To end 2022, I hung three prints from my courses with Andrea Sirois @andreabsirois . I've been taking her courses in Macro, Creative and Garden Photography over the COVID hunker downs... These shots are from the back garden on Spindrift... working with the macro lens to get some detail in the water drops and the leaves on the grasses.

November/December - Water on GrassThis one is shot with a prime 55 mm macro lens...

I've also been playing around with Intentional Camera Movement or ICM for short... not as easy as shaking the camera while shooting. The third print is the same grass at a different time in the season... I was trying to enhance the reds against the green background... still working on that technique...

November/December - A Bit of ICM Since there weren't any themes set for 2023 and because January isn't my favourite month of the year I decided to hang two prints from last summer... Cumberland is one of my favourite places to shoot... there are many opportunities there... along Dunsmuir St, the back alleys and the different ruins of the mine sites. These are constantly tagged with new graffiti and always make for new images.

These images were made at Mine Site #7 along the Puntledge River... in the first, I noticed the year, 1913, when the concrete was poured, and here it is some 100 plus years later and it's still standing, though you can see that the forest is coming back through the archway, and some of the tags are quite recent.

February/March - Mine #7 And the final print is from the same site but has a bit of whimsy from the artist... I like the face... it shows up at different sets of mine and sawmill ruins in the Comox Valley...

February/March - Looking to Nature #2 The prints are on display until March 30 at Rhodo's Cafe´in Courtenay https://rhodoscoffee.ca/

While my veggie garden has suffered, I have been busy with a few photography projects. I have continued to experiment with a few of the new techniques I’ve acquired through the UVic courses in Macro, Garden and Creative Vision. I keep trying to make at least three prints each month… and have had a few opportunities to exhibit those prints locally.

Of course, posting this on a regular basis would help, and I’ll have to make that effort with the next round… presently, I have one print on exhibit at Rhodos Café in Courtenay… the theme was Flora… and I made this image at one of the local wineries that had a spring display of tulips. I’m still experimenting with this technique… I’m trying to keep the centre of the image in focus while turning the camera… right now it’s more happenstance when that happens, but I like the results in this image.

June/July 2022 "Around of Tulips"

The black and white image was made at Milner Gardens in Parksville, using my macro lens… so the depth of field was limited… I’m working at using my tripod and adjusting the depth of field… at the same time making sure that I have left enough room around the edges. This print was on display at the Pearl Ellis Gallery in Comox.

April/May 2022 "Waiting For Spring

I’m always looking for new opportunities to exhibit prints and came across The Gallery@Weird Church in Cumberland. There’s a dearth of gallery space open to photographers in the Comox Valley, so I jumped at the offer of an exhibit… but had to take on the organising for the project. In the end, 18 photographers exhibited 38 prints, all shot in Cumberland.

Cumberland is always a favourite place to shoot, the main street has excellent opportunities for street photography, the back alleys always seem to offer up unique images and there is a myriad of trails that lead in and out of town… spent a year shooting in and around Cumberland. More often than not, I was asked about Cumberland’s boundaries, generating the exhibit’s name… Cumberland: Seemingly Boundless.

I made three images, all shot at Cumberland Mine #7, along the Puntledge River. I try and get there at least once a year… the graffiti changes on a regular basis and I’m beginning to recognise some of the artists by their techniques. The first is titled "Looking For Cumberland"... it just seemed to fit the exhibit's theme.

Looking for Cumberland

The second image sets the time frame... constructed in 1913, I imagine that there was a large clearing around this opening to the mine shaft, and now it seems to be framing the woods making their way back... so it seemed to fit to call this one 2022.

2022

This part of the structure is already being taken apart by nature... it seems to me there's a warning in there for us... though perhaps coming too late... nature seems to have had enough of our abuses and is sending a series of strong messages to clean things up quickly... Back To Nature seemed to fit the image and the times. Back To Nature

I always like the abstracts that nature shows... these sandstone formations are many along the beach... and are very similar to the formations at the Malaspina Galleries on Gabriola Island, which is just on the other side of Jack Point... I'll assume that they're connected in some geological manner!

It was hard to choose which prints to hang... in the end, I decided on four. After working on hanging the new prints, I was only able to hang two of the four I printed... but I'm going to switch them at the end of September, so they get a month each! I've also changed back to a 2:3 ratio in the prints... these prints are 8 x12 and are in 12 x 16 mats and frames.

I chose the following for September...

Jack Point #1 Display for September/21 From this angle, this reminds me of a body at rest, caught in the rocks... and the graffiti reminds me of tattoos...

Jack Point #8 Display for September/21 The cool colours of the blue are contrasted by the softer, warm colours of the erosion, and I like that small twig that's resting in the hole...

Jack Point #3 Displayed October/21 This is the first of the October prints... I chose it again with the mix of cool and warm colours... and the changes in the formations remind me of a waterfall Jack Point #6 HDR Insta And the final print is a close-up... and when I was looking closer, there were other things stored.

These prints are up until October 31. Another photographer is displaying in November, but we're back in December with themes of "Warm Drinks" and "Music"... which should make some interesting viewing.

And of course, Vintage Colour is the perfect excuse to head off to Shields Industrial to check out that collection of fire trucks, old buses, trucks and automobiles that are scattered around the property and hiding in the blackberries…

Special Deluxe is an old Buick, from the late 50s… I like what the weather has done to the colours, while the chrome still catches your eye. I played around with the print size… I liked this one that emphasises the length of the hood… kinda like those Sunday drives in your grandpas car, or one of those cars your dad drove when you were little… no seat belts and three or four kids in the back seat holding on to that strap that ran behind the front seats.

Special Deluxe

Smilin’ Vee is the hood of one of the fire trucks parked in a line along the border of the property… I like the simplicity of the print… while it still shows off the textures to the faded paint. And I’m sure that this truck has many stories to tell if it could!

Smilin' Vee

A Matter of Perspective was an attempt to catch reactions to one of the exhibits at the Vancouver Art Gallery… the security guard kept trying to move me along, so I had to keep coming back to try and catch some visual reactions… women seem to have a different perspective than men when looking at this artwork.

A Matter of Perspective These hangings at Rhodo’s, with the monthly themes are ones I try to work with… when I get busy with other things, I always make sure I shoot something for the upcoming themes… we have them six months ahead… and it forces me to print at least three prints. And there are always prints that don’t make the wall… either not enough room or I don’t like what I’ve ended up with on paper.

I really like the colours on the hood of the fire truck in Shades and the colours reflected in the chrome International label. But the out of focus parking lights get in the way… next time I’m back, I’ll shoot some different images. A friend, Laura Tait, has a different shot of the same truck hanging close to mine… check it out as well.

On The Landing is a print I’m going to continue to work on… I’ve tried it in both black and white and colour… and the colours make it a different print… I like how there are two stories in the image, I have three different versions of the pair on the top landing… and I want to lighten it up a bit, so their faces are showing…I like how the stairs frame the print… and lead you up to the top landing. This one was the same, I couldn’t set up my tripod… and the security guard kept trying to move me along… but there was no traffic coming down the stairs or wandering in the hallways.

On The Landing

10. Triangle Island

My next visit to Triangle was in passing. Just as I retired, I was able to place two of my students on board The Oriole, the navy sailing ship, for a five-day leadership training, and I was able to secure a spot for myself as a working passenger, not a chaperone. Two years later, in 2009, The Oriole was one of the racers in the Van Isle 360… they ended a leg in Port Hardy, and I was able to secure a spot on the ship from the Port Hardy to Winter Harbour run… as long as I stayed out of the way! Rounding Cape Scott, you could see the Scott Islands on the horizon…

At the end of my final term on the Regional District of Mt. Waddington, I was one of the local government appointees to a large committee tasked with making recommendations to the Federal government on making the Scott Islands a marine protected area. It was a large committee, that included representatives from DOF, Environment Canada,   BC Ministry of Environment, Vancouver Aquarium, World Wildlife Fund, David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Quatsino First Nations. We’d meet every six weeks or so at the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre in Port Hardy…

To get an on the ground view of the area, a three day trip to the Scott Islands and an overnight stay at Triangle Island was arranged… we left Port Hardy aboard The Curve of Time, and it was a tight fit, only 12 were able to take advantage of the trip.  The ship left at 9:00 am… I was late in arriving, I had a few cases to finish up at the constituency office for the local MLA before I boarded. I was the last one to arrive, and the only space left was the V berth in the fo'c'sle. At the last minute, an ornithologist with Environment Canada squeezed in… and as it turns out sharing that cramped space was a bonus… we were the only two not snoring away during the night, and I managed to glean information about the tufted puffins…  

It was a long run to the Cape, and there seemed to be a storm brewing… we landed at Lanz Island, and went ashore for a visit. We quickly began the hunt for glass balls, as there aren’t many visitors to this marine park. I found a few broken ones, and there was one large one picked up well above the tide line. We had dinner below decks… and the skipper decided we’d ride out the storm anchored near Cox Island.

It was a rough night, no one had a sound sleep, I was up early, and out on the deck with a morning coffee, when out of the corner of my eye I see the waters part, and a humpback whale breaches, doing a 180 in the air. And no camera at the ready, but the skipper saw it as well! We pulled anchor shortly after 9 am and headed off to Triangle Island.

No horns on this bull…

27. The Nesting Zone As we get closer to Triangle, it’s easy to see how it was named, and what’s left of the light station… and platform on the high point of the spine.  Triangle Island isn’t a safe anchorage and the spot where we’re anchored looks fine at high tide… with a sandy beach. But a closer look shows a ring of jagged rocks lining the shore, and as the tide goes out, they become even more prominent… so landing spots at low tide are hard to find… we’re off to one at the northern end of the bight… and it requires a jump from the Zodiac… timing the leap with the rise of the waves…

We’re going to hike up the spine, to where the former lighthouse was built… but first I get some advice from my bunkmate… there won’t be many birds about this early in the afternoon, and the trail is much rougher than it looks. So hauling up my tripod and 400 mm lens would probably be exercise and not much else… I heed his advice and pack my point and shoot and the Nikon D 60 with a few lenses.

The Anne Vallée Ecological Reserve is named after a graduate student studying tufted puffins, she’d spent two summers on Triangle Island, and was killed in a fall while conducting her research. Since its creation, the island is off-limits except for the grad students working during the spring and summer, their cabin is the only structure on the island, and it’s cramped for the four students. We have to ensure that we don’t use their water supply, or tax the outhouse… but they’re looking forward to the on-deck BBQ that evening, I think the cold beer is the drawing card!

So we’re off and don’t be fooled by the photographs that look like green grasses covering the island, it’s a combination of stunted salmonberry, ferns, crabapple, hair grass, and salal bushes, and is four to six feet high. For much of the hike, you can’t see your feet, and attention has to be paid to make sure you don’t stray from the trail… it’s a long drop down either side. And while we see some gulls, for the most part, you can hear birds… many are nested underground… and a few puffins fly past… I’m not going to get any shots, especially close-ups, of tufted puffins.

20. Summer Home I spend much of the late afternoon on the beach in front of the cabin, chatting with the students and having a look at some of their research. A few of us decide to hike around the far side of the beach towards the sea lion rookery… but we get a warning about a bull who doesn’t take kindly to any visitors. I’ve forgotten his name, but true to form, there he is, and don’t kid yourself, they can move quite quickly, even on the beach. And of course, if you did get past him, when returning, you’d have to do it again. As we’re walking back to the cabin, I notice a line of pitons driven into the rock face, along with the odd carabinier glinting in the sun. Turns out that a British film crew working for David Attenborough's programme was in to film the sea lion rookery, and that’s how they got around the bull on the guard.

We make our way back to the ship, and it’s just sitting around the deck, chatting while the BBQ is fired up… the weather has held, and it’s a warm breeze blowing as the setting sun lights up the clouds. We’re told that we might want to get below deck before the sunset, there are thousands of birds making their way back to the island. I set up my camera right in front of the wheelhouse, and under a canvas cover… and all of a sudden you can hear the rush of the air, and the sky darkens as these almost solid black masses of birds swing around the point and head for the cliffs on the island. They split just enough to miss the boat, but if you reached out with your hand, you could grab a one. And the noise and wind are like nothing I’ve ever heard. (those shots were on black and white film… I’m working on scanning the negatives, and will add those later)

After a bit of deck scrubbing, we’re up for a while, enjoying the late sunset and the quiet… it’s an early night and an early start back to Port Hardy in the morning. One of the grad students is returning with us… she’s completed her studies for this shift.

jim-puffin-full-2-2385x1689 And we completed our recommendations to create a Marine Protected area in late 2012. I lost the election, so my time on the Regional District came to an end, but I was included in the final report, and the committee managed to gift me my own tufted puffin, shot by Jim Lamont on Triangle Island in 2011. The recommendations took almost eight years to work through the process, and in July 2018 the Liberal government brought in the necessary legislative changes to create the Scott Islands National Wildlife Area.

