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Active Pass

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Strait in British Columbia

Active Pass (Saanich: SḴŦAḴ)^[1] is astrait separatingGaliano Island in the north andMayne Island in the south in the southernGulf Islands,British Columbia,Canada. It connects theTrincomali Channel in the west and theStrait of Georgia in the east. The pass stretches 5.5 km from northeast to southwest with two roughly right-angle bends, one at each end.

It was named for theUSCSActive, aUnited States Navy survey vessel, the first steamer to navigate the pass in 1855.^[2]^[3]

From 1967 to 2011, the Active Pass light station was part of theBritish Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program, collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements for theDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans everyday for 44 years.^[4]

Currently, the pass is a major shipping lane and is primarily used byBC Ferries' passenger and vehicle ferry runs betweenTsawwassen Ferry Terminal atTsawwassen,Lower Mainland, the southern Gulf Islands andSwartz Bay Ferry Terminal atSwartz Bay,Vancouver Island. Because the pass has ariver's narrowness, the ferries pass extremely close to its shores. It is also used bypleasure craft,fishing boats,freighters and freight ferries, making it very 'active' commercially as well. However, strongeddies and tide rips are always present in the pass, making it a hazardous corridor for smaller vessels to transit.

A variety of wildlife may be seen in the pass, includingharbour seals,sea lions,bald eagles, andorcas.

On 8 September 1968,HMCS Saskatchewan ran aground while transiting Active Pass in fog. The captain was court martialed and found guilty of negligence.^[5]
On 2 August 1970, three people aboard theBC FerryQueen of Victoria perished and the ship itself suffered close to $1 million damage when a Russian freighter, theSergey Yesenin, struck it in Active Pass.^[6]
On 9 August 1979, the BC FerryQueen of Alberni ran aground at Collinson Reef in Active Pass, causing the vessel to tip dramatically to one side. Extensive vehicle and ship damage occurred, as well as the casualty of a racehorse.^[6]
On 6 November 2015, a man jumped from the deck of a BC Ferry in Active Pass and swam to Galiano Island. He was later arrested after breaking into a cabin.