Sailing, Shakespeare, Seals, Shags and Slicks!

Last weekend my family and I were lucky enough to travel to Vancouver to see the wonderful Bard on the Beach production of Antony and Cleopatra. Surprisingly it was our 12 year old son's choice. We sailed over from Gabriola Island with an 18 NW knot breeze to push us along. Glorious conditions saw us sail right to our anchorage in False Creek where we anchored for the night. A short dingy trip ashore then a detour to Granville Island for some delectable chocolate eclairs.

On our way out of Granville Island, a large crowd was gathered on the board walk under the Bridge. My curiosity piqued, I wandered over to see what the attraction was. On the dock of a fishing boat charter company some folks were feeding a Harbour Seal. As the seal came back again and again for treats I watched the intense enthusiasm of the crowd as they oohed and ahhed at its antics. Just like when the Grey Whale visited False Creek recently, it reinforced for me, once again, that people are enamored by wild marine creatures and that there is a connection between our species.

As I continued to observe this phenomena I looked more around the waterfront and could not help but notice the scum on the water's surface undoubtedly consisting of once airborne particulates, spilled hydrocarbons and oily bilge discharge. Along with a couple of plastic bags and disposable coffee cups, this made for a not very nice place for marine critters to hang out.

Why the heck as humans, when many of us love and respect wild creatures, we just don't get it when it comes to looking after their (and our) habitat? Why don't folks understand that as long as we pour, spill and throw our waste into the waters (accidentally or otherwise) we will continue to degrade the very home of the critters that give us so much joy. I guess it gets much more complex than that when we start to look at the waste created by the production and transport of everything we buy and every thing we do, but as a start we should at least look at our direct discharges to our beautiful waters!

The show was fantastic and the highlight for many was when a Pelagic Cormorant entered stage right just as Antony died in Cleopatra's arms. The bewildered bird flapped and flopped around in front of the audience as Cleopatra embraced it's appearance and somehow made it part of the show! The bird exited stage right as if on cue!

Next day we dodged the myriad of shipping in English Bay before setting course for Silva Bay. With once again a beautiful breeze we enjoyed yet another crossing of this wonderful body of water. Just outside of our home port we were treated to visit of 50+ Pacific White Sided Dolphins who rode our bow wave and cavorted around us for some time before continuing their journey north. We really do live in a most magnificent part of the world and we need to look after it.

Loss of a lifestyle - musings over cell phones

Just recently, a "temporary" cell phone tower has appeared on the shores of Silva Bay on Gabriola island. I assume it was brought in to fill the little black hole of cell phone coverage we had in this neck of the woods. It seems some folks figure this is a good idea to increase communication in case of disaster or emergencies and perhaps to help alleviate the stress caused to those people who arrive here and suddenly find they are "connected' no longer.

You know, I can appreciate the desire to have a supposedly"flawless" communications system in case of emergencies or disaster, to have another level on all those things we have already in place but I can't help wondering at what cost we are doing this. I'm no expert on the cumulative effects of electromagnetic radiation and such things that are associated with technology of these sorts but several learned friends and associates of mine assure me it's not necessarily benign. More on that side of things can be discovered at

http://www.weepinitiative.org/

I also wonder however, about a more subtle effect. One that talks to our developing mindset as a culture and our life experience as individuals. In this world of high tech gadgetry it's easy to be connected to the internet 24/7 if you want or if you are addicted. Lots of good stuff on the internet. Lots of great connections with voice or texting on your cell phone. I mean, all over the world we see folks on their phones or blackberries or laptops being "connected" while they are in restaurants, playing golf, walking down the street (or even the beach), driving and yes, even boating. Heck, I do it myself sometimes!

I just can't help wondering what that constant connection or ability to be connected does to us. I remember when I was a young man and when my freedom meant everything to me, I would go wild places by myself and have no way of connecting to any other human being and no one would know where I was. It gave me a wonderful sense of freedom, independence and self reliance. If I got in trouble of any sort I only had myself to rely on.

Perhaps it was a bit extreme and I've certainly mellowed but I still cherish those times when my connection to "civilization" is limited. When I'm disconnected I am far more present, far more aware of my surroundings, far more aware of the need to look out for myself and whoever is with me and far more aware of the need to be properly prepared. It also allows me to really connect with the natural world and the rhythms of the tides and weather and wild critters. Something that is crucial to really understanding why there is an ever-increasing need for environmental best practices.

Enter the cell phone and other devices with constant connection to the "world". Now I don't need to be as prepared. 911 is just a call away. Now I can keep up with my stock portfolio. Now I can connect with my"friends" and tell them how wonderful it is to be in such a beautiful place but not really experience it or understand what is needed to keep it beautiful.

Perhaps it is a risk to live or go somewhere without cell phone coverage but what sort of characters do we develop if we eliminate all risk? What sort of characters do we develop if we are able to connect all the time wherever we go? What sort of characters would we have if we did not question those things that are foisted upon us?

How can we, as individuals and as a community, really look after this precious part of the world if we do not spend time immersed in it and paying real attention to it's needs without being constantly distracted? I for one am not in need of more cell phone coverage. I'm in need of more time being disconnected.

The Dying Clam Gardens of Waiatt Bay

For thousands of years, First Nations have relied upon the traditional clam gardens of Waiatt Bay, which contains 40 culturally modified clam beds. In the last few years we've been hearing reports that the clam gardens are dying, so we decided to go see for ourselves. Waiatt Bay is of particular interest as it is in the middle of the Wild Salmon Narrows.  

