Labour Day Cruise 2014
The Labour Day Cruise to Union Steamship Marina at Snug Cove, Bowen Island stared early on Friday, August 29 with Bob and Dianne on Kama Lua, Mike and Jenn on Polaris, Karen and Al on Promises, Keith and Sharon on Lapland, Lorraine and Rick on Imperial, Cdr Bev on BC Ferry and finally Darcy and I on Palaran. The threat of a cooler, wetter weekend than we had been experiencing this summer was not enough to deter us from the camaraderie of our fellow boaters.
Darcy and I were the last to arrive on Friday because we chose to dive at Bowyer on our way, and a spectacular dive it was. Clear visibility, multitudes of various fishes and wolf-eels were the highlights of this dive! We were also checking on the status of the sea-stars. Some are making a comeback but the most striking difference was the proliferation of small green sea urchins. Perhaps their abundance is in part due to the dearth of sea-stars? The wolf-eels are enjoying the fresh carpet of food just outside their dens as we witnessed. One of the resident wolf-eels demonstrated the ease of picking up a couple of urchins and munched and crunched them until there was nothing left. What a treat to see first hand!
On arrival at the dock we had to take the inside of E dock due to the reservation of ‘Nova Spirit’ on the outside. ‘Nova Spirit’ is owned by Jim Pattison and is one of the largest local yachts. All of the BPS boats were dwarfed by its size. We were happy to check it out up close but were also glad to see her pull out on Saturday morning. She casts quite an imposing shadow.
The dock party was in full swing on Friday night but we awoke refreshed on Saturday. Cruisemaster Darcy continued his new tradition of providing coffee and baked goods for the cruisers in the morning. The weather was cool but warmed up considerably once the sun came over the hill. The day was filled with socializing and greeting the Saturday arrivals: Bill, Bev, Betty and Norm on Maple Leaf, Neal and Darlene on Tanager, and Luke on Someday Lady II. Once we had everyone docked and settled the Saturday pot luck dinner was laid out and we feasted on surprisingly healthy fare. Not that the food is normally unhealthy, but it was noticed that the amount of vegetable offerings had increased significantly. Perhaps my whining has been heard?
Coffee was served on the dock again on Sunday but with the addition of Dianne’s fresh baked cinnamon pull-a-parts. After breakfast a group of us went for a hike to Killarney Lake. Lorraine brought her bicycle along and generously leant it out to Bob who was impressive powering up the hills. Most of the walkers turned around at the lake but Darcy & I chose to go the extra 4 km around the lake. It is a very scenic hike, but you need good shoes to do it. In the afternoon Norm gave a seminar on radio communications as more members arrived by ferry for the Doc Morgan’s dinner: Nancy and Jerry, Lorne and Ann, Tom, Jo-Ann, and Dave, Luke’s friends: Tess and Davina, and Karen and Al’s son Ron.
Jamie at Doc Morgan’s arranged a lovely BBQ dinner, including wild salmon fillet, chicken breast, beef patty, or veggie patty served on a bun with a deluxe green salad and potato salad buffet. All were delicious but the salmon was very fresh and perfectly grilled. After dinner, there was another dock party on multiple boats; special thanks to all those who hosted groups of partygoers.
The entire weekend was full of friends and fun and of course being on the water makes it all even better. The predicted wet weekend did not materialize, and we all enjoyed great weather and sunburned noses!
See you at Squamish for Thanksgiving, by land or sea!
Val and Darcy O’Shea
Burnaby Power & Sail Squadron 