Nanoose Bay is a community of about 5 000 people in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located between Nanaimo and Parksville on the Strait of Georgia on the east cost of Vancouver Island. The town is named after a First Nations band related to the Nanaimo Indians. The Schooner Cove Marina with 400 berths is a destination for boaters from throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range (CFMETR), a joint Canadian-American testing facility for torpedoes and other maritime warfare and listening equipment, has operated out of Nanoose Bay since 1965
Nanoose Bay is a hot spot for golfers, clam diggers and water sports enthusiasts. Nanoose Bay enjoys a country atmosphere while being close to the city amenities of Parksville and Nanaimo. The peninsula's large, protected harbour is a popular destination for visiting boats from around the world, and is home to an assortment of marinas, one as large as 400 berths. The Nanoose Bay area is a vacationer's paradise, offering a wealth of activities, including hiking, canoeing, sailing, windsurfing and fishing.
Nanoose Bay is named after a First Nations band related to the Nanaimo Indians. The theory locally is that the word means 'pushing forward', referring to the shape of Nanoose Bay, a six-kilometre long deepwater bay formed by the peninsula.
Nanoose Bay is the site of the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range, chosen for easy recovery of the unarmed torpedoes from the ocean bottom. The torpedo testing range in the Georgia Strait off Vancouver Island has been operating since 1967, testing torpedoes, sonar, sonobuoys and other maritime warfare equipment. The federal government owns the land used for the range. The foreshore is owned by B.C. and used by the federal government under a sixty-year agreement signed in 1988. The Nanoose Bay seabed was also owned by British Columbia and leased to Ottawa.
