Georgia Strait: an inland sea

Between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia is Georgia Strait, the center for much of the commerce and industry of British Columbia. Here is the port of Vancouver, the mighty paper and pulp mills that drive the B.C. economy.
And on the mainland side, the first of the great inlets that are the signature feature of the protected Inside Passage that is essentially the whole coast of British Columbia and Southeast Alaska. Jervis Inlet and Howe Sound both push deep into the mountain interior. Right next to British Columbia’s biggest city, Howe Sound penetrates into county so wild and rough that no road goes around; travelers headed north take a ferry across.
For the cruise ships and the big British Columbia and Alaska ferries, the route is the red line, straight up the middle to Campbell River and Seymour Narrows: the big ship route to Alaska
For small craft - yachts and fishing boats - the route is usually the dotted line - seeking the more sheltered channels, as for them Georgia Strait can be big waters when the strong westerlies oppose a flooding tide.

The vastness of The North: the deck of the West Coast Wilderness lodge looks out at Jervis Inlet. Just to the south is the legendary and dangerous Skookumchuck Rapids, where tidal currents are so powerful that they create standing waves that kayakers come many miles to ride like big surf. But, mariner beware: lives have been lost here by boaters attempting passage when the tide was running at strength.

This is not the ocean, this kayaker is riding the standing (stationary) wave at Skookumchuck Rapids. In September of 2009, some kayakers were waiting for the current, that can run at up to 20mph, to create big enough waves to surf, when to their amazement they watched as the tugboat North Arm Venture slowly capsize when its barge pulled the tug sideways, throwing one of the crew into the water. The kayakers quickly paddled out and helped the man in the water over to the capsized tug.

The beating heart of the British Columbia economy: the sawmill at Campbell River, one of many on Georgia Strait. Commercial fishing and logging/milling were the engines that drove the B.C. economy from its early history all the way into the 21st century.

Next: Seymour Narrows