When the rain taps gently on the deck and the evenings arrive earlier than you’d like, nothing feels more luxurious than curling up in front of the fireplace (pot belly or faux) on your boat with a good book. Winter is the season when we trade gunkholing and long hikes for the cozy ritual of reading, a fuzzy blanket, socks, and perhaps a glass of wine within reach. To help stock your onboard library, I’ve pulled together a list of ten books by British Columbia authors about our beloved coast. Some are true stories, others are inventive fiction, but all of them will transport you right back to the water, even if your boat is snugged into her slip until spring. So, curl up with the Coast: 10 BC books for boaters this winter.
Searching for Serafim by Ruby Smith Díaz
This book is a layered portrait of Serafim “Joe” Fortes, Vancouver’s first lifeguard and one of the city’s earliest heroes. A Trinidad native who arrived in 1885, Fortes became famous for saving swimmers from drowning at English Bay, and his funeral drew the largest crowd in Vancouver’s history. Yet behind the acclaim lies a more complicated story of how he navigated life as an Afro-Latino man in a society marked by white supremacy. Díaz weaves archival research with poetry and personal reflection to re-examine his legacy through a contemporary Black perspective, creating a moving meditation on belonging, displacement, and dignity that reintroduces Fortes as more than a public figure; he was a man whose life still resonates today.
Searching for Serafim is a layered exploration of the life of Vancouver's first lifeguard, Serafim "Joe" Fortes. A Trinidad native who arrived on the shores of Canada in 1885.
The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
John Vaillant’s The Golden Spruce is one of those books that stays with you long after the last page. It tells the true story of a magnificent Sitka spruce on Haida Gwaii, sacred to the Haida Nation, that was felled in an act of protest by a logger-turned-environmentalist. Vaillant uses this event as a lens through which to explore the complex relationship between people and nature in British Columbia. It’s beautifully written, haunting in its subject, and offers a perspective that feels essential for anyone who has ever looked at our towering coastal forests with awe.
On a winter night in 1997, a British Columbia timber scout named Grant Hadwin committed an act of shocking violence in the mythic Queen Charlotte Islands. His victim was legendary: a unique 300-year-old Sitka spruce tree, fifty metres tall and covered with luminous golden needles.
Opportunity Knox by Jack Knox
In this side-splitting follow-up to the bestseller Hard Knox: Musings from the Edge of Canada, Jack Knox presents his best writing, marking his twentieth anniversary as a humour columnist at the Victoria Times Colonist, the newspaper that made him a household name. Revisiting his most, and least popular columns, Knox weighs the potential benefits of a marijuana-like drug that reduces anxiety in rats; reports on the “Bush Boys,” a pair of brothers who emerged from the forest near Vernon with a dubious story about being raised in the wilderness (they were actually from suburban California); and muses over fictional characters such as Barbie, Ken, Harry Potter, and Archie growing up and facing the grim realities of life.
In this side-splitting follow-up to the bestseller Hard Knox: Musings from the Edge of Canada, Jack Knox presents his best writing, marking his twenty-year anniversary as a humour columnist at the Victoria Times Colonist.
The Untold Tale of BC’s Danel Marshall by local historians
History buffs will appreciate this exploration of Danel Marshall’s life, a figure whose story is not well known but is deeply tied to the province’s development. This book reveals the complexities of his life and times, highlighting both the struggles and triumphs of early British Columbia. It’s meticulously researched but written with an accessible touch, reminding us that history isn’t just about dates and battles, it’s about the individuals who shaped the culture and communities we know today. Reading it feels like opening a window onto the past of the very waters we boat on today.
A collection of fascinating stories of the extraordinary and astonishing in B.C.’s history. Daniel Marshall uncovers the stories of B.C. you’ve never heard.
Here on the Coast: Reflections from the Rainbelt by Howard White
No matter where people live on the BC coast, says Howard White, they have certain shared experiences: frustration with rain and ferries, familiarity with gumboots, bumbershoots, seagull droppings and barnacles in the wrong places. But each little community clings to its own sense of uniqueness and considers itself the true West Coast. As a case in point, White offers fifty funny sketches of life as he has come to know it in sixty-odd years of living along that hundred-mile stretch of monsoon-prone shoreline, ironically known as the Sunshine Coast. Included is what must be one of the most admiring testaments ever written about the virtues of the old-time outhouse; fond remembrances of saltwater fishing when a bad day meant you didn’t hook something in twenty minutes; and explorers who stooped to naming islands after favourite racehorses.
No matter where people live on the BC coast, says Howard White, they have certain shared experiences: frustration with rain and ferries, familiarity with gumboots, bumbershoots, seagull droppings and barnacles in the wrong places.