And who knows, perhaps I’ll get a chance to return and capture some images of those seabirds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Islands

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-wildlife-areas/locations/scott-islands-marine.html

https://bcparks.ca/eco_reserve/anne_er.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/sh/lBuyhpcqVr/forbidden-island/

https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1203

Selling Apples

Heading up the highway, I figure out that I should be listening to some of those tunes I picked up at Fred's Records. Then the synapses connect, where's the backpack with my camera, laptop and CDs? Why I left it on the counter at the National agency at the airport!  A quick turnaround, only 24 klicks out of the way! And there it is, sitting right where I put it to sign the contract.

Finally, got into Truro, met my nephew Chet and hung out with my brother and his wife, Deb for the evening.  Had to get some rest, Bill always gets up early and has lots to do. Saturday finds me heading to the Truro Farmers' market to sell apples. My niece and her husband own the Vista Bella farm in Malagash (I love those east coast names) and have recently acquired an apple orchard just in time for the Fall harvest. My brother Bill helps them out by picking and selling apples in Truro, they also cover two other Farmers' markets and sell from the farm. This is a serious apple business, not just heading to the store and buying whatever is there. There are 42 varieties growing in the orchard, and it's like folks buying wine. They're talking about the scent, colour, size and crispness. Some are waiting for the Russets (I always thought those were potatoes!) and Bramleys, which are large English cooking apples.

It takes a bit, but things pick up and we start moving bags off the tables. Bill has concerns that we didn't sell enough and wants to make sure he sells more than the other two markets. He has a spot on the road, across from the hospital. He decides to head there for a few hours after the Farmers' market closes. He has a few deer hunters who buy 20 lb. bags of seconds to leave in the woods. I wonder what they're doing with them? Kathy and I head downtown, just to walk around. Kathy and her friend Barb had been there in 2007, but like many small towns, things seem to be on the downturn. A Late Fall

Saturday night in Truro, we're off to Roadside Willies for a Motown Review, some live music and dinner. The place is packed, and the music is great, we even make it through both sets and are up past 11 pm!

Sunday we head out for a road trip up to Malagash, just off of Tatamagouche Bay. It's a great drive, lots of Fall colours, the rain stops and we have a short visit with the farmers. Pretty tough slogging, being any kind of farmer these days, it's great to see young folks taking on that lifestyle. They don't get much time to visit with us, there's a steady stream of apple buyers coming up the driveway.

It's a quiet night, and Kathy and I head back to Halifax, we have an early flight back to BC. Time to get back to Spindrift Road, the cats and putting the garden away for the fall. I always know I'm ready to head back when I start hearing Michael Bublé singing Home.

Photos:
1. Bill getting the table ready for the opening rush...

2.  East Coast Fall colours.

http://www.roadsidewillies.ca/
http://www.trurofarmersmarket.com/index.php?r=SBCms/home.html
http://discovermalagash.com/
http://www.bramleyapples.co.uk/

Cobblestone

We've got most of the day ashore, I like just poking around the back streets, and seeing what we can find. It's soon evident that this isn't Canada anymore, most of the cars are European, the currency is Euros and the store hours are as well. Nothing is open until 10 am, except the bakery, and they're closed from 12-2 for lunch. The only familiar sight is a Home Hardware, which sticks out like a sore thumb! This foils Kathy's shopping, we're off on a tour of the Island from 10 - 12, someone didn't plan this part of the trip well!

It's interesting, some of the perks the French get for living in St. Pierre, France isn't about to give this part of the New World back. The communities are supplied by freighters monthly, through St. John's and Halifax. Government workers are paid 130% of their French salaries and get 1.5 yrs credit for every year they work in St. Pierre. University is free for residents, as long as they attend in France, their board is paid for and they get 3 trips a year back home. Like Newfoundland, the people are very friendly, and we visit with some high school students having coffee before school starts at a civilized 10 am. They also get a two-hour lunch and then head back to school from 2 - 4:30 pm. We find a typical church square and find the door to the cathedral open, the stained glass is amazing. It's interesting, here there is no attempt to speak English, and the local French is difficult to understand, even the French have trouble picking up the local patois. Memorial University has a one-year French program that it runs in St. Pierre, it'd be a great place to learn French! I'd come back here for another visit, it'd be a cheap way to visit France!

During Prohibition, St. Pierre was famous for rum-running. Most of the illegal liquor smuggled along the US east coast originated in St. Pierre. Many fishers switched from cod fishing to rum-running, and many of their boats were modified to outrun the US Navy and Coast Guard. A few were powered by twin aircraft engines and made the first use of smoke machines to cover their exit when being chased. There's even a story that Al Capone visited the town for a few days, and left his hat at the hotel!

As we sail out of St. Pierre, we're accompanied by a local tug and pilot. It takes the tug three runs up the side of the Clipper before it's close enough for the pilot to jump. The Clipper had to shift to the starboard to break some of the high waves. It's not a job I'd like, but the pilot and tug crew are all waving as we sail past them.

It's our last evening aboard, the Captain is hosting the bar, more good Scotch. We're heading back to St. John's, where the voyage will end. Facade #5

Photos:
Side streets have a similarity with the Maritimes, the colours, and Europe with the cobbled streets

The only car dealership on the Island. We had a 403 when we lived in Marseilles, they were white, blue or battleship grey!

http://www.st-pierre-et-miquelon.com/english/index.php

Signal Hill greets us through the rain...
 
Back in St. John's Coming back into the harbour, feels like we're coming home, even though it was our first trip to Newfoundland, and we'd only been there for 12 days! It's kind of quiet on board, luggage stacked in the hallways, and everyone quietly enjoying breakfast. Tony greeted us with a final morning song, and there's the exchange of addresses and promises to trade photos and emails.

The morning's entertainment is the Pilot boat coming alongside in the swell, and the pilot jumping aboard for the trip under Signal Hill and into the harbour. It's quite evident from this perspective why St John's harbour was so important. The Fort located below Signal Hill has a clear shot at anything trying to enter the harbour.

Most of us are sitting in the forward lounge, over coffee, and waiting for our turn to clear customs. The three customs agents are all dressed in their uniforms, along with a large Tim Horton's coffee in hand. I can't ever remember getting hassled coming back into Canada, it's always a great feeling heading home.

We're off the Clipper and on the bus back to the hotel, we're staying a night there before we head to Nova Scotia. The rooms aren't ready, so we're off to Water Street for a coffee and to check the bank accounts, always a fun job after a trip. The same street musicians are playing, but things are pretty quiet with the rainy weather. The hotel staff is great, and they've managed to get our rooms ready in a very short time. We decide to stay in the hotel, dinner in the pub, more Quidi Vidi! It's a quiet night, and we suffer through a crappy Denzil Washington film Safe House which seems to be nothing but car chases and shoot-outs. Denzil isn't Jason Statham, but you pay for the movie, so on it goes!

I'm off to Fred's Records for a few East Coast tunes, I spend over an hour there, the place is full of musicians helping me out. I run into Tony and Mike (the photographer), but they're in pretty rough shape, they'd been up all night at Shamrock City, just down the road from our hotel.  We catch a cab to the airport, run into many fellow passengers heading home. We're flying to Halifax and heading to Truro. I'm sitting next to a fellow working on a TV script as we fly, turns out its Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle). It's nice to see that Canadian TV stars have to fly cattle class, he's on his way to Halifax to pitch a new film.

One last note coming from Truro.......

A Gentle Touch

Our visit to Conne River, a Mi’kmaw community, has been cancelled at the last minute. The staff is good at filling in the blanks, and soon we're off in Zodiacs for a run-up to the end of White Bear Bay. We're in the two lead Zodiacs, with Tony and Fraser at the helm. Tony is chatting with folks on shore, finding out what's going on. We're trying to find a moose to photograph. The fellows across the way start waving, and both Zodiacs head over. Yikes! they were waving us away, too late, as both Zodiacs hit the bottom. Not much good for those new four-stroke Yamahas!

Back on board, Matthew Sr. has decided that there's going to be a Polar Bear Dip practice. 20 brave souls decide to participate, but not me! There have been tours of the engine room and kitchen planned. And staff offer some more workshops to fill in the time. We head into Ramea two hours early, and the town is still crowding the wharf as we tie-up. We've got some free time before the big game, so I'm off, looking for boats! The place is interesting, a fishing community on an island off the south coast. The population is down to 650 from 1300, but they're still hanging in. Some very innovative projects, four windmills offset the power supply (diesel generators), and two more make hydrogen that also runs the generators. Like many of the places we've visited, there's a big spread laid out, with live music. I go check out the soccer team, and we're in trouble, they're all 16-19-year-olds! The game is set to begin, and no soccer ball! I'm not sure if that's one of Matthew's ploys to throw off the opposition. The ball finally shows up, and the Clipper scores two quick goals. Soon we're up 4 - 1, some of our crew has shown up to play. Only at the half, they switch sides, and the kids win 8 - 5.

A Cold One I'm off to find the Post Office to mail some postcards and forget that it's closed. I stop into the Ramea Hostel to check out their crafts, and the owner takes my cards and stamp money and mails them out after Thanksgiving.

We spend more time in town and head out around dinner time. The Captain has decided to hide out in White Bear Bay overnight, and head out early the next morning. Thanksgiving dinner is nice, but not the same. It's the first time in 27 yrs. that I haven't cooked a turkey dinner!

Photos:
Ramea from the water, if you look closely, you can see the windmills

Off the bridge, in the water for a very short time, Polar Bear dippers carry on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram

Shooting dories in Francois...
  Tucked In
 The trip is winding down, this is the last stop on the south coast. We're spending the morning cruising up La Hune Bay and then heading to the small town of Francois (Fransway) for the afternoon. It's the iconic Newfoundland fishing community, complete with laundry hanging, dories at anchor and cod being unloaded at the dock. (Just opened by John Crosbie in August, some of that Conservative government Action Plan money!) No cars here, the town is built on a series of boardwalks, sized to take the wheels of an ATV.

I'm missing turkey sandwiches, my favourite part of Thanksgiving, much better than the dinner! I was hoping that there'd be some leftovers for lunch, but I'm out of luck.

I posted a few cards to some of you from here, the middle photo should be familiar. I was walking around the dock, trying to figure out how to take the shot, when the woman living in the red house came out with a coffee, wondering what I was doing. We chatted about the town, and she told me the postcard shot was staged and took six hours to set up. The wooden dories were all hauled in just for the photoshoot, the local boats moved to the other end of the harbour and lights were set up on two barges. It was entertainment for the day... she radios her husband to see if he's on his way back... I could get shots of his dory as he anchors in front of the house... no luck, they're not heading back until dusk.

I managed some different shots before we left for France. There's never a dearth of dories at anchor in Newfoundland! She also tells me that they head over to St. Pierre for cheap smokes and rum, and is surprised that we're off to Miquelon, which doesn't have very many stores.

At The Ready b:w There are a series of trails around the community, I'm wandering around, shooting photos. I spend some time on the wharf, there's a boat being unloaded. I meet up with a fellow who worked out of Port Hardy for a while. Kyla's always told me that no matter where you travel, there always seems to be a North Island connection. I check out the church, stop off at the Post Office, she's excited that one of the postcards is off to South Korea!

I'm on my way to climb up to the waterfalls with Dave (the poet/pilot), when his radio goes off, there's been an accident with one of the passengers on the Lookout above the town. Accidents always seem to happen in threes, luckily this one is just a sprained ankle, and the fire department uses their ATV to get him off the hill.

 We get invited to the head table for dinner and have a great chat with Holly (the botanist) and Fraser (the marine biologist). We decide to pass on heading back to town for the Scuff. Like many rural communities, residents of Francois have to head to a larger community for health services. The ship raises $1200.00 to help a local family get to St. John's for cancer treatments. I spend part of the evening on the port deck with some of the crew, the ferry crew has bumped up their free WiFi signal for the Clipper. Most of the Filipino crew is excited, they're heading home for three weeks. Most of them have been away for five months. We also notice that the Clipper Adventurer is getting a name change, she's been sold and is now the Sea Adventurer. We notice that all the lifeboats have been started, and the Clipper part of the name has been scrapped off.

The scuff ends early, and we weigh anchor and head off to France!

Photos:
The Clipper at anchor in Francois
Downtown Francois - no setup here, and the dory didn't show up before dusk
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francois,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador

Wild Horses On The Run

We're stopping first in Brake's Bay, which was a small outpost community whose residents were forced to leave in the late 60s by the Smallwood government. Many residents of Cox's Cove were born there, or have family who used to live there. They've maintained summer homes, and continue to take care of the horses and cows that have been left. Like most Newfoundland communities, it was split down religious lines, and it seems strange that a small community of 20 homes would have both Catholic and Protestant graveyards.

The summer residents have a large fire on the beach, with hot dogs and marshmallows to roast, they've opened the houses with coffee on, and stories to tell. I thought that the ship's coffee was strong, but I'm quickly looking for some warm water to dilute mine! I see Paul, my personal geologist, poking around at the end of the beach, so I head off for my daily geology lesson. More very cool rocks, too bad I can't haul any back for the Spindrift garden! It's quiet, and there are groups of us all over... three of us are up on the hillside, photographing the six horses running free when we hear the ships whistle sound and we're being waved back to the beach.

