Nanaimo is a city on the eastern, south-central side of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The Hudson’s Bay Company made a killing here in the 1850s when they learned there was coal aplenty in the neighborhood. Gave them a break from the monotony of all that fur trading, don’t you know. Enough areas of historic interest remain in Nanaimo to make one or more walking tours worthwhile for the itinerant boater, and there are nice restaurants, including The Wesley Street Cafe, which is stellar (bison steak, lamb prepared 2 different ways…you get the picture). Nowadays, in addition to the fine dining, educational and boat-gear-purchasing opportunities Nanaimo offers, Environment Canada gives the city a very prominent position in their daily weather forecasts. Often are the times that Environment Canada refers to weather systems in the Strait of Georgia as being either "north of Nanaimo" or "south of Nanaimo." It is the hub of wind and water phenomena. In short, Nanaimo is Where It’s At, Baby.
When we have visited Nanaimo we have typically taken moorage at the Port Authority docks, given the proximity to most of what we like to see in such a city (the aforementioned restaurants, and museums, the Harbour Chandler, etc.); and because anchoring is virtually impossible now, what with all the permanently moored boats occupying the public anchorage off Newcastle Island. Towit:
PR for the city would call the Port Authority docks and the surrounding area "busy," being as close as they are to ferry terminals both large and small, the float plane facilities run by two companies, and the Port Authority’s large vessel pier. Non-PR types might instead call it "freakin’ nonstop loud." Plus, of course, if one has CO monitors on board one’s boat, they may go off due to the prevalence of diesel and aircraft fumes. Regardless of your point of view, and if you can tolerate the noise and toxic fumes for a couple of days, it can be really entertaining to watch life’s rich pageant brought to you by Nanaimo. You don’t even have to leave your slip to see everything from fishing boats passing right by to bring in their catch or leave for the fishing grounds in the morning
; to the arrivals and departures of the Canadian Coast Guard and Navy vessels for their target practice in Whiskey Golf;
to the little commuter ferry that runs between Nanaimo and Protection Island; to the comings and goings of power boats, sailboats, and dinghies of all sizes and conditions. Heck; on May 22 when we were there, we even saw a small aluminum power skiff coming in, carrying an old lawnmower on his dodger. No, really. A Toro lawnmower. On the roof of a boat. The mind, it boggles.
That said, a port like Nanaimo has other attractions found in few other places. Like, for example, hyper-cool boats of all types. Take "Estren" for instance – a 30-foot-plus-or-minus classic sailboat that appears (from the clean looks of the rudder and keel as well as artifacts in the cockpit) to be a fit and active little boat. 
Check out Estren’s adjustable bowsprit. Here, it’s made-off; but when it’s lowered into that notch you see to the port side of the anchor, it adds a foresail that magically renders the roller furling jib into a sort of inner forestay. 
Sure would like to see Estren under full sail — does that kind of system work well?
Here’s another boat at rest in the Port Authority’s marina in Nanaimo. This one is a classic power boat of 30-something feet that appears to have had a bit of exterior rehab work done. Sweet little thing, and the interior woodwork (not shown here) appears original. Might not get out much, given the growth of lettuce on the keel and the…ermmm…porous-appearing wood framed windows of the bridge. But just think of what it must have been like to zip around the Inside Passage in someting like this, back in the ’40s. 
Wonder what Muriel Wylie Blanchett might have thought of the likes of this….
On the other hand, if one has no need for intense urban stimulation, cool classic boats, or business in Nanaimo, and/or prefers to anchor out in a bay with a bit o’ swingin’ room, might I suggest bypassing Nanaimo and going a mere 15 miles further northward, to Nanoose Harbour? Sure, it’s ringed by houses and a highway (like, Nanaimo isn’t?? Or Poulsbo, or Ganges? Or, like, Sidney doesn’t have an airport? Or etc.???) — and of course there is the possibilty that once or twice a day a train car might rumble down the tracks surrounding the bay (as opposed to Shilshole’s big, mile-long, honkin’ trains every 20 minutes); but Nanoose has easy WiFi access (unlike Lake Union in Seattle with all its radio/TV interference), and the holding is good. Nanoose Harbour: less well-thought-of in the cruising guides*, but a fine place indeed to spend a quick night on one’s way up north. We give it a thumb’s-up.
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* Due, presumably, to either a lack of breathtaking pristineness or a lack of citified amenities. One must read between the lines of all cruising guides to find some "B-level" anchorages they mention in passing, that ultimately turn out to be pretty nice places to park one’s boat overnight. Nanoose is one such place. Enjoy.
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