarding accommodation on Cortes Island.
For more information on other tours and programs organized by the Cortes Museum call 250-935-6340 or email cimas@cortesmuseum.com.