By now, the 100 plus passengers are starting to get to know each other, and we're shocked when one of us, Mike, falls off the log by the beach fire. I didn't get to know him that well, other than to say hi on the way to the dining room, or to give him a hand getting into or out of a Zodiac. In a very short time, we're heading back to the Clipper as the staff begins CPR, and the doctor and EMTs from Cox's Cove arrive by boat. They weren't able to revive him, after two hours of CPR while they transferred him to the hospital in Cox's Cove.

Mike was fighting Huntington's Disease and had always wanted to visit Newfoundland. He was sitting in the sun, and he passed as a result of a heart attack. A lesson for the rest of us about strength, but also to not put off those many things we want to accomplish.

Story Time We head to Cox's Cove early, but somewhat subdued. The whole community is out to greet us. No buses here, Tony has arranged for anyone with a vehicle that holds 4 plus a driver to pick up passengers and tour them about town. Kath and I join up with one of the firefighters who responded in the morning. So I get a tour of the Firehall as well. We visit some amazing waterfalls, and finally some fall leaves! We pass on the mink farm, I know what they smell like! But that is also an interesting story, the town took over the local fish plant, worked on creating a food source from the fish offal, and attracted a Russian furrier to the area. They now feed the food to 50,000 mink, keeping their waters clean and employing another 10 folks full time.

This day is just another example of Newfoundland hospitality, after the tour, the Lion's Club has arranged for more food and drink. Tony plays a set, along with more local musicians, more scuffing and some Newfoundland street poetry. Some folks get "screeched in" I volunteer to kiss the cod, but the rum runs out! A group of townspeople and AC staff take Mike's wife to Cornerbrook and help her with the arrangements to return to Powell River.

It's been a very long day and one that has had its highs and lows. The mood on the Clipper is very pensive, there's not much going on as we head to the South Coast, and back to some rough seas.

Photos
All the wild horses in the sun...
Tony Oxford gives a little history lesson about the forced resettlement of many Newfoundland communities.
Finally, real wooden east coast dories! Tony jokes that his Council passed a bylaw that made fibreglass dories illegal!

High and Dry #3
Storm clouds pass...
 
 
The Study It's a long run from Cox's Cove to Garia Bay, and as we head East along the Southern Coast of Newfoundland, we hit the wind and waves. By now, those of us in the forward cabins have figured out that when we can hear the anchor, the Captain is not having any fun on the bridge! We're heading into Garia Bay, for a day of exploring the shore. Most folks are still feeling the shock of yesterday, so it's looking like it's going to be a quiet day.

While all these expeditions to shore have been going on, Matthew Sr. has also been holding many of the social events on the Clipper, from live music to a series of contests among the passengers. I think he grew up with Mr Dressup, he seems to have trunks of crazy clothes on board. I'm looking forward to the "Design your own Scotch Label", because he's opening the bar on his dime to sample the Scotch, and him being Scottish, it's all good stuff! He announced in the morning that he found his Hank Snow's Greatest Hits CD when he cleaned up his cabin, so there is an impromptu Dance and Barbecue on the deck at lunch. He's also arranged for a soccer game in Ramea, against the local high school soccer team. A game that the ship has never won. His new strategy is to rename the boat's team, adding O at the end of your name (Princeo), and he's handed out headbands that have a long ponytail attached. This makes us all look like Renaldo, and the logic goes, we'll score more goals. He discovers that the ship's photographer has played goal, so I'm now the official sports photographer. This stuff goes on for days, and at the last minute, we find out that we're scheduled to play a slow pitch game following the soccer match.

We sail into Garia Bay as the sun is coming up, I'm up for a coffee on the bridge, I enjoy watching the Captain manoeuvre the Clipper into these small places. She drafts 4.5 meters, so he's able to cut into places closer to shore. Off go the Zodiacs to find a few landing places, and to check in with the residents in the two homes at the head of the Bay. As we're gearing up for the barbecue, the skies open up, and the wind whips up the waves. No barbecue on the deck today!

It's the diehards who head ashore, and as we land, the skies turn blue, and the sun reappears. Where we've landed is a rocky point, so I'm hanging with Paul, the geologist. We find a large quartz rock that slides into the ocean, it looks like glass, it's so clear, with a few scrapes along the surface. Evidence of a glacier after all these years. We're on shore for 4 hours, folks are just lying about in the sun. We go off on a shooting expedition with Mike Beedell, the official photographer. One day, I'll have my images up on a website.

As the sun sets, we head back to the Clipper. I get into Dave's Zodiac, and he ignores the "head right back to the ship" instructions to take a few of us to the far side of the bay, there's an interesting rock formation there, and the light is perfect! As we look back, two other Zodiacs head over as well, so there's a few of us who are ignoring orders. There's an evening of music with Tony and company, but most of us head to the cabins early.

Rocked

Photos:
One of our new friends spends the afternoon painting onshore
Rocks seem to have taken over my interest, and Garia Bay is loaded with them. Some of the quartz intrusions onshore

http://www.mikebeedellphoto.ca/

Headin' Back

The more I travel in Canada, the more I realize how little I know about other parts of the country. Red Bay was settled by the Basque, and they supplied most of Europe with light, in the form of whale oil, for almost 100 years. It's the little stories I like, Red Bay was the site of the first liability suit in an international court. A ship laden with oil was heading out of the harbour when it sank in a storm. The survivors of the wreck successfully sued the owners and were paid out their share of the oil. Keep in mind that these whalers lived away from home for 6-7 months, and their families back home depended on their share of the shipment. The company and the Captain had to pay out the crew.

We get a few hours on our own, and again, the community opens up for us. Lots of smiles, waves and questions answered. If our communities showed the same kind of spirit, we'd be in much better shape, both spiritually and economically.

We're back on the Clipper for a run down to L'Anse Amour, one of the tallest lighthouses on the Labrador coast. It's one of the first times we're all on deck while the ship is running in the daytime. We're joined by a pod of dolphins, who clown around for an hour or so, and a humpback is sighted, but it's a bit of a yawn for us west coasters, it was just a modest flip of the tail, and then it disappeared!

Postponing The Enevitable We land on the beach, in the middle of the day, and there's a group to meet us, even though there are only a dozen homes in town. I like this afternoon, we're on our own. By now, I'm checking in regularly with the geologist, the beach here is covered with blocks of rock laden with fossils. I spend time looking for a trilobite, if I found one, I would have taken that with me!

I think that Kathy is warming up for the hike tomorrow, she's off with the lead group, heading to the lighthouse. I've found the wreck of a British destroyer on the beach and the tide is heading out. I get to the lighthouse, and there's a room set up with food, and an old fellow playing the accordion. No one else is in sight. I'm thinking that I noodled around on the beach too long, and I turn around to head back to the ship. I look up to get a shot of the lighthouse, and there are Kathy and the group, 100 feet up in the lighthouse!

We're back on the Clipper, the last Zodiac was at 6 p.m... We're heading south to Woody Point, and a Zodiac is heading to the next large community, taking the woman who fell in the rough weather for x-rays. Turns out her arm is broken, and she has to head home. We have an evening meeting, we haven't found enough birds to satisfy Holly, our onboard expert. We're given orders to look harder, and now we're counting those fake birds in people's gardens!

The Remains Photos:
Zodiacs back to the Clipper
Remains of a wreck in Red Bay
One of the gun turrets of the British destroyer in L'Anse Amour

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/nl/redbay/index.aspx
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/basque.html

Day 5 - A scuff in Woody Point...
 
 
With A View The seas have quieted down, and the Clipper has steamed all night to get to Woody Point. One of the games we play each evening is trying to get Matthew Jr. to give us the weather, he always dodges the question and reads the weather in the morning with his wake up call. Today it's windy and raining!

We're heading into Gros Morne National Park, another UNESCO Heritage Site. (are you counting, that's two, and Red Bay has just finished their application) Kathy and I have decided to take the middle hike to Garden Point. The geology here is amazing, and I could easily spend weeks here, another place for a repeat visit. This day is uber-organized, we're ashore in the Zodiacs, pick up a packed lunch and fill the water bottles, and then buses to the trailhead. We get a Parks Canada guide along as well. And she loves to talk, even with the wind blowing off the mountains! The group soon breaks up into two, quick and slow. I'm somewhere in the middle, by myself, that way I can shoot at my leisure. I get to the beach, and it starts raining, but there are some tables in a grove of trees that are dry and under a big rock ledge, so everyone stays dry. The beach was amazing, black sand with these basalt intrusions sticking up along the shore. Not much time, the trail was longer, somehow the 5 - 6 km, turned into close to 10 km. We have to head back to catch the bus.

Kathy finds another gear on the way back and is number two on the bus. We warm up on the ride back to Woody Point and decide to walk around town. As usual, it's all smiles and waves. The town has come out to make us feel at home. I spend an hour shooting around town, more boats and brightly coloured buildings!

Many of the Newfoundland stereotypes sure have been shattered on this trip. if our communities adopted their philosophy, we'd be further ahead. One of the conversations I had with Michael Crummy was interesting. There were two chairs at the point overlooking the ocean where we had lunch. I commented that it would be a great place to have some readings during the summer. Turns out that Parks Canada sponsors a series of art and writers in the Park. I don't remember that happening in our BC Parks. See the Woody Point Writers Festival. Both of us have noticed that everywhere we go, there's always a celebration of music, art and writing.

The community has put on a scuff for us at the Lion's Hall, most of the passengers are back on board by 10 p.m. A few of the AC staff end up closing down the Lions Hall in the wee hours of the morning. Matthew Jr.'s wake up call is somewhat subdued, and Michael isn't up to sing us awake! We're halfway through the trip, and looking forward to a slow day tomorrow. On The Waterfront

Photos:
Chairs everywhere in Woody Point
Main street, Woody Point.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/index.aspx
http://woodypoint.ca/
http://writersatwoodypoint.com/

The Dory!

Tony Cox serenades us at 7 am, a true wake up call. This becomes a daily event. Up for my usual coffee and toast, only to discover that there's an extensive list on the menu, including poached haddock. It's there every day of the voyage, but never work up the nerve to try it! The wind picks up, and the owner of the wharf in Fogo is concerned that the ship may pull the wharf off of its pilings. The crew heads up the hill to tie the ship off to rings embedded in the shore. The whole town has turned out to greet us. And in what becomes a standard fare, there's a spread of local foods at The Lion's club.

We're off on a tour of the Island, it's an interesting history. It's a theme that's repeated in most communities, but Fogo is a success story. The three communities work together, and the names are interesting: Joe Batt's Arm, Tilting and Fogo. You can read the history here https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/top-destinations/fogo-and-change-islands
 Our guide was a retired teacher and had quite a sense of humour, it was his first tour. But I'm more focused on shooting photos, and I'm dying to get off the bus as the shots drift by the window. We stop at Tilting for, you guessed it, more food and music. We try the chowder, and it was great, but we didn't know that was just the start. The next course comes out, we try the cod's tongues, and then I'm out the door. I've got an hour or so to shoot around the harbour. Tilting has strong Irish roots, and many places still fly the Irish flag and the signage is in Celtic, something we see throughout the Province.

I find the Shorefast Project https://shorefast.org/  the most interesting. A brother and sister who made a large amount of money in software have moved back to Fogo. They've funded the rebuilding of many heritage buildings, brought back the traditional wooden dories and are building a massive resort complex, built by local carpenters. As well they've built artisan studios on the Island, and offer them free, as long as the artists live in the nearby community. They've rebuilt the Island's economy, it's an interesting story. Kathy liked the studio we visited, the view from the all-glass front was glorious.

And I can't forget that Fogo is one of the four corners of the earth, according to the Flat Earth Society. Brimstone Head shadows the harbour.
http://theflatearthsociety.org

The winds have picked up, and the captain has called us back to the ship, cutting short our visit. We only have a few minutes at the site of Marconi's radio station. High winds, and we're heading off to the open ocean, should be an interesting night!

The Corner

Photos:

What, another dory - get used to it, there's many more to come-this one  is wooden
Brimstone Head towers over the Fogo Harbour

It's an even earlier rise on Day 3, as the anchor bangs against the hull!
 
  Piped Ashore We have an evening meeting to learn how to board the Zodiacs, it's our first wet landing! Another dinner and the sommelier is uncanny, I don't even have to ask, the beer just appears! The captain proves to be right, and the wind and rain pick up, just in time as we head away from shelter. L'Anse aux Meadows is on the northern tip of Newfoundland.

I wake up to a loud, rhythmic banging. Turns out, so did most of the folks close to the bow, everyone looks a little tired at breakfast. I thought that some hatch had been left loose, turns out it was the anchor banging against the hull!

It's a two-foot swell, windy and raining. So it's rain gear and boots. Our Zodiac is piloted by Dave, the Air Canada Captain. I love his accent, and he's good at keeping the waves from breaking over the bow. As we approach the harbour, the Labrador flag is flying. Dave's grandfather wrote the Provincial anthem, so we get it sung to us. As we come up the wharf, Michaeal OhAlmhain, our very own tin whistle expert is piping us ashore. He's also under the only shelter on the landing!

The history of the site is interesting and worth the reading. It was great to have an archaeologist as a tour guide. Somehow I miss the axe throwing, but the site has many different areas to explore. We head up to the National Park, which is also a Unesco World Heritage Site. The place is amazing, and it's too bad it's raining. Our guide is from the area, so we get many stories about Viking history. If I can, I'm heading back here one day.

Our visit is cut short, the Clipper is starting to slip anchor in the weather, it's a quick call back to the ship. The Zodiac ride back is rough, we're in a boat with Mike, the photographer, as the pilot. His backpack keeps Kathy on her guard, she's stuck behind him. It's a rough wait, and hard to time the swell, and jump at the right time. One of the passengers slips and the crew has to pull her up quickly, what started as a dislocated shoulder ends up as a broken arm.

Once back on board, it doesn't take long to dry off, warm up and head up to the lounge. What, more food! We're heading around the top of the Island, and into the straits of Labrador. We're promised that it'll be rougher, and some folks are already feeling the ship.

It's a night of live music, and I'm hoping that the anchor takes a break tonight.

Last Shuttles Leaving...

Photos:

Michaeal hides out in the shelter, playing the tin whistle as we leave the Zodiacs
The Clipper holding offshore, riding out the storm
 

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/4
http://www.town.stanthony.nf.ca/indexb.php

The Sister

My first day in St. John's I saw what I thought was the Clipper Adventurer, and discovered the Orlova, tied up and abandoned at the wharf in St. John's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Lyubov_Orlova  Both of them are interesting stories. The original ships were named after famous Soviet movie stars of the '20s. The Orlova has taken passengers around Newfoundland, Ireland and to the Arctic with Adventure Canada. With today's markets, it doesn't take much for these ships to go under.

The Clipper is presently owned by a Swedish shipping company and is contracted out to Adventure Canada. Her officers are Swedish and Scottish, with the crew being mostly Philippine.

The Adventure Canada staff was mixed, it's a small family-owned company, running a summer camp for adults. Besides Matthew Swan Sr., the cruise director, and his son Matthew Jr., the expedition leader, there were musicians: Tony Oxford (also the mayor of Cox's Cove where we visit later) and Daniel Payne, Michael Crummy, a Newfoundland author (Kathy has read one of his books, I'm starting), a geologist, a marine biologist, a naturalist, a poet/botanist, a photographer, an anthropologist who just received her PhD and an Air Canada pilot who was also a writer. All of them doubled as Zodiac pilots. So we got as much information about the areas as we wanted.

http://www.adventurecanada.com/trip/newfoundland-circumnavigation-2012/

The food was amazing, we were well fed both onboard and ashore. Being a small ship, we were able to get into places that the larger cruise ships couldn't navigate. We went ashore three ways, if we were lucky and the ferry wasn't docking, we tied up to a wharf. But most of our landings were in Zodiacs, 10 passengers at a time. A dry landing was onto a dock, a wet landing was over the side, timing the waves as you walked up onto the beach.

As we left Francois, Nfld., the crew was changing the name of the Clipper, to her new name, Sea Adventurer. She'd been sold to another company, but the former owners kept the rights to the Clipper moniker. Right now her Philippine crew is on the way home for the first time in five months, our server in the dining room and the wine steward hadn't seen their children in that time. The ship is heading to Montevideo, Chile repositioning for 3 months of Antarctic cruises. The crew joins them after having three weeks off.

Tucked In

Photos:

2. The Clipper at anchor in Francois
3. The Lyubov Orlova anchor in St. John's harbour, she was sold for scrap shortly after our trip.

Signal HillThe first and last sight as you enter and leave the harbour at St. John's I head out late on Friday from Comox on the red-eye to Toronto, and of course, catch a shift change leaving Fort Mac, the plane is packed. Luckily I remembered to book an aisle seat earlier in the morning. Flying on WestJet used to be fun, but they don't tell good jokes anymore, and it's becoming a bit like a Mexican bus. All that's missing are the chickens! After flying all night… I get into St. John’s at 7:30 am…

St. John's is sunny, a bit of a bite in the air. I can't sleep, so I head out along Water Street. The waterfront is in transition, it's kind of like a working man getting dressed up on a Sunday, lots of funky stores, but the street is littered with butts and Tim Horton's cups. The city hasn't made the transition to being a tourist centre, but they're trying. And the people are friendly, even the panhandlers. Lots of good music, I spend an hour listening to a guy plugged into a small battery-driven Peavey amp. He's up on a park bench offering the money he's collected to anyone who can name a song he can't play. He makes another $55.00 in the hour I'm there, and no one takes home his money!

The iconic east coast colours are everywhere, and I'm trying to capture that photo of the multicoloured houses up the many hills in downtown St. John's. I stop into a photo store, and the owner tells me that most of the pictures sold are Photoshopped, taking out the hydro lines, cars and pedestrians, but I'm up in the side streets until I find a few places.

Back to the hotel, still can't sleep. Kathy gets in at 1 am, so I decided to wait up for her. Off to dinner in the hotel, and try some of the local beer. I discover Quidi Vidi and Iceberg, the first of many along the way. I manage to stay up, Kathy arrives and we're done for the night. We've another day in St. John's before we board the Clipper Adventurer for our circumnavigation of Newfoundland.

St. John's by day...

 Flying East always seems easier, when you wake up at your usual time, it's 4.5 hours later, we're in Newfoundland! It's day two that gets you.......

A lazy day, we just walk around, exploring downtown St. John's. Discover that Newfoundland sense of humour, a store that sells a series of "Dump Harper" shirts. http://livingplanet.ca/.(remember this is 2012). I had to buy a few!! So how does that fit with a Province that votes Conservative both Federally and Provincially? We try and find an answer to that question while we're on the ship!

Fred's Music Duckworth Street holds a treasure, a record store, Fred's, with a very large catalogue of blues, jazz and East Coast music. I'm there when we return in 10 days. www.freds.nf.ca/

Kyla wants us to visit George Street, famous for its music and bars. It's pretty quiet on Saturday afternoon, we really enjoyed the former Catholic girl's school that now is a strip joint. And the party bus complete with drunk university students and two pole dancers that showed up while we walked by was a nice touch. Sunday morning the street was again littered with butts and Tim Horton's cups, but no bodies. (Maybe the butts and Timmy's cups are a tourism theme.) The music looks great, but we decide to find a quiet restaurant for dinner instead.

Back at the hotel, we're trying to figure out who else is on the trip, there's lots of LL Bean walking around the lobby. We find a nice restaurant on Water Street, another round of Quidi Vidi. I love that name! (http://www.quidividibrewery.ca/)

Pack up the next morning, and wait for the tour of St. John's.  This is Adventure Canada's way of keeping us off the ship until they're ready for us. Signal Hill is fogged in, but we get out anyway. Kathy starts a new trend and disappears up the stairs to the top of the tower. I can't get up the stairs with the backpack on! Off to Cape Spear, it's an old lighthouse and now a Provincial Park. A final stop in Petty Harbour, and I begin my quest for the iconic shot of boats tied up in the harbour. Most of the other folks on the bus head to the liquor store.

Finally arrive at the ship, get settled in, the cabin is small but comfy, and it's time for the lifeboat drill. First dinner on board, trying to figure out which fork to use with the salad. We head out of St. John's harbour later that evening, into rough seas, heading north to Fogo Island.

Petty Harbour

Photos:

Signal Hill protecting St. John's Harbour

Duckworth Street

Petty Harbour reflections

Amsterdam Intersection

Besides all that independence on the bike, there was the music, listening to Dutch pirate radio, Radio Veronica http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME02/Years_of_Veronica.shtml… Dutch DJs playing British and US music… and just catching the beginning of the British blues scene, under the covers at night with my transistor radio listening to Radio Luxembourg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Luxembourg playing the same from 9 - 11 pm.

But first, we have to get to Amsterdam, we’ve booked a morning flight from Belfast… a short flight on one of the EU's many cheap airlines… EasyJet. We leave a bit early, we need to return the rental and then clear customs. Kathy and Beth aren’t coming on this leg, they’re off on a bus tour of Ireland.

As we check-in, a notice comes across the board… our flight is now delayed for five hours, which will have us landing at Schiphol in the early evening, missing an evening walkabout and dinner out. Not much you can do, we settle in for a lunch, and hit the newsstand. And the laps around the small concourse of the Belfast airport begin. As I’m walking around I notice a group of young men, who seem to be getting drunker and louder, I’ve always wondered how anyone could afford to get drunk paying airport bar prices f… we finally get the boarding call and there they are, this is a stag party heading for a dirty weekend in Amsterdam…we’re lucky it’s a short flight, they just keep getting more obnoxious and ignore the stewards, it was nice to see that the Dutch police were waiting for them when we exited at Schipol.

We’re off on the train into Amsterdam, when over the PA comes the warning that there are pickpockets working the train, and to keep an eye on your luggage and backpacks… and turning around, there’s Moira’s pack unfastened… but all is safe.

We’re staying at the A-Train hostel… not far from the railroad station or from where we catch the boat… but it’s late when we get out for a walk around… we find an outdoor café for a beer and something to eat.

Falked Again Day 1
Amsterdam - Vianen
We have much of the next day to wander about… the desk clerk draws me a map to where the boat is tied up, and we make good time easily finding it. We’re able to drop off our luggage… we don’t leave Amsterdam until 3 pm and Moira wants to visit the Anne Frank Museum, Kyla has the walk to the museum worked out, so we’re off… and there is much to see. But the weather isn’t cooperating, we manage to crowd into a restaurant just as the skies open up… and then it quits as quickly as it started. We discover that the line for the museum is around the block, and most folks have already purchased tickets on line. We continue a loop around town and end up at the public library, near the harbour. And it seems to go on and up forever… including two coffee shops and a restaurant. We settle in a sunny corner overlooking the harbour… grab a late lunch, catch up on some emails and do some reading.

We’re taking the Southern Tour Relax, which does a clockwise circle starting from Amsterdam - Vianen – Gouda - Delft – Leiden – Haarlem – and back to Amsterdam. On this trip we also went through the dunes near Zaandvort, and on the return trip to Amsterdam, we went through Zaans Schaans. CycleTours is the company, https://cycletours.com/, and our boat is The Wending.

We’re the only Canadians on board, along with British, American, Spanish and a group of Austrian women, who soon turn into the bad girls on the trip… our guide is Wil, she’s been doing this for years. You can tell the hardcore riders, they had their bikes shipped to Amsterdam, we’re riding the bikes provided by Cycletours. The trip works pretty easy, we get up to breakfast waiting, make our lunches, fill up the water bottles, check out the bikes and then ride anywhere from 40 to 60 km a day, and arrive to find The Wending waiting.

We’re all on board and the boat leaves for Vianen promptly at 3:00 pm cruising for about three hours, and overnighting outside of town. We meet everyone in our group and are introduced to our crew and guide. There’s an honour system for beer and wine, and everything else is provided. Wil reviews the itinerary, the rules of the road and some insight into the area we’re travelling through. We get the option of getting a map, and leaving the group to travel on our own, the girls shut down that option without a blink! We settle into dinner, no assigned seats in the dining area, so you get to move around and meet new folks at each meal. We tie up and take the bikes for a run… adjusting seats and handlebars. Like every other night, we get a short but interesting lecture on the area we’re riding through, along with maps and a bit of local history.

A break on the path Day 2
Vianen - Gouda
I have to admit, I’m a little leery about today… it’s been a very long time since I’ve ridden 40 km on a bike… flat land or not. We’re up for breakfast, I begin my routine of having an early coffee on deck, it's quiet… only the skipper in the wheelhouse. Today’s trip takes us from Vianen through Schoonhoven and meeting the boat in Gouda. We’re on the way, and soon strung out in three groups… I can see why Wil is in such good shape, she’s back and forth making sure all is well.  We’re also riding with an eye on the weather, there’s a storm blowing through… and it hits quickly. We head for a gas station that’s covered by those large canopies… and it’s obvious that Wil has been there before… we’re off after a short time, but not for long. Turns out the Austrian women have taken a wrong turn, and Wil can see them in the distance, heading the wrong way on the dyke. We’re told to wait while she goes off to round them up… I’m glad we’re sticking with the group. Wil shows up with them in tow as the rain starts up again, and we head for the closest pub to wait it out… and as we ride into Gouda, there’s the boat, waiting on the canal. Other than a sore butt, I’m doing well. We try out the beer fridge, enjoy a grand dinner, go over the next days itinerary and head out for an evening stroll in Gouda. I soon discover that every square I seem to find, there’s always a Subway in the background of whatever building I’m trying to photograph!

Against The Wind Day 3
Gouda -Kinderdijk- Rotterdam - Delft

I’m up early, to get out of the way while the girls get ready… I’m up on deck with a coffee, and end up chatting with the skipper…he goes over the maps that show the canals, almost as complex as the bike paths… I have to get below deck to grab a bite and make my lunch… today is going to be a long run into Rotterdam, but being in the city on a bike path is much easier than dealing with the cars.

We have a sunny day, no rain rolling in and it’s a short run to Kinderdijk… a village of working windmills… a UNESCO site. There’s a museum and a working pump house, where you can see how the windmills are pumping out the water to the next level. We’re a few feet below sea level here, so the pumps are constantly running. We’re here until lunch… and there are many images that need recording. Lunch in the sun and then we’re off for a quick run to catch a ferry… Wil gave us a choice, ride the 25 km through Rotterdam or ride the ferry and get a tour of the harbour along the way. The ferry pulls up… a Euro to board, rack your bike… it holds 100 and we’re off for a 45 minute ride on the water… it’s a quick run through Rotterdam and all of a sudden we’re in Delft. The canal seems to be busier than previous stops and we’re rafting up next to another boat… a few of us are helping with the ropes… all of a sudden I hear “Norm” and I turn around to see my friend Dale… he’s on a tour going the opposite way. I spend the evening sitting on his boat, and we finish a few too many beers. It is a small world.

Riding The Dunes Day 4
Delft - Den Haag - Wassanar - Katwijk - Leiden
It’s the summer solstice

We don’t ride far, we’re visiting a small factory that produces those small blue and white pieces of pottery that makes Delft world famous… then we’re off for Den Haag and Wassanar, where I spent my year in the Netherlands… and I’m looking forward to seeing if I can recognise some familiar haunts… but I’m beginning to wonder… day 4 and I’m not recalling much of my Dutch…while I wasn’t fluent, I was able to make myself understood. And Den Haag has changed, the palace at the town centre is familiar, but that’s it. I sort of recognise the bike path passing by the palace in Wassanar… it’s an afternoon pedal along a highway and come down a long hill into Leiden… where we’re staying for two days. We’re anchored right downtown, so we’re off on our own for the evening. The girls have a craving for some junk food, so the cook directs us to the grocery store… and it turns out it’s not much different from anything back home… including the brands of chips on the racks. We go for a late walk around town and spend the rest of the evening sitting on deck taking care of those chips…and chatting with the group, most of us are out there late, we’re not starting early. Windmills

Day 5
Leiden - Cheese Factory and Bakery… the foodie day

We’re on a slow day, it’s a leisurely ride to a local cheese factory, along with a small museum. We cruise along one of the canals, until we find a spot for lunch… the old windmills pumping away the water, and the new ones catching the wind, providing power for the nearby villages. We’re back at the boat in the early afternoon. I take off for a walkabout… the abandoned building across the canal is intriguing, and I’m trying to make my way over there. I also find the library in Leiden, so there’s a quick check on the wire… nothing important.

It’s a quiet evening after dinner, the girls come along and we check out a few more places before heading back to the boat.

Wending Waiting
Day 6
Leiden - Keukenhof -  Haarlem

The rain has returned, so we’re easing into the day, Wil has changed the route. Moira has decided to take a boat day, as is a few of the other riders. It’s another long day, riding 50 km. And it’s slow on the water, we pass The Wending along the way, and the group is getting strung out… there’s some unplanned construction along the way, and we have to negotiate many detours to get into Haarlem. Along the way we’re riding through the tulip fields in Keukenhof… at this time of year, there’s not much growing, but they are massive. We stop for a break at a nursery… this one is the size of a box store, but there’s not much for sale.

By the time we hit Haarlem, the group has split up and we pass the boat again, it is in a line, waiting for a bridge to go up. And we’re now in the city, having to pay attention to stop lights, pedestrians and cars… we’re all waiting as the boat arrives.

It’s still early afternoon, and the Fran Hals museum is open for a few more hours… I’m off there, the girls are going shopping… there is definitely a big city feeling to Haarlem. We first stop along the way to grab an order of patat frites mit mayo… a sidewalk treat!

We go out for a group walk, but you can feel the trip coming to an end, we’re heading back to Amsterdam tomorrow.

Windmill B&W
Day 7
Haarlem - Spaardam - Zaans Schaans - Amsterdam

It’s an early start, we’re on the road before 9 am, working our way through the city… we’re about two blocks away when there are thunder and lightning, and the sky opens up. We duck under the store awnings, along with most of the others on the bike path. It’s crowded, and we have to hug the railings to allow the bikes to pass… one of the women in our group is putting on her coat, and extends her arm into the bike lane, knocking a surprised office worker to the ground, and as he goes over his bike rides up my leg… no damage to either of us, but Wil moves us on, rain or not!

We take a small ferry, it’s operated by the neighbourhood and crewed by the retired residents… and takes 5 bicycles at a time, an interesting operation… the rain picks up and Wil gets us to the Prins Hotel, where we ride out the storm over a coffee. We’re back on the road before the rain quits… heading to Zaans Schaans - a model of old Dutch villages and trades. We head for the wooden shoes but Moira soon has us heading off for pannekoeken at one of the restaurants. I’m off for some more shots… and after a long two hours, we head off for Amsterdam. Along the way we have a break in a park, that seems like it is located in the country… we’re back on our bikes and in a matter of minutes, we’re in Amsterdam, and the paths are crowded. We meet the boat at its home port… we’re spending the last night tied up in Amsterdam. There’s an even grander dinner prepared, and then we’re out on a canal tour. We spend a bit of time on deck, chatting about the trip and setting up an email exchange with the promise to share photographs. Looking For...

Day 8 -10
Amsterdam -Scheveningen

We’re up early for the last breakfast on The Wending, we have to be off the boat by 9:30… checkout time!

It’s a short walk to the train station and we’re soon heading for Den Haag, we’re spending three days there, more of that search for my Dutch and familiar places. We catch a cab, and we’re at the hotel before check-in time… so it’s drop off the suitcases and head for the beach. It’s an overcast day, and many of the cafés are still shuttered. We find a small place, and grab lunch and head off on the boardwalk, ending up at the pier, and of course, it doesn’t look anything like the one I’ve remembered.

We have the top floor of the hotel… it’s two bedrooms, kitchen/living room… and a grand view of the beach… we’re on the fourth floor… but there’s no elevator. We head out for a walkabout and groceries… and then sit on the balcony for an early evening at home.

We only have two full days in Den Haag, so we’re filling up the days. A former student of mine, Maja Groff, works at the International Court and lives in Den Haag, so we’re meeting up with her at The Humanity House https://humanityhouse.org/, it’s an interactive exhibit that puts you in the shoes of a refugee fleeing from political or environmental disasters, and it’s quite the experience. The day is warming up, and we’re off to find a place for lunch… we end up sitting in a large square in front of the Mauritshuis Museum https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/explore/the-collection/rembrandt/. We sat for an hour over lunch, and a beer… then off to the museum, especially the Rembrandt exhibit… The Laughing Boy, Girl With The Pearl Earring, The Bull and Bird are all favourites.

Afterwards, we walk over to where I lived for the year… 53 Adriaan Pauwstraat. For some uncanny reason, I’ve always remembered that address… we met the present owners and had a wee chat… the house looks pretty much the same. A short walk to the tram and a ride to the hotel. We go for a walk on the beach and find a restaurant open for dinner… the girls contemplated taking in a film, but we ended up going back to the hotel and caught a film on TV. #53 Norm

#53 Day two is an early rise for me, went down for breakfast and sat with the paper and a coffee on the outside deck… Kyla joined me partway through. She’s taking the morning off, going to do laundry and catch up on some emails. Moira and I head back downtown on the tram, we’re getting a tour of the International Court, and catch a mid-morning coffee at an outdoor café while waiting for the entrance to open. We decide to walk back to the hotel, and it’s a nice stroll, but I’m not recognising many familiar places. We meet up with Kyla and head off to the beach, it’s hot out and the beach is packed. We take a walk through the pier, the bumper cars I frequented as a kid has been replaced with a crane and bungee jumping! We go grocery shopping, cook up a nice dinner and sit over beers on the outside deck. I head out to the working harbour and get some final shots of the sunset over the beach.

Final day in the Netherlands, we grab a cab to the train station, the girls are off to Brugge in Belgium and I’m catching the next one back to Amsterdam, I’m flying back to Dublin to meet up with Kathy and Beth, we have the last day there. But my luck holds out, and the thunderstorms are postponing flights both in and out… in the end, my flight is eight hours late… we even get boarded and then told to go back to the terminal. We finally head out, and I don’t get into Dublin until after 11 pm… and the cab drivers aren’t familiar with Kilronen House, the B&B where we’re staying… and I didn’t write down the address… I finally find a cabbie who looks it up and I’m off to a dark building… but as the cab door shuts, there’s a crack of light at the front door! The Delivery

The final day and I’m off on my own heading downtown… I’m taking advantage of no VAT tax paid, and trading in a lens I don’t use, for one I’ll use most of the time. I’m out in front of the store, shooting across the street to a man sitting on his own, reading the paper. There soon this little dance, as young men drop off large bags near him, and another fellow picks them up as he makes phone calls… it’s the local bookie collecting the morning bets…

I make a trip out to Maynooth on the bus to pick up a suitcase that Kyla is sending home, we have free luggage going back. We go out for a quiet dinner and that’s the end of the adventure. We fly home the next morning.

And like all the other bus and train trips, I’m the outlier, sitting on my own, I’m soon surrounded by a young Irish family, dad looks as though he’s had a rough night, mum isn’t looking very happy and the two boys are loaded up on crisps and candy… I can hardly understand the exchange… it’s going to be a long ride to the coast. This is an express bus, so we’re cutting across Scotland and avoid going through Glasgow, but there is quite a panorama out the window, something to look at since I can’t read my book! We hit the coast at Ayr, and all of a sudden there seems to be a change in the weather… there’s a bit of a storm brewing off the coast. Too bad there aren’t any stops for photographs!

As the bus approaches Cairnryan Port, a few passengers along with the five of us, start getting things organised to head to the ferry, but the bus doesn’t seem to be slowing down. All of a sudden, there’s an announcement that this bus doesn’t stop at that terminal, we’re heading for Stranraer, and the Belfast ferry. We check our tickets again, and there’s nothing there about not stopping at Cairnryan Port. And this must happen often, taxis are waiting at the Stranraer terminal, and it’s a flat rate for the 20 km return ride. Waiting To Load

We have a bit of a wait at the terminal, perhaps I’ll get through some of that book, there doesn’t seem to be much of anything else to see… the terminal is fenced in and you can’t access the beach or harbour front at all. This is a similar ferry as the last… a very large version of what we’re used to… so we find a quiet corner, away from the two bars and the televisions tuned into different football matches. The two-hour trip goes quickly, the ferry docks right in downtown Larne, and Kyla’s friends are there to pick us up. I think the girls are excited about this leg, we’re staying at the Seaview Bed and Breakfast, they’re staying a few blocks away with Kyla’s friends. Funny though, I can’t find the sea view from our B & B!

We’re off for a walk, it’s been a long day… I soon find a few places to shoot… there’s an abandoned Coast Guard station just down the road. We’re off to the Blue Chicago Grill for dinner, which turns out to be a knock-off ‘burger joint, with Coors on tap… but the music was grand. We stop at the Tesco on the way home for a few things, it’s an early night for us, but I’m sure the girls are up much later.

Fast Train to Belfast

We’re up early, Kyla’s organised the day… we’re off by train to Belfast for the day, and it’s going to be a long one. I’m really looking forward to this visit, Belfast and Northern Ireland have always been places I wanted to see. It’s a short trip by train, just over an hour and a half, something like riding the Skytrain in Vancouver. We soon leave Larne, and the vistas become very rural, at Carrickfergus, we hit the coast as we head into Belfast. As we slow for the station, we pass the Harland and Wolff shipyards, where the Titanic was launched.

Fast Train To Belfast

With no car, we’re off on the On/Off bus for a tour of Belfast, but with a twist… Kyla and her friends lived in Belfast, so we’re getting the insiders special. First stop is the Botanical Gardens, it’s a lovely day, with the sun out… and it seems that most everything is in bloom, I’m finding many images to capture. We find a small outdoor café for lunch, and then head for a walk around downtown Belfast… catching the Europa Hotel and a few other sites made infamous during The Troubles. We take a tour through to the Peace Wall, still separating Protestant and Catholic neighbourhoods… the artwork on the walls says it all. I’m off to the airport to pick up a rental, one of Kyla’s friends is coming along to help with the paperwork, in the end, it’s easier to put the car in his name. On our way back to pick up the rest of the crew, I see that things haven’t changed much, there’s a group of black-clad protesters in Adidas tracksuits and balaclavas protesting the cancellation of the upcoming marches on July 12th or Orangemen’s  Day. I’m getting ready to walk along and shoot some photos, but I’m waved off by a group of Belfast police.

As we leave Belfast, we pass the SSE Arena, home of the Belfast Giants, one of eight teams in the Elite Hockey league. I was hoping they made the playoffs, and we’d be catching one of their games… there’s a Canadian connection… Theo Fleury played for three seasons with them.

We’re all tired, and it’s an early night at the B & B.

Chips with that?

We load up the seven-passenger Renault and we’re off on a road trip… stopping at the requisite rolling green hills covered with sheep, heading for Torr’s Head. I’m riding in the front passenger seat and holding on as we negotiate these seemingly one lane back roads, and it’s a dance as cars dart in and out of turnoffs. With the weather a bit damp, we seem to be the only ones crossing the suspension bridge, but the rewards are just grand… especially the algae on the cave walls. We stop along the way to pick up some food for a picnic lunch, we’re going to be spending some time at the Clochán an Aifir  (Giant’s Causeway). I’m off on the trail early, but soon discover it’s hard to get a shot without people walking through… I have to just sit and wait for an opening, but there are some grand opportunities. The girls catch up, and I have some help keeping the people out of my shots… we head back to Larne along the coast, stopping at some of the small harbours and end up at Dunluce Castle … Kathy figures out that it’s somehow related to the Coyles.

An Early Fog

We’re getting together with Kyla’s friends for an evening… and ordering Chinese food to accompany the beer… I’m hoping for something I can’t get back home, and there it is, sitting in the fridge, Coors! Love that global economy! I volunteer to help pick up the order, there’s 12 of us sharing the take out… and the Chinese restaurant looks like it could be in Vancouver… except for the Chinese owner speaking with an Irish accent. And,  I discover that along with the Chinese, we get 12 orders of chips!

Quick Norm, there’s a riot goin’ on!

Our trip is coming to an end, one last day on the road… we’re heading to Ulster Village and Transportation Museum… there’s a Titanic display up that Moira wants to visit. There are many opportunities for photographs, I’m wandering on my own… we’ve set up a place to meet for lunch. The village is quite large, and then there’s the transportation museum across the way.. so it’s a day-long visit… we’re heading back earlier to Larne, we’re going out to dinner with a group to The Halfway House in Ballygally,  up the coast from Larne. It’s a nice time, and I manage a pint of Guinness. As we’re sitting around chatting, all of a sudden there’s a yell, “Norm, get over here, there’s a riot going on.” And there on the news are shots from the hockey riot after Vancouver’s loss to Boston in the 2011 Stanley Cup. The shots are greeted with great glee from this audience, many of the group have done time in British prisons… they decide that they could get something going much quicker!

It was a fine visit, and far too short… sometimes I think it would have been better to live overseas in my 30s than when I was a teenager… It’s a busy day tomorrow, the girls and I are off to Amsterdam for an eight-day trip with bikes and canals. Kathy and Beth are off on a bus tour of Ireland.

For those of you who read the first few… a recap.

At a concert, Lyle Lovett’s If I Had A Boat triggered an idea for this project since most of our travels have been on ships or close proximity to the water.

You can see two of my favourite songwriters here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G5Tt4AHVTI as John Prine introduces Lovett.

It’s sad that John was one of the many victims of the Covid pandemic in Trump’s America.

I’ve previously written about the first three legs of this journey, a few days in Dublin, off to Wales to hike from Pembroke to St. Davids and then off by train to Edinburgh, where you’ve been stranded since the last post. You can refresh your storyline here: https://normprince.zenfolio.com/blog

This trip was my transition from film to digital, and while I printed the images from the film, most of the digital images have just sat, waiting to be set free.

I’ve spent a good part of those Covid shutdown spring evenings editing away.

You can see new images from Dublin: https://normprince.zenfolio.com/p786608618

Looking For A Sale

   Wales: https://normprince.zenfolio.com/f530352823https://normprince.zenfolio.com/f530352823

First Castle on The Right

Scotland: https://normprince.zenfolio.com/p737653377

The Keep

Northern Ireland:normprince.zenfolio.com/f1026465037

Giant's Causeway Colour

I’ve posted about the visit to Northern Ireland, and am working on the bicycle trip in Holland … there’s a few days of rain in the forecast… and hopefully I finish this writing quickly!

Just to remind you, while at a Lyle Lovett concert last March (2017), he closed with If I Had a Boat, which reminded me of all these images of boats I started to make on a trip to Wales, Scotland, Ireland and The Netherlands. Writing about this trip has made me review my images, I haven’t printed or edited very many of them.

I’ve learned that I have to get these written blogs posted quicker, and maybe shorter, but I want to finish the trip, I’ve already edited photos for all the posts.

A bit of order on the Lake We’re up early, it’s an hour by car to the train station in Milford Haven. We’re taking two trains, a ten-hour trip to end up in Edinburgh, Scotland in the late afternoon. This time we’re organized and have packed food for the trip, which turns out to be a good move for us. The first train is crowded, and I end up in the back of the car, Kyla has managed to lay claim to a pod of four chairs, leaving me on the search for a single seat. This turns out to be a great move for me, for we’re introduced to a British tradition for the 3-hour ride to Leeds, where we change trains. Seated almost across from Kyla’s seats is a group of young women, all dressed in camo, with one older woman in tow. Turns out this is a Hen Party, the female version of a stag. They spend the trip playing silly games that always seem to end in drinking wine.

We switch trains, and are now on one run by Richard Branson of Virgin fame, who knew that besides music, phones and airplanes, he ran trains! We’d booked what we thought was a quiet car, but find out that the system has broken down. Not only is the car not quiet, but there are people sitting in our reserved seats. The conductor makes a brief appearance and mutters something about a computer glitch, and directs us to take whatever seats we can find. Turns out, we’re in luck, and we find ourselves all over the car, and it’s not quiet. But the trip gets interesting as at each stop new passengers board, assuming that they have reservations and find there are no seats to be had, and there isn’t any sign of a Virgin employee at all! We suffer through the final 45 minutes of the trip with a group of oil company employees who don’t have seats but entertain us with loud stories of their golf games as they pass food around to each other. Thankfully, we roll into Edinburgh on time!

All the mod cons This trip is prior to the spread of AirB&B, and we’ve rented an apartment close to the train station, via the internet. All we have is an address and a name of a person who is going to meet us at 5 pm with the key. There go the five of us, suitcases in hand, making our way to the address. I’m a bit wary of the situation, but we finally get there, and there’s the person with the key in hand. And to make the end of the trip a bit interesting, we’re on the fifth floor with no elevator!

Kyla and I are off on a mission, we have to buy groceries for the gang, we’re just hoping to find enough for dinner and breakfast, the rest of the food will come later. I’ve got my camera in hand, and we’re off, and I soon discover a gem, just behind our apartment is the Lothian and Borders police station, where one of my favourite literary characters, DI John Rebus, worked. We come across a Tesco and are soon stocked up with food.

A brush with the past It’s a packed three day trip to Scotland, I get a surprise on the first day, the girls have booked a John Rebus tour of Edinburgh. http://rebustours.com/tours/ We start at the Royal Oak, on a rainy, cold June day, too early for me to start with a Scotch or a beer. There’s a good-sized group, and the guide is not only an avid Ian Rankin fan, he is also well versed in the history of Edinburgh. Though, after an hour or so of dodging the rain underneath overhangs, I wonder why I’m gazing up into the window of a police station, while the guide tells me that Detective Rebus works out of that office. He’s a character in a detective series, not a real copper!

Shadows at play Day two we’re off on a day tour, I organized this, so I’m hoping that it works out! We’re in a 14 passenger bus for the ride.
https://www.rabbies.com/en/scotland-tours/from-edinburgh/day-tours/west-highland-lochs-castles-day-tour, and it turns out to be much more interesting than I thought it would be, we’re in a small group of ten, and the tour guide/driver has a grand sense of humour. It’s a long day, but we manage to visit two castles, the home of the Duke of Argyll, Loch Loman and then back to Edinburgh.

No boats, it’s a quick visit, and it’s certainly on the list to revisit. We’re up early the next morning, our last day in Scotland. We spend the day roaming about Edinburgh, the weather cooperated and we had a wee bit of sun! The final day, we’re up early and it’s a long bus and ferry ride to Larne, North Ireland.

And since we’re close to the coast, there should be many boats in the lens.

Standing guard

That ringing alarm at 4:00 am was going off by many beds on the Island, as we all made our way to the 6:15 am ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay. The closer we got to the terminal, the heavier the traffic became, including small groups of pedestrians starting to run to beat the ten minute cut off for tickets. Parking was hampered by construction, but we find a spot. The line up for tickets was to the door, and moving slowly. BC Ferries mustn’t have been aware of the protest on Burnaby Mountain, but they managed to get everyone on board!

The noseThis sign followed us from Nanaimo, to Lake Central and up the hill! And it was crowded, you could feel the energy. Protest signs resting on the ground, next to small groups talking about how to get to Lake Central Skytrain Station, the meeting place for the  Protect The Inlet march. Our small group is organized, Terry is off to the bookstore to buy Transit passes for the three of us, I’m chatting with a group from Port Alberni, they have charted a bus to meet them in Horseshoe Bay, and meet a couple from Fanny Bay who don't know which buses to catch! Richard is chatting with another fellow from Dogwood about the march. Taking a walk around the main deck, and these meetings are going on in every corner of the lounge. I stop by the cafeteria and listen to the truck drivers. Sitting with their coffee, breakfast and log books out, they can’t figure out what’s going on, but they’ve lost their usual table, and they aren’t very happy about that!

Killer Whales join the crowdNot the ones escorting the ferry, but they made their way up the hill with the crowd.

I make my way back to my seat, making notes and reading. I look up and the sun is coming up over the Vancouver skyline, and there’s not a cloud in the sky. The PA rattles, and the captain is announcing that we have a pod of killer whales on either side of the ferry, a sure sign of a glorious day! And then I hear it, “What a bunch of assholes, taking a dieseled powered ferry, riding in cars and buses to protest an existing pipeline.” And she continues, even louder over her coffee, her partner nodding in agreement. She’s looking around for an argument, surrounded by signs and people heading to the March. Perhaps they're heading to the pro-pipeline rally?  I almost bite, but comment on what a nice day it is, and had she seen the whales along the starboard side of the ship?”

As we exit the ferry, the parking lot is full of chartered school buses, and a long line for the 257 Express, we can tell we aren’t going to make that one, even though it’s one of the articulated buses. But like clockwork, an empty one rolls up behind and we’re off. From our perspective, it seems that everyone is headed to the March. Signs have been rolled up, poles under seats, backpacks held on laps, it’s standing room only. At the Burrard Street stop, most of the bus exits, heading to the Skytrain station, Expo line for four stops, then switch to the Millennium Line to the Lake City station. Our group has continued to grow, and while some of the signs seem familiar, the faces aren’t. Young, old, older and many families have joined the crowd. We spent most of the time on the last train standing, talking with one of the nurses who would be working on the sides of the March. And by now I can’t find any of the faces we left with from the Ferry!

The Skytrain empties...

As the train pulls in to the Lake City station, the crowd is visible, we’re there well before the 10 am start time, and it already looks like 1000s are milling about the courtyard. And now there's a police presence, though they seem friendly enough, chatting with protestors, enjoying the sun and extra pay they’re going to earn today. They have a list of where the closest bathrooms are located! The speakers have congregated at a Budget cube van being used as the stage, the crew is setting up the sound system, but it doesn’t seem to work. After 30 minutes, the crowd has doubled in size, there are musicians performing in corners, and somewhere on the fringes, there is a Piper playing. We hear the sound system crackle, and Tsleil-Waututh member Will George begins the speeches, but not for long, the sound system fails. He’s replaced by Chief Bob Chamberlin from the Gilford Island Band, a  familiar face to the North Islanders in the crowd. The microphone is replaced with a megaphone, and the speeches are back on. We learn a few chants, and then a path is cleared to allow the Elders to enter and bless the march. And then we’re off, following the Elders and visiting Chiefs, from all across Canada and the US.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip

We seem to be in the middle, and not able to see either end of the March. We decided to stick together, rather than set a meeting place and a time to head home. That restricts my roaming around to shoot photos, it’s hard to stop and shoot and then look around for my marching partners. Overhead is the RCMP helicopter and a few large drones, but I don’t seem to see any of the local TV stations covering the March. We're off

As we make our way up the hill, we turn the corner and there is Kinder Morgan’s razor wire capped fence, and along their side of the fence KM pick-up trucks roll slowly along, taking photographs of the marchers. Between the road and their fence is a treed boulevard, and you soon see groups of men drifting towards the trees, it’s been a long haul with that morning’s coffee and no bathrooms at the transit stations. I quit drinking coffee before we got on the ferry, but Richard joins the group. Terry and I wait on the side of the road as the marchers move past us, and we wait, but Richard doesn’t return. I find a spot in the shade on some construction materials, up the road is the camp of protestors who have been there for months.

The crowd is thinning out, and I recognize a few faces, David Suzuki saunters by, as does Elizabeth May, walking a dog. I recognize a few lower mainline politicians, including Adrianne Carr. I’ve been weaving in and out of the crowd, looking for images that needed to be captured. I see an older man seeming to have trouble with the hill, he’s one of the Elders. One of the many RCMP members takes one arm, I take the other and we get him seated on a bench in the shade. I go off to find one of the young protestors from the camp, and send him down with some water. And I run into Terry, who hasn’t moved far in the bathroom line. We’re also gently asked to move along to the soccer field, two blocks down the road. We’ve been too long in the recently granted 50 meter no go zone. We’re told that there are bathrooms at the field.

