What happens when you do a search for Tourism France, or Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador, or Tourism Vancouver Island? You get a beautiful, electronic brochure of all there is to do – a brochure that presumes the traveller is running on rubber tires or rails. Almost nowhere in the world is there a destination travel website that is designed for boaters.

AHOY BC, companion to HELLO BC, joins Sail Scotland as the world’s second boater-dedicated travel site. AHOY BC brands BC’s Coast as one of the most remarkable sailing experiences on earth, and provides the information and tools people look for when they plan a trip. Ahoybc.com was launched in April 2015. Our first opportunity to see the reaction of boaters to the website came at the 2016 Vancouver International Boat Show. The inter-active map and search features received appreciative comments from many skippers.

AHOY BC is the brand for British Columbia Ocean Boating Tourism Association, a non-profit Society supported in part by Destination BC.  AHOY BC does not charge a membership fee.  Every marina or harbour that accepts transient vessels is shown on the website, at no cost.  Every coastal community is profiled.  The goal is to provide a complete information resource for marine travellers.

AHOY BC Regions: Salish Sea; Fiords, Islands and Passages; and Outer Reaches

BC’s Coastal region is divided into three main regions – Salish Sea; Fiords, Islands and Passages, and Outer Reaches.  Within the three regions are eleven sub-regions.  Each is described and pictured, and each is featured in a 7-minute video.  Our slogan: “Explore the wild, but civilized coast of British Columbia” aligns with Destination BC’s “Wild at Heart” branding theme.

Bluewater Cruising Association members will find ahoybc.com useful in several ways.  Trip itinerary suggestions and links to community, parks and travel-theme websites make planning activities easier.  Links to charts, weather, boating activity, customs information and safe, environmentally-benign boating are available in one location.  Most useful, however, is the searchable map that allows you to find facilities that have the goods and services you need along your route.

We welcome suggestions on how to make our website more useful for boaters. Please forward your suggestions to bcobta@ruralfutures.ca.