Full Moon Flood Tide: Bill Proctor’s Raincoast by Bill Proctor and Yvonne Maximchuk
Bill Proctor spent his life on the water, and his memoir, written with artist and author Yvonne Maximchuk, offers a rare glimpse into that experience. Full Moon Flood Tide is part autobiography, part oral history, and part love letter to the Broughton Archipelago. Proctor shares stories of commercial fishing, the history of Indigenous communities, and the ecological richness of the coast. It’s an evocative portrait of a disappearing way of life and a reminder of why we should protect the waters and shorelines we love to explore.
Bill Proctor has lived and worked by the full moon flood tides for all his life. A natural storyteller, he points the way to hidden waterfalls and abandoned village sites, knows the best coves for shelter in a sou'easter and shares the compelling and often funny stories of the settlers who loved this place.
To The Lighthouse by Peter Johnson
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are home to over two dozen active lighthouses. For over a century, these coastal beacons have guided ships through fog and offered hope to countless mariners. Today, the lighthouses on BC’s southern islands are ideal destinations for day trippers and coastal explorers of all ages who are looking for historical sites in spectacular maritime settings. To the Lighthouse: An Explorer’s Guide to the Island Lighthouses of Southwestern BC offers a comprehensive and fascinating look at these remarkable landmarks, blending practical information on location and accessibility with riveting facts, local lore, and gorgeous photography. From Fisgard Lighthouse, a National Historic Site at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour, to the remote west coast sentinels of Cape Beale and Pachena Point, and from the isolated Cape Mudge beacon on Quadra Island to the community-supported restoration project at Sheringham Point, this book celebrates a unique culture of public service passed down through generations. To the Lighthouse is a travelling companion like no other.
From Fisgard Lighthouse, a National Historic Site at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour, to the remote west coast sentinels of Cape Beale and Pachena Point, and from the isolated Cape Mudge beacon on Quadra Island to the community-supported restoration project at Sheringham Point, this book celebrates a unique culture of public service passed down through generations.
Following the Curve of Time by Cathy Converse
For those who fell in love with Wylie Blanchet’s story, The Curve of Time, Cathy Converse’s Following the Curve of Time provides the context and detail that the original left out. Converse delves into Blanchet’s life, examining her background, motivations, and legacy. It enriches the original book by painting a fuller portrait of a remarkable woman who dared to do what few others would at the time. Together, the two books create a layered picture of both the author and the coast she loved so fiercely.
If you enjoyed reading The Curve of Time by Capi Blanchet, you will love this follow-up story written by Cathy Converse.
The Light on the Island by Helene Glidden
This memoir tells the story of a family living on a lighthouse off the coast of Vancouver Island in the 1930s. Helene Glidden writes with honesty and charm about the isolation, the storms, and the joys of a life defined by the rhythms of the sea. It’s part family story, part adventure, and part love letter to the coast. For boaters, it resonates deeply. We know how the sea can be both companion and challenge, and Glidden captures that duality beautifully.
Readers can once again enjoy Helene Glidden's classic, "The Light on the Island" as this 50th Anniversary Edition retells the touching story of a young girl growing up on Patos Island in the San Juan Archipelago. Her parents raised thirteen children while her father served as the Patos Island lighthouse keeper from 1905 - 1913.
The Last Island: A Naturalist’s Sojourn on Triangle Island by Alison Watt
A beautifully written memoir about time spent on one of BC’s most remote and windswept places. Watt brings the seabirds, storms, and rugged landscape of Triangle Island vividly to life, blending natural history with personal reflection in prose that feels both intimate and expansive. Her descriptions capture the raw beauty and isolation of the North Pacific, making it an evocative read for anyone who has ever lingered at anchor and wondered what it would be like to stay. It’s a reminder of how wild and fragile our coast remains, and a perfect companion for a cozy evening on board.
At twenty-three, Alison Watt left the comfort of a relationship and urban life to spend four months studying tufted puffins on Triangle Island, a remote bird sanctuary far off the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
Wrapping It Up by the Firelight
What unites these books is their ability to transport you, whether to a windswept lighthouse, a cedar-scented forest, or a boat navigating Desolation Sound in another century. They remind us that winter doesn’t have to mean leaving the water behind. With the right book, a faux-fireplace flickering, and a cozy blanket wrapped tight, you can spend the off-season voyaging in your imagination.
So, stock your galley with granola and good coffee, then stock your shelves with these stories. Because sometimes the best kind of cruise is the one you take without ever untying the dock lines.
