Passage Island (British Columbia)

Passage Island is a small island near West Vancouver, British Columbia and across from Bowen Island. The island is mostly woodland and cliffs. It marks the entrance to Howe Sound, and the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo regularly passes it. The island's postal code—V7W 1V7—is the wealthiest in Canada but Passage Island remains isolated from the mainland due to rough waters.

In 1893, the island was sold for a dollar an acre by a banker named Keith, and was later bought by a rich man named Phil Matty. "No utilities, no garbage trucks, no telephones, no fire stations, no policemen, no industry-just 32 acres of beautiful British Columbia. I escaped to that paradise for a few hours each week to move rocks, saw logs, watch the tide come in and go out-all in the name of therapeutic basket weaving. It was like having my own personal psychiatrist. I loved it. I loved it so much that I bought it."

Shortly after he died, the island was split between his two sons Chad, and Kim, (who is Currently living on the island with his family) who sold many of the properties.

Today, the island has a few houses, and few year-round residents, but mostly consists of summer cottages. The island has spectacular views of downtown Vancouver, the University of British Columbia campus, Vancouver Island and the snow-capped mountains. There are no vehicles on the island and all the homes use solar photovoltaics for electric power and capture rainwater off roofs. There are also a few wind turbines. Access is limited with no place to tie up boats (residents tie their boats on buoys and paddle in to shore). There is irregular water taxi service from Fisherman's Cove in West Vancouver.

The island is overseen by the Islands Trust and is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

References

• "Passage Island". BC Geographical Names. http://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/16069.html.