FRASER RIVER

This is a view back toward New Westminster from earlier today. Port operations along the Fraser River are some of the biggest in terms of surface area on the North American West Coast. Log volumes along the river are booming recently with pine beetle lumber being snapped up in Asia like it’s out of style. In the background here are several mid-sized gantry cranes used for moving anything from steel, lumber, heavy machinery and pallets of lumber on and off of ships.

ROLL ON –  ROLL OFF

The Fraser River is the main terminus for all Asian import vehicles into Canada. This Vessel is docked at WWL Vehicle Services Ltd. Which handles on average over 250,000 new cars a year. This weird Roll on Roll off vessell or “RoRo” can carry up to 6,500 cars. Today it was unloading mostly Mazdas and Nissans.

TUGS!

These little guys make it all happen. Whether in Burrrard inlet flanking super tankers or in the Fraser hauling barge after barge of dredged sand, Tugboats are the workhorses keeping the Port chugging along.  We were lucky to get up close to this one.

Stay tuned for my next post with pics from Burrard Inlet. Massive conatiner ships galore!

Turns out that the ship, named the Murin, was launched over a decade ago as part of the BC Viking Ship project. Basically a group of gung-ho folks got together to create a 40 foot replica of the Norwegian Viking Ship Gokstad, which was built around 890 A.D. and unearthed in 1880 near Oslo. The “Gokstad Ship” was amazingly well preserved in an old Viking grave. It is currently on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. Pretty hardcore! No maritime city is complete with a couple of full scale replicas bobbing about, I say, and this one does us proud.

But what I really like about the Murin - and I just found this out – is that it’s open to the public. With a donation, anyone is welcome to experience working a real Viking longship. Although this isn’t like doing the Gondola thing in Venice. Apparently one’s expected to show up ready to row! Organizers estimate that up to 5,000 people have the chance to try their hand at sailing the Murin every year.

According to the Viking Project website: “This 40 foot boat can accommodate 12 people and the 2 hour rides are by donation. As a passenger you will be rowing (when there isn’t wind to propel the boat) so be sure to bring gloves to protect your hands…”

Amazing. What a great way to build on our nautical community!

Details on how to embark on the Murin. 

• Departure Point: Heritage Harbour dock in Vanier Park, Vancouver (map)
• Cost: By donation (please give generously)
• How to Book: Email vikingship.ca@gmail.com to reserve

Header photo courtesy of stevecadman

WHAT WE READ

“Desolation Island”, the fourth book in Irish writer Patrick O’Brian’s naval series, set in the age of Lord Nelson. O’Brian chronicles the adventures of eccentric ship surgeon/spy Stephen Maturin and his buddy, Captain Jack Aubrey – brilliant at sea and hopeless on land. O’Brian’s writing has been compared to that of Jane Austen’s in terms of narrative style while his portrayal of life at sea and daily life in the wooden world of a man of war has been praised as the best there is or ever was. I picked this book because I was keen to expose the rest of the group to literature about the sea – something I’m passionate about, but also because “Desolation Island” is simply a rolicking good read with international espionage, chases on the high seas, maroonings and lots of funny bits as well.

WHAT WE DID

Appropriately the day to discuss the book dawned with gale force winds coming off English Bay. Due to the weather we were not able to meet, as originally planned, at the Maritime museum, execute feats of nautical expertise such as knot tying, and then embark in an Aquaferry across False Creek. The storm would have capsized us and that would have meant no more Book Club. Instead, we played it safe and met at the aptly named “Pirate Pub” to discuss the book. There, each reader was asked to deliver his own diary entry about life on a two-decker from the perspective of one of the book’s characters. And of course there was a trivia contest based on ship terminology. (None of my book clubs are complete without a trivia contest). No one did particularly well at the trivia. Not at all well, actually, which made me realize that Patrick O’Brian could have sold more books had he just toned it down a little bit with all the rich sailor speak which make his novels so very authentic.

WHAT WE THOUGHT

Given that this book, takes place in an entirely male world of a 19th Century Man of War, I was surprised that the most praise came from female members of CLJ. They each praised the author’s masterful language and his keen sense of character relationships and dialogue. Most of the group struggled with ‘entering’ the world that Patrick O’Brian creates, namely pre-industrial Britain, a wooden ship and customs completely divorced from those existing on land. It was nonetheless good to see that everyone appreciated being exposed to something new. That’s what makes CLJ so great after all: we often read the books we would otherwise not pick ourselves.

Prince Rupert's Container Terminal

There is no signs of a slow down either with 2011 marking yet another record breaking year for the port. A few killer numbers:

• 19.3 million tonnes of cargo moved through the port altogether, an increase of 18 per cent over 2010.
• Total coal tonnage shipped from Ridley Terminals Inc. (RTI) to Korea, China and Japan was up 16 per cent over 2010. (9.64 million tonnes of product compared to 8.30 million tones).
• The number of loaded containers shipped out through Prince Rupert was up 59 per cent from 2010, with much of the growth attributed to strong exports of B.C. forest products to the expanding Chinese market.
• Grain exports, principally to China, increased 17 per cent, from 4.29 million tonnes in 2010 to five million tonnes in 2011.

This brings me to a question to which I don’t know the answer: Is all this growth even good? After all, we’re selling millions of tonnes of dirty coal to China, aren’t we? Heck, the rail lines to Prince Rupert are so good, even major coal mines in Washington don’t think twice about carting their product up to Prince Rupert to benefit from quick transit times to China. People in Northern BC would stare when asked if they support the Prince Rupert boom. Trade demand from China will completely transform the economy and labour market of BC’s North in the coming years – standards of living, incomes, education opportunities and services will all benefit as a result.

As long as we have the goods and China wants them the ‘good times’ will keep on rolling. In my opinion Endbridge is not a question of ‘if’, but really just a question of ‘when’…

Everyday on my bike ride to work along Coal Harbour on the south shore of the Burrard Inlet, I stop briefly and watch a small fleet (‘squadron’?) of planes sputter to life and motor out to their watery ‘runway’ (is that what you would call it?).

Not only are sea planes technologically awesome, they are also vital to our coastal province and to Canada as a whole. Vancouver’s squadron of planes is one of the biggest in the country made up of over fifty planes, including Single Otters, Twin Otters and DHC-2 Beavers – all servicing the Gulf Islands and the Interior. Over 250,000 business people and tourists use them every year. Across Canada, so-called bush pilots busily buzz between far flung lakes and rivers keeping communities connected by delivering their mail, workers, supplies, medical services and the odd canoer.

The winter can’t stop them either. Check out this video of a Twin Otter Seaplane landing on a frozen lake in Saskatchewan.

I might write about Hovercrafts next time…they’re also boats that fly. Sort of….

1920s, West Vancouver Ferry crossing the Burrard Inlet, Archives Item#: SGN 1123

Before the Lion’s Gate Bridge there was a ferry linking Vancouver’s Downtown with West Vancouver’s Ambleside neighbourhood. And at one time  ferries bound for Vancouver Island serviced both false creek and the downtown core. The rise of the car and the parallel construction of the city’s major inner-city bridges spelled the end of these busy, working ferries. Check out this great post by Miss 604 describing the evolution of West Vancouver’s storied ferry service which ended with the Lions Gate ribbon cutting in 1947.

As recently as 2010, West Van did a 6 month trial run of the old service to downtown which it then abruptly cancelled. I can’t seem to find out why, but it wasn’t due to lack of demand from Vancouverites as far as I can tell. I wonder how West Enders and Yaletowners would respond to a ferry service between their neighbourhoods and the North Shore. Pretty well, I would think, particularly when these are communities with below average per capita car ownership.

Am I just dreaming that inner city ferries could even survive given our dependence on four-wheeled traffic and  bridges? What would it take to bring some of these old ferry services back on line?

