Albertan Makes My Day and other Stories from the Coast
July 14, 2008
Garnet and I had an incredible day on the water Saturday. We sailed Madsu from Horseshoe Bay at Granville Island and back, all for the sake of a little lunch in the market.
We logged about 27 miles on the trip there and back, all but 5 of them under sail. It was one of those perfect ’set it and forget’ days with a steady wind around 10 knots.
The day started on an auspicious note, even before we hit the water. On the drive from home to Horseshoe Bay we stopped for gas. While gassing up a tourist came over to ask for directions and I stood and talked with him for a bit. In doing so, I put my wallet on top of the car, and promptly drove off.
Fortunately, the very same tourist followed me out of the gas station and spotted my wallet. Some frantic horn honking got my attention and the day was saved. So, the the tall blonde couple from Alberta at the gas station in North Vancouver who asked for directions to Stanley Park - thank you for making my day.
Our trip from Horseshoe Bay out was lovely - the sun was hot and the boat was humming along at a nice pace. With my back to the pushput and the tiller extender in hand, I managed to sit back and relax in the sun for most of the trip out of Howe Sound, interrupted by only a couple of tacks as we worked out way to weather on a steady inflow.
The trip down into English Bay was a straight shot and of course as we got closer to Vancouver the sailboat traffic increased rapidly, with the usual collection of outbound yachts, day sailors, and a gaggle of Lasers and Hobie’s flying out of Jericho.
As usual the docks around Granville Island were packed so we milled around a bit and got lucky as 40 foot sloop signaled he was pulling out. We tucked in, tied up and headed for the market to devour a late lunch. As usual, the market was packed but we managed to find a couple of stools and chowed down. Next stop, the Kids Market for a quick purchase of much needed new Lego for G and a strong coffee for me.
The trip back was lovely - we cruised by the beach at English Bay which was of course packed. Garnet pointed out a few naked sunbathers who were obviously shielded from the beach side by some big rocks but sitting ‘en plein air’ from the water. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
We fired up the iPod and listened (and laughed) to Ricky Gervais and gang - it’s become a ritual on the boat to listen to his podcasts (over and over).
We were dockside at our slip at Sewell’s by 9pm. A fantastic day - pure west coast magic - saved from disaster by a lovely couple from Alberta.
Mannion Bay Lunch Hook
June 22, 2008
Sometimes things just line up right.
Pushing aside the fear I may be turning into a big softie, I’ll just go ahead and say it. We had an incredible, magic day on the water.
Madsu is ship-shape after a spring of upgrades/fixes and it’s a real pleasure to see and feel the difference every time we go out.
Today, MB came along (my oldest son) and our friend’s daughter who’s interested in sailing.
We took off from Sewell’s Marina in Horseshoe Bay around 11:30, and at 1:30 we were comfortably on the hook in Mannion Bay on Bowen Island.
(click the image for a large panorama shot from the cockpit)
The bay is pretty deep (a few hundred feet) until you get close in then in drops rapidly. We anchored in about 30 feet of water near a lot of other boats on mooring bouys.
The local Canada Geese were out in full force, with a honking and chirping family paying us a visit within minutes of us setting the hook. Looking for handouts, they stayed a while then moved on to check out a more generous group of visitors. I don’t know how long the immature geese stay with their parents, but this bunch looked not quite ready to take off on their own. 
MB fired up the Sea-B-Q and we had some delicious hot dogs, sitting in the sun enjoying what has to be British Columbia’s greatest asset; itself.
The sail back was incredible - we close-reached across in about half-an-hour, never dropping below 5.5 knots the entire way over. Again, those new North Sails are keeping us smiling every minute under way.
A River Runs Through It
May 30, 2008
There’s something magic about living in Vancouver, and it’s easy to forget what an amazing place this is.
This morning I got up and took transit from North Vancouver to Richmond. One transfer and an hour later, I was sitting on the deck of Madsu at Skyline Marina on the Fraser River in Richmond.
I spent the next few hours motoring down the North Arm of the Fraser - enjoying a completely different aspect of Vancouver - one you forget is there when sitting in city traffic.
By the time I was off the river and into English Bay the sun decided to show up - and my trip over to Howe Sound and Horseshoe Bay was a delight.
So many different aspects to the city in one short day. From sitting on a bus in rush hour traffic to watching a bald eagle feast on a salmon. Gotta love BC.
Sphere: Related ContentEstimates Vary
April 1, 2008
Depending on who you believe, somewhere between 100 and 200 people gathered in Vancouver today to protest the axing of the CBC Radio Orchestra.
According to Colin Miles who posted a comment here
On very short notice about 200 people showed up. They included about 40 people who were either players in the orchestra, soloists who have recorded CDs with the orchestra or composers who have been broadcast and/or recorded bu the CBCR
Tod Maffin from InsidetheCBC blog posted some photos (copyright protected so I can’t post them here) on Flickr, including one of former CBC Vancouver regional manager and one time head of Radio Music Robert Sunter being interveiwed by Paul Grant.
Tod’s article at InsidetheCBC says 100 people were there when he was there about 15 minutes into the demo.
Meanwhile, CBC.CA says 150 people.
Proving once again that there is a reason people go into journalism: accountancy is out.
(photos are copyright Tod Maffin and used with permission)
Sphere: Related ContentBridging Media podcasts of all panels
March 29, 2008
Just finished uploading the 4 podcasts of the 4 panel discussions at the first ever Bridging Media conference here in Vancouver.
It was nice to catch up with some old friends and be the 2nd oldest guy in the room (Schechter has me beat by a couple of years).
The podcasts are here on the At Large Media site - here’s the link to the 1st of the 4 and the others are linked out from there.
Sphere: Related ContentCrazy White Stuff Falls from the Sky
March 26, 2008
Lightning and weird snow pellet action this afternoon.
Springtime in Vancouver. Never dull.
Matt Mullenweg Keynote at Northern Voice
February 23, 2008
I’ve just posted the full audio presentation of Matt Mullenweg’s keynote address at Northern Voice in Vancouver this morning.
Matt’s the founder of WordPress, the blogging software that runs this web site and millions of others.
I’ll have a feature interview with Matt in podcast coming in the next few days, but in the meantime, wanted to give everyone a chance to hear his presentation in full.
It’s on my blog at At Large Media.
UPDATE: We’ve been getting a lot of traffic on our Vancouver server for the audio file (yippee) thanks to stumbleupon and Mr. Robert Scoble (thanks RS).
So, if you have any problems with the link above, you can try this version which is on a server in Toronto.
Matt Mullenweg at Northern Voice 2008 [42:48m]: 