Private Boat Charter: Explore the Southern Gulf Islands from Sidney

The bow parts a glassy inlet as Sidney slides astern and the mainland skyline shrinks to a memory. Salt-stained pilings and a pair of cormorants give way to open water and a stitched coastline of islands—each one a different idea of the Pacific Northwest: rocky bluffs, cedar-scented coves, low vineyards and tidy farmstands. On a private four-hour charter out of Van Isle Marina, your schedule is the map. The captain steers toward Salt Spring for market stalls and studios, then threads between Galiano, Saturna, Mayne and Pender, dropping anchor where shorelines, wineries or a poet’s cove call.