As we enter the field, we can see just how big the crowd has grown. There’s a large stage set up and speakers have already started to address the crowd. We find a spot in the shade by the fence, we can hang our packs there. Terry decides that she wants to sit for a while, so I’m off in the crowd, trying to find those illusive images. As I’m drifting about, I’m also looking for Richard, he’s our driver, so if we don’t meet up, Terry and I will have to find a ride from Nanaimo to Courtenay. I run into one of the press organizers, and she sends me off to the Watch house construction zone, allowing me to shoot some photos before they open it up to the crowds.

Watch house rises While I was watching the sunrise, this crew was loading planks onto trucks and getting to Burnaby Mountain to build the foundation and assemble the watch house.  By now you’ve probably seen it, either in news clips or in photos. It’s built right on the existing pipeline, and is staffed by warriors protecting the inlet. It was recently protected by the judge at the hearing for Kinder Morgan’s request to have a 50 meter no go zone for protestors.

I head back to the Information booth, want to touch base with Terry. I stay with the packs, she’s off to visit the watch house and cruise the crowd to see if she can find the illusive Richard. I can tell she’s a bit worried about losing him in the crowd. I’m now sharing the fence with three RCMP members, these guys are roasting, with long sleeve shirts over their Kevlar vests. They're members of the Division Laison Team, and one of them tells me they are there to observe the protest.

I get the sense that Terry wants to start making our way back to the Island, the crowd is starting to thin, and groups of people are starting to make their way to the Skytrain station. The RCMP are at every turn, helping us head the right way. And it’s standing room all the way back to Granville Street. As we turn the corner a 257 Express pulls up, but the line is a block long. It’s 30 minutes to the next one, so we decide to take the 257 Milk Run. Which turns out to be a mistake, as we exit at the ferry terminal, the sign goes up that ticket sales to Nanaimo are suspended, and the next ferry is at 6:35 pm. 2.5 hours to go! We meet up with two other couples who were on the bus, and find a place for a well deserved cold beer!

And you’re wondering how we made it back to Royston? Right off the bat, we were offered rides by the folks we met on the bus, one couple from Fanny Bay and the other from Coombs, both said to track them down on the ferry if we couldn’t find someone closer. And at 5:30 pm, we’re in the waiting room, when in strolls Richard. We’re united again with a ride home to Royston.

Frack Off! Once again Pipeline politics has heated up, Notley’s threatening to cut off the oil to BC, Jason Kenny first calls the protestors Russian bots and then foreign paid enviros (on that note, who paid to get the Albertans to the Pro pipeline rally?), local media outlets are criticized over their biased coverage of the two protests (10k vs, 200) JTs’ ministers still claim the “pipeline will be built”, Washington, Oregon and California support the BC position and a week later, the first 28 protestors are arrested interfering with Kinder Morgan’s work schedule.

The March 10th Protect the Inlet March will turn out to be one of those watershed moments, the tide is turning. The list of volunteers to be arrested keeps growing, my name is there.

The Listen

It’s an early West Coast morning….cold, wet and dark. I’m on my way to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s (PMJT's) Town Hall meeting at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo.

It has been a busy week in pipeline politics, the National Energy Board hearings in Burnaby, a review into the clean up of bitumen just announced by Horgan’s government, Alberta’s Notley threatening legal action and boycotting BC wines and Trudeau’s announcement from Edmonton that the pipeline will be built! We’re glued to CBC’s On The Island, awaiting the Friday panel to see what they have to say about the topic, and just finished listening to Trudeau’s CBC interview. I’m working on my third cup of coffee, which probably isn’t a good idea with over two hours of standing in line!

We thread our way down the hill, and there is already a long line of people waiting for the 9:00 am door opening, it’s wrapped around the cafeteria and heading for the media entrance to the gym. PMJT’s dark suits are already clearing the parking area at the rear of the gym, and it’s soon after we’re directed to move the line up the hill. I’m off shooting photos and talking with the crowd. It’s a mix of young and old, many students have taken a day off of school, a large mix of young people who have taken a day off of work and older protestors who have been out many times before.

Move it up the hill

Life BloodLarge groups of young people, students, people taking a day off of work and young families were lining up in the rain. Waiting for JT

The illegitimate blues, no Press Pass for you!

I meet up with two other photographer’s who don’t have press passes, so we’re off to the Press table to check out the process. The place is already filling up, mostly with video journalists, we follow the CBC crew in, but don’t get past the first gate. I sign in as a freelancer and register using my brokenfish Photography card and show my driver’s licence. We head off to clear with PMJT’s black suit, armed with a laptop and radio. “Not the legitimate press," he says, no pass for you. But he does have a sense of humour, I ask about getting my camera in through the door, he says “let me speak to my wrist” and calls over to the main admissions desk. He cleared that for me and the Nikon gets a yellow band on the strap. I look around, and one of us is missing, she got through the line!

 Back in the line, and it’s much longer now, it seems to snake on forever into the mist rolling down the hill. And at 9:00 am, things start to move and just after 10:00, I’m into the gym.

The wait begins.. And it’s a déjà vu moment,  I’m sitting in a high school volleyball tournament - Elton John’s Crocodile Rock is being pumped over the speakers, the bass is pounding, there are students dressed in their team jerseys. You can see the set up for the floor from the photos. When we first came through the door, I saw empty seats on the floor, but didn’t notice the reserved signs on the posts. Most of the floor was reserved seating, except for the area under the flag. That may change for future town halls, you’ll see why by the photos. We’re soon directed off of the floor, no wandering around, find a seat and stay there. We’re in the cheap seats, about half way up the far side bleachers. I do some quick math, and there’s room for 1400. Then the waiting begins…. and drags on. I start to make notes and check out the audience.

The Elders

Sitting under the flag is a large contingent of First Nations, a mix of young and old. Many carrying drums and a few dressed in ceremonial blankets and hats. I spot Chief Bill Cranmer, hereditary chief of the 'Namgis First Nation and a small group of Elders talking quietly, there’s a lively group in the opposite corner, it’s Harjit  Sajjan Minister of Defence, showing that it’s not just PMJT that works the selfies, and Jody Wilson-Raybould - Minister of Justice. She’s the MC.

I introduce myself to my seat mates, they’re two fishers that work on The Osprey a large fishing vessel that docks in Port Hardy and sitting below me a few rows down is a former leadership student, I think, and it’s not until the event is over that I catch up to say hello. There’s starting to be more action on the floor, six more bleachers are pulled out, announcements made about staying in your seat, apologies for not starting on time, but we’re never told why. Turns out PMJT’s flight is weather delayed in Vancouver. I didn’t think he’d overnight in Nanaimo.

Bad Mojo under the flag….

It’s pushing noon, there are now 1700 plus packing the gym with Kinder Morgan on their minds, many of them were lining up at 3:00 am to get the seats under the flag, and the crowd is getting restless. The music gets turned up, and finally Wilson-Raybould takes the mic and the intros begin. Chief Michael Wyse of the Snuneymuxw First Nation leads the Blessing and then PMJT comes striding in, just like the captain of the home team! But it’s to a chorus of boos, and not a small number. This has the appearance of a rough road ahead!

The Entrance PMJT jumps right in, explaining how the Q & A will work, and I’m sitting in a bad spot, his back is to me for most of the show, as he is moving to his right in a circle. As soon as it starts, there are “No Kinder Morgan” signs displayed for the TV cameras, and there’s some heckling coming from under the Canadian flag. PMJT tries to handle the flack, but loses his patience after 15 minutes, and turns the crowd on to the young man, a trick that doesn’t take much talent. With a snap of his fingers, the police are removing the young man. I’m trying to hop down from the bleachers, but I get noticed by the black suits, it’ll be a stretch with this lens of mine, I’m wishing for that 200 mm that’s sitting back in Courtenay.

Eject #1And with a snap of his fingers, the young man is hustled out the door.... The questions start, and there are references to pipelines, and question three gets right to it. PMJT puts forward the same answer as we heard on the radio, we have to push the pipeline through to Burnaby, that will enable us to meet our COP 15 limits on carbon emissions, and the national carbon tax will enable the world class marine protection that will allow us to clean up any spills. The crowd doesn’t buy it, more signs come out of pant legs, hanging for the TV cameras. And now the only photographer in the middle of the floor is PMJT’s.

Under the flag, more action begins. Many of the First Nations there are wanting answers about fish farms, and territorial violations granted by the Government. From my seat, I can see things heating up. You’d think that PMJT’s handlers would be all over that, and making sure that they’d get time for a question. And more heckling starts, this time from a young woman, who has no intention of backing down. PMJT does the crowd trick again, and the police are there. In a few minutes another young woman is carried out the side door, and a third bounces a water bottle off the PM’s stool, she’s hustled out the side door. And the questions just keep on rolling along, but I’m watching the group under the flag. Seemingly oblivious to the PM, the Elders have stood up, turned their backs on him and quietly made their way out of the gym.

Next upBut is soon replaced by another young woman

Eject #2 The Elders leave....The Elders turn their backs on PMJT and exit the Town Hall There’s been much written about the event, topics other than the Pipeline covered, Trudeau showing up knowing he was going to get a rough ride. And in the end, nothing much really gets accomplished by an event like this, all sides get to claim a victory. But I’m left wondering about those protesters who were hauled out the doors, there’s a certain bravery demonstrated, standing up to the PM and a crowd of 1700 in a small space. Were they charged, or just turned away?

And did PMJT get the message? There’s a deep anger building along the West Coast, one centred around broken election promises, pipeline approvals, shrinking salmon runs, environmental damage and a lack of respect for First Nations. His climate claims are simply not true. If Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion goes through, it will increase carbon pollution and destroy any chance of meeting the weak Paris climate targets. Pump oil to save the climate, that just doesn't make any sense. And just ask the Heiltsuk Nation about world class marine clean-up, as the Nathan Stewart leaked oil for almost a month.

1. The Royal Athletic Park (RAP)Right in the middle of downtown Victoria (almost) a gem of a field.

All of a sudden, summer has disappeared, being replaced by school buses cruising the neighbourhood, though it still seems those dog days of summer are still here,  with the temperatures up there in the 30s!

I’m not sure how summer got away from me, I had grand plans for trips, visits with friends and many photo shoots. It’s not like I spent the time working on the home reno projects that should have been finished, or practicing all those sheets of musical notes sitting with my guitar in the studio…but I did manage some baseball trips to Victoria.

For me, that’s the sure sign of summer, sitting along the first base line, beer in hand, watching the home team run away with the game. And it’s not MLB I’m talking about, but those small community fields  that are volunteer driven. This summer, I discovered the Victoria HarbourCats, not that they were all that hard to find.

Every August, I tried to head over to Vancouver to catch a game or two at Nat Bailey, watching the Canadians. But really it was the atmosphere, a small crowd, many families and groups of folks from same neighbourhood getting together for a summer night. This year, I decided to head to a weekend of HarbourCat games at the Royal Athletic Park (RAP) in Victoria. I talked two friends into joining me, and we were hooked! We bought tickets for a Saturday night and Sunday afternoon game, in the grandstand right behind home plate, but we didn’t get the seats with the wait staff, maybe next season.

2. The friendly line-upEven the security guards are smiling on the ticket line! RAP is a small field, and waiting outside, before the game starts, you see the neighbourhood drift to the field, families, grandparents and their grandchildren and groups of young folks, all greeted by volunteers keeping the ball games happening. Food trucks are lined up on both of the baselines, so you don’t miss the action while waiting on your order and drink. You are close enough to the field to hear the players, and the crack of the bat rings in your ear.

3. Gotta dump it!But don't let the smiles fool you, no food or liquids get through these guys! It didn’t take long to catch up on their season, this is the fifth year for the Victoria team, and we picked them up on a run for the West Coast League playoffs, one of two Canadian teams in the running. Though I have to admit I went for a different reason, they also had the only woman, UBC’s Claire Eccle, pitching relief, I kept hoping to see her start! The closest I got was watching her warm up in the bullpen, but she wasn’t called in to shut down the visitors. My friends saw her start, the game I decided to skip!

4. Marilyn's WatchingLooking at Marilyn, or checking out the menu? One of many food trucks along the baselines 5. Souvlaki hotshotThese guys have fast hands, and they still look over the crowd and announce what's happening on the field! And it was a crazy end to the season, the HarbourCats clinch first place in their division, but have to wait for two US teams to make up a game postponed by the summer fires. In a twist, the two Canadian teams, Kelowna and Victoria play off for the division title, and the HarbourCats sweep the series, but no Eccles, she’s off, pitching with the Canadian Women’s National Team in their series back East. So for the first time, the ‘Cats are heading to the Division Finals, playing best of three against the Corvallis Knights. One game in Victoria, and all three of us are there, our usual seats, but I notice that my friends are now decked out in ‘Cat hoodies, ball caps and even have the required seat cushions. Discussions about 10 game ticket packs for the 2018 season are being tossed about. And it’s a tight game, and the only rain of the summer starts in the fifth inning. We’re into the bottom of the 9th, trailing 4 - 3. But a walk off double by Po-Hao Huang gave the ‘Cats game one! The crowd had been cheering for him the whole game, he’s affectionally known as “Bernie” by the fans.

