Here’s some vintage fun from a 1950 issue of Boat Builder’s Annual: Corky, a Pint-sized Sailer. It’s the smallest sailboat ever – built around an inner tube, in which the sailor sits. The article begins: Here is a non-sinkable sailboat for the youngsters that can be made easily in one or two evenings in the [...]
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Oh, boats. If I win the lottery, I’ll buy a sailboat big enough for you and me, and we’ll cruise the local waters. You guys can be in charge of bringing the wine, and maybe cooking up something for dinner. I’ll be in charge, of, um, something else. So anyway. Yes I do have a [...]
Filed in boating,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Anyone who’s lived in Vancouver will have seen the Straight newspaper. This week’s issue includes this article: Head to Gabriola Island’s Silva Bay Shipyard School to build a boat. Burnaby Mountain and the Point Grey peninsula have their charms, but B.C. boasts no prettier campus than the one that hosts Gabriola Island’s tiny Silva Bay [...]
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Here’s some geeky news for all you Gabriola boaters. From eurekalert: Effortless sailing with fluid flow cloak. