College, Crabs and

Covid

Sat Sep 2nd

Fall has arrived with a bang.  Actually several of them as we had a thunderstorm overnight on August 28th that rumbled on from late evening on Vancouver Island before moving across the Salish Sea and echoing around the mountains and lighting up the Coast.  

Not only did we enjoy a rather noisy thunderstorm (Jack was on our bed in seconds - a place he is usually denied access to), but it started a couple of forest fires on opposite sides of the Sechelt inlet.  One was extinguished reasonably quickly, the other is now under control. 

The 29c Summer dropped to 19c Fall overnight and it has remained cool since.  Despite the rain, water use has now been restricted to Level 3 (Acute), further limiting the times for watering gardens, fruit and veg. By coincidence I stumbled across a video which talks about Canada having 20% of the world's fresh water and more lakes than the rest of the world.  I have not been able to validate the data, but if half true, you wonder why with a population of circa 40m we have water shortages across the country.

The weekend prior, we finished co-hosting a college reunion with five of Fred's college mates, one of whom lives up the road in Halfmoon Bay (HMB) and was the other co-host. Two of the four from the UK came with their husbands, who stayed with us, so we had a lively time.  

They arrived at different times on Wed Aug 16th and an action-packed agenda (hikes, lakes, breweries, cideries, coast, beaches)  ran through to the Saturday when all but two headed off back to the UK - one stayed on to explore the Coast with us, two went to Salt Spring Island and one went onto a week's hiking, camping & kayaking tour on Vancouver Island. 

Of the group of ten, eight went down with Covid by Sunday/Monday.  The couple who joined the party via Seattle and their son's wedding, had arrived with the hubby appearing to have a bad cold, but they tested positive when back in the UK.  We of course don't know where the Covid came from and fortunately those who got it, were just achey, tired and had colds.  All are now testing negative.   Only me, and the co-host's hubby up in HMB escaped.  Fred was clear by Sunday.... tight timing as Ros arrived from NZ on Monday after staying away from us and enjoying a weekend with the Vancouver branch in Whistler.

I first met the college girls, pre-husbands, when Fred was on a college trip to St Nazaire in France in the mid 70's. I was travelling back from Austria by train at the tender age of 19 or 20 after visiting a penpal and former summer au-pair in the UK, who I had first met when we were down at my parents (and her hosts) summer cottages on the Kent Coast.  I still have fond (and vivid) memories of walking through the college girls' St Nazaire dorm as they were getting up in a somewhat dishevelled state! As Drake said 'people change, memories don't'.  We none of us look as we did in our late teens early twenties, but lovely that we remember it.  The college trip to St Nazaire involved rushing around the town and coast in beaten up 2CVs, cornering on two wheels, parties on the beach and the odd beer!

Their French lecturer who led the trip, and allowed me to join them as they wrapped up their visit, lives in Marlborough with her husband.  Fred bumped in to her in Waitrose a few years back after both had learnt through a mutual friend that they lived in close proximity.   A lovely lady who we were happy to have met up with a few times before heading to Canada and who Fred is still in touch with.  How enlightened she was to let me join the trip and how it would probably not be allowed in today's over-cautious society.

The reunion took in lots of the local sights but the day's sailing I'd planned for the fellas was cancelled due to very strong winds.    Despite Covid, all enjoyed the trip.  Hotel Cronk took a brief break. 

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Friends who live on Bonniebrook Beach keep a crab pot and got in touch the weekend prior to Ros' arrival to say they were crabbed out with a few days of catches, could we help out?  Be rude not to.  With a freezer full of crab shells already, they came in on the Wednesday evening after Ros' arrival for my favourite crab risotto with avocado ice-cream.  

Crab risotto with
Avocado ice cream

It uses a recipe from one of the founders of The Woodspeen in Newbury/Speen, in West Berks.  I attended a few of their cookery school courses which were brilliant. 

Needless to say the crab went down well.   Our Bonniebrook beach friends couldn't understand why I had wanted their old crab shells, but they make a good seafood stock for a crab risotto!

We discovered after Ros's arrival that she'd invited three friends over for the long Labor Day weekend. Labor Day heralds the end of summer vacations in Canada.  Schools go back starting Tuesday Sept 5th. Their visit coincided with a Coast mountain-biking event near Sechelt and as they all either work in the industry, or are avid mountain bikers, they were there for the Saturday events.  Hotel Cronk reopened on Thursday Aug 31st.  

One couple parked up on the RV stand at the bottom of our drive where they sleep in their camper, and one in the family room downstairs.  

Lauren, Ros and Aiyana

They've done their washing, emptied the beer and wine stock, been fed, watered and washed. They've helped with the post meal clearing, been mountain-biking, and royally entertained our grandson, who has wooed the girls in the party. They have also helped restock the booze cupboard.

I forgot to mention, this was the same weekend we'd agreed to look after Sebby, while Nick and Lizzie disappeared into the backcountry miles from Whistler, for a weekend of wild camping and hiking.  And I mean wild and miles.  A day's hike to their campsite, a day's hike round a couple of mountain peaks and a day's hike back to their vehicle which, knowing Nick and LIzzie, was probably an hour up a Forest Service Road from any form of metalled road or civilisation.  

It's been rather nice having a bunch of young people around who have helped entertain Sebby and been great company.  In our 20's we were interested in buying houses and cars, in comparison, many of today's youngsters seem more interested in exploring the outdoors and travel, taking short terms jobs to pay their way, eschewing what some might regard as a more materialistic lifestyle.  

 

I'd headed over to Horseshoe Bay on Friday Sep 1 as a foot passenger to rendezvous with Nick and collect Seb. Unusually the ferries were on time. He is one of the happiest youngsters you could hope to have around.  He has an underlying wicked sense of humour and mischievousness, and a comedic streak.  But it has been a busy weekend.  Seb, Jack, Fred and I have been glad to get to bed and have all been out like lights for the duration as soon a heads hit pillows.  We've done a few walks along the local beach road with Seb, who claps when runners go past in the other direction.  One or two have risen to the occasion and raised arms as they crossed the virtual tape to his applause!  It's hilarious.  I headed back on the ferry Monday afternoon to return him to his parents.  The ferries were all on time, again!

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A Pogo 30

Sailing during the summer has been a bit hit and miss and we don't yet have our next racer in the water.
We have some finishing touches to do to make sure she meets the Martin 242 class rules and including various upgrades.   

As a result some of us have been crewing on other boats. I raced in the last match of the summer season in a 30' French built Pogo, called Jane's Addiction.  We came second on the day and third overall in the summer series.  She was a lovely boat to race.   Our plan is to be back racing at the beginning of October.  

I have recently joined Elphinstone Aero Club (EAC) as a non-flying member.  I discover it is easier to revalidate my licence in Canada than it might be back in the UK so I am now in touch with a nearby flight school in Powell River at the very top of the Coast, and Canada's equivalent of the Civil Aviation Authority.  

EAC have an ageing Cessna 172, which is not in quite as good condition as the C182 we shared in the UK but it has wings and an engine and Canadian aircraft have to be maintained to a similar standard as the UK.  Flying costs for the EAC 172 are about £105 ph, compared to twice that in the UK.  I have always wanted to get a seaplane rating on my licence, maybe that is now a possibility.  

Most of the last few weeks I've been making a wardrobe for Nick and Lizzie with twin drawer units and sliding doors.  Just the doors to finish and I take it over to North Vancouver in the next week or two.  

Wardrobe minus doors

As I complete a large wood project, it was timely that I got to see the other end of the value chain on Wed with a visit to one of the six log-sorting sites on the Sunshine Coast.  Our local woodworking group had a visit to the 14 acre dry land Avalon Log-Sort at Port Melon.  The logs have been barged in or towed in by a tug in a huge boom of logs, with individual bundles linked together by cables and chains.   

Hauled up onto the paved hardstand through hydraulic lifts that operate at high tide, they are pushed around by large loaders into lanes of logs. A group of 'scalers' then come along and mark the wood for quality, size and type. Occasionally a chain saw is used to cut through a log to check quality and a loader brought back to separate and move individual logs.

Once graded they are picked up by the loaders and added to the sorted piles, before being shipped out to the end customer.  Once the logs have been moved, the bark and other rubbish is pushed into a huge pile before being transported around the lagoon by road to the paper mill to fuel their power station.  The mill has stopped producing finished paper and now produces wood chips that are transported to China to make paper.  China's influence on the wood and paper-milling processes in Canada is the subject of much political debate.  It was a fascinating visit and impossible to take in all the facts and figures that emerged in the discussions.

Avalon log sort with paper mill in the background

After the sort yard we went across to a wood mill, where logs were turned into finished lumber.  A woodworker's Aladdin's Cave of cut Red and Yellow Cedar, Douglas Fir and a few other species.  The aromatic smell of Yellow Cedar filled the air.  Sadly no Oak, my favourite species to work with.  It isn't indigenous to BC.

 

Having seduced the girls, Seb takes part in a round of poker

Old fire engine at the Egmont museum after a College gang walk to the Skookumchuck Narrows

In need of TLC.  An old Studebaker

Passing ships as I head over to collect Seb

Pogo 30