Cleaning up Mannion Bay

Adam Taylor and crew are set for their annual clean up of Mannion Bay.  I'm out of the country but if you are around on September 7, join in:

The 3rd annual Dive against debris will be held in a couple weeks, on Saturday September 7th. We will meet for a briefing at Noon on the pier outside the Taco & Kayak Shacks, then head over to Deep Bay. 

If you would like to lend a hand on shore, on the water in a kayak, rowboat or small power boat, or underwater as diver or free diver please let me know. 

Over the past 2 years we have brought up over 2200lbs of junk from the bottom of Deep Bay. We have covered most of the bay already so are hopeful that we won't be encountering as many old boat batteries, generators, welding machines and other such nasty junk. 

Based on recent discussions there appears to be some interest in improving the general appearance and functionality of the Sandy Beach area. To that end a few of us would like to have an informal site visit after the event to discuss what could be done to improve the beach & bay for residents and visitors alike. 

SUPping in peace

This is Hutt Island which lies a few hundred meters off of Bowen on Galbraith Bay. It's a steep island with hardly anywhere to land. It lies out of the way of most boat traffic and at the end of a small quiet road. This part of Bowen is perhaps the most quintessentially iconic Gulf Island. Beyond Hutt is Gambier island and behind that Mount Wrottersley, which stands further north of us up Howe Sound.

I SUPped out here this afternoon in the grey light and the warm summer air, paddling around Hutt. A little breeze from up the inlet raised some chop and have my arms a good workout. And running downwind I got to drift with the wind and the ebbing tide.

There were tons of seals out there today - several pairs of mothers and pups. One pair followed me almost the whole way around the island surfacing around me and disappearing as fast as they arrived.

It was beautiful and calm and relaxed and untouched. One of the last places on Bowen that has been allowed to return to its natural state. Hutt is all Crown land and at one point was slated to be mined for gravel put that was stopped decades ago. All that remains is some old pilings for a wharf and a half built road ascending into the second growth forest of arbutus, Douglas-fir and cedar.

May it always remain so.

Breaking the pattern for a moment

We set a record that will never be beaten.  July had no rain at all.  Not a drop, not a whiff, not even the mere idea of rain crossed the threshold of the island until just after midnight on August 1.  It (was, and is) bone dry around here, although last night the skies opened up and we got a good soaking.

Summer rain on Bowen is like that, the same as sunny days in the winter.  They briefly interrupt a trend and then the weather returns to the natural cycles that the climate has bestowed upon us.  And so the drought will return, but for the moment, we are basking in damp, cool, goodness.

Temporary respite in civic affairs can be like that too.

This morning there has been a lovely thread on the forum in response to one of my blog posts that got republished on our community mailer.  In it, several islanders who we haven't heard from recently surface and lend their voices to the conversation about change that is happening around us.  It's good to hear from devo and Irene and David (with whom I have had vehement disagreements in the past)  Corbin and Steve.  Feels like rain in the middle of a dry summer.

On Bowen Island, not matter how hard you try, you can't shout down the beauty.