MMBC Executive Director Brittany Vis demonstrates the interactive anchor exhibit a great hands-on for kids and grown-ups alike. Joanne Hill photo

Maritime Museum of BC sails into new home port

September 2, 2021 // by Joanne Hill

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Everything is ship-shape and Bristol fashion at the Maritime Museum of BC, and just in time for a grand re-opening.

After many years at a three-level Bastion Square location, the museum settled into smaller, temporary digs near Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The museum’s much-anticipated re-opening in its new location is now squared away, they’re ready to welcome visitors to 744 Douglas St. starting Friday, Sept. 3.

Although the space is quite a bit smaller than its earlier Bastion Square spot, the museum curators will rotate featured exhibits several times each year from their vast collection. Currently on display are old favourites and some models that have not been on display for years!

Bow of Princess Marguerite. If you are a local of a certain generation, you’ll not only remember this ship plying the waters off Vancouver Island, but also a certain ad jingle… Joanne Hill photo

Close quarters

The romance of the sea and a more elegant time of steamships and tall ships beckons and there are many evocative models and artifacts showcasing the maritime history of British Columbia and its links to the CPR.

The Empresses and Princesses: CPR’s British Columbia Coast Steamships gives visitors a chance to imagine a time of slower travel by train and the CPR’s fleets of transatlantic and transpacific steamships.

A tiny canon: This lyle gun was used for casting a line to a distant position. Find out about how this was used on the SS Valencia. Joanne Hill photo

Flotsam and jetsam

Along with the romance of the sea comes danger and tragedy. The rugged west coast can be perilous, even for seasoned mariners, and before modern navigation innovations and safety measures, marine disasters that left a legacy of human drama.

Currently on display, the SS Valencia: “A Theatre of Horror” outlines the tragic and infamous shipwreck that took 40 hours to unfold. Some of the relics recovered have tales of their own to tell too.

All hands on deck!

A brand new interactive exhibit allows visitors to try their hand at some nautical skills and learn directly from staff and volunteers.

If you want to visit more than once, membership is a great way to stay involved for the long haul. Included with your yearly membership is free admittance to the Vancouver Maritime Museum and discounts at various other places including the Royal BC Museum.

Set sail with the Maritime Museum of BC today! Visit Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adult admission is $10, students/seniors are $8, youth (12 to 17) are $5 and children under 12 are free. Learn more at mmbc.bc.ca or call 250-385-4222.

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