Tag Archives: Vancouver

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Albertan Makes My Day and other Stories from the Coast

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.

latest, Madsu, Photos

Mannion Bay Lunch Hook

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.

latest, Madsu, Media

A River Runs Through It

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.

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Estimates Vary

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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)

Podcast

Bridging Media podcasts of all panels

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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.

Media, Podcast, WordPress

Matt Mullenweg Keynote at Northern Voice

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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.

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Matt Mullenweg photo by kk+ , Vancouver fashion photographer, used under CC license
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Quatchi Sitting on my Facebook

Right along with the ads for Better Abs (talk about targeted advertising), finding Old High School Friends, and the George Bush IQ Challenge – what do I find today ?

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I don’t care what anybody says, I think Quatchi is cute (that is Quatchi, isn’t it ?) Besides, I just like saying it:

Quatchi. Quatchi. Quatchi.

Heck, why pay Facebook, they can advertise here for free.

PS:

It would sound good with some of that old school reverb…
Quatchi-eee eee eee . Quatchi-eee ee eeee. Quatchi-ee eeee eeeeeeee

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Why People Live In Vancouver

My friends, particularly those from eastern Canada, often say to me:

Dude, how can you live there. It’s dark, it rains all the time, everybody’s either stoned or meat deprived and you’re always 3 hours behind the real world.

To which I say:

Click on these pictures shot today in downtown Vancouver.

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Coast Mountain Bus Company Gives The Finger to Commuters and Greenhouse Gas

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Coast Mountain’s plan to go on a holiday schedule during Christmas week this year shows how out of touch they are with the lives of their customers.

There will be fewer buses travelling around the Lower Mainland during the entire week of Christmas, as Coast Mountain Bus Company tries something new this holiday season.

The usual Christmas Day schedule will remain the same but on Monday, December 24, plus the Thursday and Friday following Boxing Day (December 27th and 28th), buses will be running on a Saturday schedule. Full story at News 1130.

I guess all the Coast Mountain execs will be taking that week off, unlike 95% of the rest of the world who will be working.

By putting the entire week on holiday bus schedules, Coast Mountain is assuring riders there will be long lines and long waits for public transit. We should be encouraged to use transit to do our post-Christmas sale shopping, but the people who run our public transit clearly have decided we should all get in our cars and jam up city streets even more.

Bus drivers have reason to be concerned that they’ll face the wrath of frustrated consumers. Instead, you should be voicing your concern to the people who run Coast Mountain.

You can find them here:

Customer Relations representatives are available to speak with you from 8:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday at 604-953-3040. You may also reach us by custrel@translink.bc.ca or by fax at 604-953-3663. Head office: 1600 – 4720 Kingsway Burnaby, British Columbia
Canada V5H 4N2 Telephone: (604) 453-4500