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Masthead photo courtesy of rollanb

As I sat down excited to spend the evening catching up with everyone, I realized a good third of the long table was out of earshot and I was confined to chatting only with my immediate neighbour. Others dishes were also out of tasting/sharing range. By the end of the evening, I left for home feeling unfulfilled -  increasingly convinced  that other cultures, particularly in Asia, but, oddly, as close as Switzerland, know where it’s at when it comes to shared dining. Here’s why:

Circle Sitting:

Rectangular tables are recipes for isolation and are basically retrograde – some sort of throwback to medieval banqueting. They’re also hierarchical when you think about it. Why do we need a “Head of the table”, for example? Sitting in a circle does away with all that and facilitates a shared social and culinary experience. Chinese Dim-sum restaurants have got it right.

Cooking (!) the food at the table:

Last year’s Christmas highlight was having endless Swiss Raclette with my family. A stack of cheese and a two little propane fired pans set up around our coffee table was all it took to have an interactive, collaborative and leisurely meal.

Japanese 'Hot Potting'

This year, the highlight was my first Japanese Hot Pot experience with six friends. Again, we relaxed around two bubbling cookers, working together to keep the pots full of pre-prepared seafood, mushrooms, kim-chi and other delicacies.

Admittedly my international experience is limited and hence my examples are too. But I feel it’s safe to say the West has a lot to learn. Sure – we’re good around a campfire with wieners and marshmallows, but it’d be great to bring that communal experience more regularly into our homes. Chopping the corners off all tables square is good start!

As I stood gawking over the rail one lunch hour, busily snapping pics along with dozens of other tourists, I couldn’t help marvelling how totally out of place this menancing Cold War relic looked next to the white sails of Canada Place and in the relatively peaceful confines of Vancouver’s harbour. “Does Varyag’s Captain know Vancouver is ‘Nuclear Free Zone,’?” I wondered.

After a bit of Google-ing, I quickly learned that the ship’s days of packing nukes  are long over. Fair enough. Apparently, its chief duty is now to toodle around the North Pacific and create closer ties with other navies, including Canada’s. Also all fine and well, but I also can’t help wondering if Russia also relished a little show of strength on Varyag’s visit. After all, Russian’s Arctic ambitions are as well known as those of any nation, including our own. (See my last post, Harper Makes Shipbuilding History, for more on that).

I have to say I felt relieved when  Varyag pull up anchored. Once it and its plume of amazingly noxious exhast faded on the horizon (sorry, but apparently the Russians have zero environmental standards for their navy), I felt relieved. Port Metro, Victoria, Gregor Robertson can we maybe think twice before allowing warships on useless missions darken our harbour?

The detachment of Pacific Fleet vessels took course for Vancouver on October 15 after the Russian-US military exercises “Pacific Eagle-2011.”

Premier Christy Clark tours Seaspan prior to announcement

I hate to admit it, but the Harper regime kind of got it right on this one. After Mulroney let domestic shipbuilding activity melt away post NAFTA, Harper is scoring major political points by revitalizing this proud part of our heritage, and injecting new stimulus into the  economy.  And don’t forget: the prime minister also lies awake at night fretting that Russia, Denmark, China, the U.S. (the list goes on) are cheekily sticking their flags on our arctic sea bed. 15 new frigates and a sexy icebreaker called Diefenbaker are meant to prevent that. Good thing too – those embarrassingly crappy, second-hand submarines we got from the Brits can barely float let alone do their job patrolling the “true north strong and free.”

A boat (or, “ship”) like this gives sailing a bad name. It’s just so opulent, ostentatious and, over the top it makes me gag. To make some amends, the owner ought to think of giving free rides to school kids  or using it to teach people more about the ocean. No such luck. He’s keeping it entirely to himself and its complement of  23 staff always at the ready. For shame, media billionaire Barry Diller. Your floating palace gives sailing a bad name.