As we entered Waiatt Bay on the east side of Quadra Island, clam gardens were evident  in every nook and cranny possible, where for thousands of years First Nations worked these sea gardens by rolling the large rocks down to the low tide line in order to improve the habitat for the clams and cockles they harvest. Immediately upon setting foot on shore, the elders went to work digging clams, as their ancestors before them…and hopefully their children after them!  

We took a look at several of the clam gardens, and at first glance the clams seemed healthy. However the beaches were full of whole empty shells, which suggests many had died fairly recently. Butter clams seemed to be most affected, while the deeper little necks appeared fine. 

The elders slowly filled a few buckets until it was time to head back. The clams collected appeared to be healthy and although the abundance of clams at all the sites we visited was greatly reduced from historical levels, they were able to collect enough to look forward to a good clam dinner. As former Homalco Chief Darren Blaney began opening the butter clams harvested on the apparently healthy beaches, he found them all inedible. The clams were not good at all; rather than a nice healthy pink, they were blackened and sickly looking inside.

It’s not clear why these clam gardens are dying, but the Cyrus Rocks open net-cage fish farm only 1.5 km from the mouth of the bay is a prime suspect. This is the same type of impact being witnessed on beaches near fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago. While we await the results of a study being conducted there, perhaps we should be looking more closely at the beaches near the farms in this area as well. 

Learn more about Waiatt Bay, the Wild Salmon Narrows, and the Cyrus Rocks fish farm.

Hands Across the Sands

Thanks to EJ Hurst from New Society Publishers (www.newsociety.com) for getting this information together.

On June 26th, people around the world are going to the beach. They are not going just to soak up the sun, rub their toes through the sand, listen to the calming wash of waves on the shore. They are going to hold hands, and not just with their sweetie for a romantic stroll along the waves.

Hands Across the Sand is an international movement to oppose offshore oil drilling and champion clean energy and renewables. It is made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations.

Hands Across the Sand are calling on people around the world to stage a simple and peaceful action.

* Go to your beach on June 26 at 11 AM in your time zone.
* Form lines in the sand and at 12:00, join hands.

The image is powerful, the message is simple. NO to Offshore Oil Drilling, YES to Clean Energy.

Hands Across the Sand started February 13, 2010 in Florida, two months
before the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Thousands of Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off shores of Florida. Florida’s Hands Across The Sand event was the largest gathering in the history of Florida united against oil drilling. Thousands joined hands from Jacksonville to Miami Beach and Key West to Pensacola Beach, each against oil drilling in Florida’s waters.

There are 2 "Hands Across the Sands" Events planned so far for Vancouver. Both are for this Saturday June 26 at 11.00 am

English Bay: Meet at 1795 Beach Ave., just south of Denman.

Organizer: Fiona Bowie BCAAOSD@gmail.com

Kits Beach: "From Burrard Bridge, through Jericho Beach all the way to the endowment lands!!! As far as the low or high tide allows"
Organizer: Jenny McDonnell chippersmom@hotmail.com

In Victoria it's at Willows Beach in Victoria/Oak Bay also at 11 am this Saturday July 26.

Here is a video from Surf Rider Foundation who were part of the February 13th event.

To register or find an event near you go to Hands Across the Sand.com

Don't worry, it's just a seepage

Sometimes listening to an interview can be more like watching someone tap dance than providing information. This is the impression I was left with this morning as I listened to the answers from a Chevron representative being interviewed on CBC regarding how oil and/or gas is now seeping into Burrard Inlet from the Chevron plant. I shook my head at the efforts being made to downplay oil and gas spills ... even going so far as referring to them a 'hydrocarbons' to make it sound less harmful and by saying it's just a small sheen on the water, a tactic the interviewer did not let them get away with.

While I listened, there were also two words that popped into my head: ignorance and mistrust.

Just as BP is doing down in the Gulf of Mexico, Chevron seems to be completely ignorant of how oil spills (or seepages) can be devastating to a localized environment. Even small amounts of oil and gas can kill or harm marine plants and animals. The sheen you see on the water's surface can be fatal to the many tiny animals that live in the water's surface layer. Juvenile fish and shellfish also depend on this surface 'microlayer'. In addition, chemicals present in fuel react with sunlight to become up to 50,000 times more toxic, killing plankton and other species that are essential for a healthy marine environment. What is also missing from this assessment is an understanding of the fact that spill is not happening in isolation. There are hundred of small oil and gas spills that happen in Burrard Inlet and in Georgia Strait, from ship to shoreline, each year. In fact, in North America, small fuel and oil spills equal 15x what was spilled by the Exxon Valdez - each year. So to try and minimize it by calling it a 'seepage' does us all a disservice by trying to minimize the harm being done by these types of spills.

From what we're being told, this discharge started last month in an area that had been a concern to Chevron for the last 6 years. Their concern caused them to start monitoring the area, even increasing the monitoring in the last year. As we speak, Chevron is saying it does not know where the oil and gas is coming from which is making stopping it a challenge. I admit, it's a bit hard to fathom that after 6 years of monitoring a source hasn't been found, and more importantly, has been capped.

It's this kind of approach to spills from the oil and gas industry that has us all wondering how we continue to take so many risks with the production, processing and transport of oil and gas. With no real ability to recover what is spilled and a seeming attitude that our oceans can handle the toxins we continue to put into it, this is an industry that is really hard to trust.

And it will only get worse. Today, Enbridge filed an application for the construction and operation of the Northern Gateway Project, which could bring more tankers to our coast if we don't continue to fight it, while the US continues to push for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic.

Our coastline, including Georgia Strait, are heading towards a death by a thousand cuts, and until we made real commitments to build an alternative energy bridge which will move us away from our dependence on fossil fuels, the cuts will keep coming.