6. More cowbell!A few Corvallis fans are there, what's that Christopher Walken line about "more cowbell" enough already! 7. The buntWasn't set up to get many shots on the field, next season for that! Here's an attempted bunt in the fifth for a start to a rally. 8. The talkThe Knights were good at wasting time in these team meetings on the mound. The ump was always having to walk out to move them on. Just like in "Bull Durham", you wonder what they're talking about? Games two and three move to Corvallis, and we’re stuck with watching a stationary camera behind home plate record the action, broadcast on line to the voice over by a Victoria sportscaster. Reminded me of that scene from “Bull Durham” where the game is broadcast over radio from a closet, taking cues from the phone and using sound effects to simulate the hits!

In the end it was a heck of a run by the HarbourCats, but they fell just short of WCL title. Had two men on with no outs in the ninth inning, but couldn't get them home. And the season is finished, as is the summer. Almost anyway, but the Vancouver Canadians are also playing for the Divisional title in their league, and with the smoke from interior forest fires settling over Spokane, the best of three series was moved to Vancouver, all three games will be played at Nat Bailey, the Canadians took the first game 2 - 1 on Wednesday night, and the teams go again on Thursday, September 7th. Too bad for me, can’t make it over for tonight’s game, Jazz season has opened at the Avalanche, and I’m on the stage crew tonight.

Summer really is over, and hockey season opens in less than a month…..

We’re up early, Raymond is not sure if the roads are still closed. As we approach Solva, fire trucks are passing us, heading away from town, a good sign. We arrive at the town centre, and have time for a morning coffee, I like those mornings where I can ease into the day!

Moira has joined us, so I’m chasing the two of them through town. This is the last day of the hike, we end up at Whitesands Bay, one of the few surfing beaches on this coast. The trail leaves Solva at the top of the harbour, and as we turn the corner, there they are! Too many boats to count, but just off of the seawall are a dozen or so dories drifting on anchor, and there’s still some of that soft, early morning light lingering about, the sun is still behind the hills.

 I get an hour or so for shooting, the girls are anxious to get going, this is a long hike, close to 18 miles. It’s quiet, with a cool breeze blowing and we hardly see anyone else on the trail. We come across more of those horses, they seem to wander wherever they please, but they’re easily spooked, so it’s hard to get close to them. This part of the trail drops and rises along the coast, so there are many small beaches, and I keep hoping for more boats!

We drop down to a small harbour, and from a distance there seems to be a few tied up, but as we get closed to Caer Bwdy Bay, I notice that they’re all power boats. And no pub in site, we have to settle for ice cream cones in the shade!

Ice Cream but no doryA faint hope that there will be drifting dories, but disappointed again! But ice cream cones in the sun make short work of that!

The afternoon is fading and we still have quite a distance to go, we’re up on a headland, following old stone fences that must be centuries old, and as we round the corner a castle looms on the top of the hill. Kyla decides to sit it out, Moira and I head off the trail to check it out. As we round the corner, all of a sudden the gardens turn formal, and there’s a golf course in the background. It’s a high end resort, and it’s clear that it doesn’t cater to hikers looking for a cold one!

We soon arrive at St. Non’s Bay, and spend some time sitting in the chapel, it’s perched on top of a cliff, overlooking the sea. St Non’s is still used as a retreat, and it’s easy to see why.

We’re off for the last leg, arriving in Whitesands Bay in time to sit at the pub while we wait for Raymond to show up. The hike is over, and it was a long walk for the few boat images I managed to find. We’re off to St. Davids for a day and then to Scotland and Northern Ireland, where there’ll be boats galore!

So, we’re off on the second leg of this journey, taking the ferry to Milford Haven, in Pembrokeshire, Wales we ended up at our first B&B in Marloes, at the beginning of our hike up the coast to St. Davids, along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. I’m looking forward to this leg, the trail snakes along the coast for 50 miles, there’s bound to be too many images to shoot!

It worked like this, we get up, pack our lunches, load up the day packs and Raymond, our fixer, drops us off at the trail head. We usually hiked 12 - 16 miles a day, and at the end of the trail, there’s Raymond waiting to take us back to a new B&B, he’s already moved our luggage. So it’s a gentle walk, and Raymond knows all the spots to visit, including a pub in each stop! I don’t think I could keep up with his schedule, he’s a dairy farmer, drives the local school bus and then the shuttle for the hikers. And he seems to know everyone, which comes in handy.

Day three of the trip, and it’s just Kyla and me heading out early in the morning, the others are enjoying sleeping in and driving around with Raymond. Our day starts with a red fox dashing across the trail, right in front of us, and the day gets better! Over the three days, I’ve discovered that either my daughters have learned to walk faster since those Cape Scott hikes, or I’m walking slower! But I always have the camera at ready, and can use that as an excuse to linger behind them. Tucked into the trail are many small cottages, and some of the designs are very interesting, but I’m looking for those dories. Halfway to Solva, we find a pub and stop for a beer. I’m always surprised that it’s difficult to find a local brew, not sure why anyone would drink a Budweiser! Especially along a trail in Wales.

The second half of the trail proves interesting, we happen upon a small herd of wild horses that seem to wander along the trail, and rounding a corner, we head down into a small harbour, and get caught in a rainstorm! Taking shelter on the porch of the local church, we tried the door and noticed the sign at the bottom of the stairs. A good place for the local vicar, out with a camera! Out with My Camera

As we near Solva, we start to notice smoke in the air, and the smell of woodsmoke starts to overcome the sea air. Hikers going by us, warn that the trail may be closed, there’s a fire making its way into town. As we wind down the hill, I notice the harbour before I notice all the fire equipment. The fire is working its way towards town, the trail cuts across the head of the harbour, and we manage to get into the town centre. We have two hours before Raymond is supposed to pick us up, so we’re off to one of the pubs that line the street. We find out that the roads into Solva are all closed and that the pub is doing the same, the fire is slowly making its way into town. Wondering what to do next, I head off to shoot some fire fighting photos and see if there’s any information from the fire brigade. Through the smoke on the road, Moira walks into the square. The three of them were riding with Raymond, and he got them on a bus into town. He knows a way around the road blocks, so we get instructions to be at the bridge at 5:00 pm, if we want a ride back to the B&B.

I have an hour or so, and start wandering down to the harbour, but everything is blocked off, so it’s no dories tonight!! We meet up with Raymond, take a few backroads up the hills and we’re back at the B&B for the night.

Solva Harbour from trailDay two, fire has burned out and I've managed a few photos of those dories tied up along the seawall!

And that triggered a series of topics for this Blog, and I thought that I’d be pushing them out on a weekly basis. But writing is hard work! I’ve been told to break the posts down into short segments, and not worry too much about the structure. That will come….. or so I’m told!

I’m relatively new to digital editing, and much of my library of images hasn’t been edited or printed, so when I get off on these tangents, I discover some gems buried in the folders. Lovett’s If I Had a Boat started me thinking about photographs taken while on a boat, or looking for boats.

In 2007, I drove across Canada with my youngest daughter. She was off to school in Halifax, where her older sister was living, also in school. That was the last film shoot using my F3, and I had a small Canon point and shoot that I used to post photos of the trip along the way. While in Halifax, I dropped off my film to be processed and noticed that Nikon’s D60 was on sale. I should have known that was because the D90 was being released! So, for the next while, I’d use the D60 and back up the shoot with a roll of film, and I’d use iPhoto to catalogue the digital images, occasionally a quick edit before sending it off via email. That was the extent of my digital editing, so there are many unfinished projects in the can!

In 2011, we took a trip to Ireland, Wales and The Netherlands. Boats were involved both for travel, but more so for subjects. My daughter Kyla had moved back to Ireland and was constantly posting small dories or skiffs anchored in some quaint Irish harbour, or there were images of beached fishing boats looking like whale skeletons bleaching on isolated beaches. That became a project for me, to capture similar images while we were travelling.

How hard could it be, all of the places were on the water, two were islands, all connected by boats.

But first I have to link the Lovett’s song to photography, and the third verse does just that, I wouldn’t scare ‘em, but I’d sure quietly capture those images!

And if I were like lightning
I wouldn't need no sneakers
I'd come and go wherever I would please
And I'd scare 'em by the shade tree
And I'd scare 'em by the light pole
But I would not scare my pony on my boat out on the sea

So that’s it for this Post, and it's not a dory, but just like home, the journey starts with a ferry ride!

Irish FerryNot a dory, but just like BC, the trip starts with a ferry ride!

So the quest was expanded, recruiting friends and family to help with the search, now including Latin, French and Italian words, and even with that expanded search, nothing seemed to pique my interest. But it soon became evident that the world is populated with Wedding Photographers, many of them seemingly to be in New Jersey or Indiana!

The next step was to look at what I enjoy photographing: graffiti, abandoned industrial sites, abandoned buildings, old vehicles, rusted machinery, landscapes and more recently, nature photography. While a list was generated, nothing really stood out as a choice for a name. So, I ended up with a series of names I decided to try out for a reaction. Missing Film, because I do, and it’s missing from my camera, replaced by 0s and 1s. But it was pointed out quickly, that many folks didn’t miss film, and perhaps never used to shoot with it! Then I tried Last Quarter Photography, taken from Sixty: A Diary of my 61st year by Ian Brown, but not many got the connection. Many asked what I was doing with that last 25 cents.

Then, as I was printing images from my Great Bear Rainforest trip, I came across a few shots of salmon skeletons that had collected in the river estuaries. I tried a few versions, and finally settled on a shot of a whole skeleton, but I noticed that there were many partial or broken skeletons laying below the surface of the water. Having to come up with a title for the print I was displaying, I came up with Broken Fish.

The next step in this name search began with the construction of that elusive website to showcase my photography. I soon learned that the “free” Word Press templates are free for a reason, and it didn’t take long to run into problems. As I set up pages, I needed some placeholders for images, and that fish skeleton was one of the six or seven that I was using, but for some reason, I kept going back to the black and white print of the skeleton. I parked the website for a while, set up this Zenfolio account and brokenfish Photography it is!

So here’s the reach, even growing up in land-locked Ohio, fishing was an important part of growing up, I still remember eating my first fried catfish at a neighbour’s barbeque.  In Europe, we lived on or close to the ocean, and spent much of our time around the water. I still remember eating my first raw herring on the pier in Scheveningen, though that was a Grade 6 dare! Moving back to BC in my 20s, I ended up living in Kits, and close to the beach, spending lots of time around the harbour in Steveston, buying fish off of the boats.

I ended up taking a teaching job in Holberg, a logging camp on the northern end of Vancouver Island, again on the water and close to Winter Harbour, Coal Harbour and Quatsino, all small North Island fishing communities. The commercial fishery was an integral part of the local economy, and even more important culturally to the local First Nation communities. The size of the salmon run would determine the economic strength of the communities for the following year. For the next 20 odd years, poor government policies, corporate greed,  the demise of local canneries, forced sell-offs for fishers and the weakening of the Union all contributed to the demise of the economy of coastal communities in Canada.

With government endorsement, fish farming arrived on the BC coast in the mid-80s, and a new door for corporate greed was opened. The conflict between the wild and farmed fisheries grew, with a foreign species introduced to West Coast waters. The promised benefits of well-paying jobs never materialized, and many Coastal First Nations have now started to demand the closure of many of the fish farms. After 20 years, the scientific data is showing that there is an adverse effect on the wild salmon runs.

There’s always the slow move for change, and many consumers are starting to question the origin of the fish they’re putting on their dinner plates. Books like The Fish Market by Lee van der Voo outline the conflict over where and how fish are caught, and the price we pay for those fish.

Locally, many fishers are slowly building back a sustainable market, Estevan Tuna Company (http://www.bctuna.com/tuna-products.htm) and Skipper Otto (http://skipperotto.com/) are two of many examples of a sustainable fishery on the BC Coast. Many First Nations communities are taking charge of the local fisheries, with examples from both Haida Gwaii and the Great Bear Rainforest, utilizing young community members for research and the Guardian Watchmen programmes in their territories to regulate tourism and fishing.

After 32 years on the North Island, we’ve moved to Royston and just a short walk to the beach on Baynes Sound, a small part of the Salish Sea, located between Denman Island and Vancouver Island. Like so many other areas, climate change has started to manifest itself with acidification of the waters, affecting the local shellfish industry. Added to that mix is pollution from septic fields, old industrial sites and waste from the shellfish industry. And not too far away there’s the threat of Justin’s pipeline and Christy’s LNG dreams, all having an effect on the local environment and fishery.

That was a long reach, but there it is. Perhaps with some of my photographs and projects, I can affect the changes that need to happen sooner rather later.

So, for now, it’s brokenfish Photography.