Rose Harbour



Susan's House, Rose Harbour

Rose Harbour consists of 3-4 homes on privately owned land, the only piece of privately owned land within Gwaii Haanas.  To protect their land rights, the owners formed a corporation with appropriated shares, apparently the Government had tried various means of acquiring the property.  

Goetz Hanisch, Lodging & Story Teller

One of the owners, Goetz Hanisch of German descent, provides lodging for tour groups visiting Anthony Island; and another owner Susan, provides fabulous meals at her home.  

Table with a Garden View

Boaters can contact Susan on VHF Ch6 to make a dinner reservation.  Susan was able to accommodate two more people so we motored the dinghy to shore.  Who would have guessed that a fabulous dinner could be prepared in the remote wilderness?  Of course the Halibut was tender fresh and the salad from her garden was wonderful not to mention the beautiful vegie rolls wrapped in rice with edible flowers and greens.  Sautéed shitake mushrooms were also served along with a delicious quinoa dish.  

Boilers from Whaling Station at Rose Harbour

Rose Harbour was once a busy Whaling Station from 1910-1943.  Remnants of the old boilers can still be seen next to Susan’s house.  The boilers were used to recover the oil from the whale’s blubber.  After heating, the oil was then cooled and bleached to be stored in barrels or tanks.  

Archival Photo, Whaling Station at Rose Harbour

Whaling was a dangerous business with numerous mishaps; a plaque on shore at Rose Harbour honors the memory of Japanese and Chinese who died in the employ of the Consolidated Whaling Co.  Rose Harbour is one of those interesting stops not to be missed.  

Trail to Watchmen Cabin, Anderson Island

The following morning was Jim and Anita’s opportunity to see SGang Gwaay on Anthony Island.  Spirit Quest was left anchored at Rose Harbour while we all went aboard Got d’ Fever to the Native World Heritage Site which is always worth a second visit.  We were received by an excellent host Watchman who filled in a lot of unanswered questions we had.  

Boardwalk Trail to Watchmen Cabin, Anthony Island

An unexpected treat was walking the boardwalk through a forested trail with granite walls and fissures.  

Watchmen Cabin, Anthony Island

View from Watchmen Cabin

The Watchmen cabin is quite new and situated in a beautiful setting, what a special job they have!  After our tour we pointed Got d’ Fever back to Rose Harbour located just over six nautical miles away.  By then, the winds had picked up to 14-18 knots.  

View from Watchmen Cabin

We slowly motored Got d’ Fever alongside Spirit Quest, a swinging moving target in the wind, so Jim and Anita could step aboard their boat.  After a couple of attempts, we were successful; that’s another kudos for the log book!  Both boats departed the harbour around 1pm and headed east to Hecate Strait, next stop Sac Bay.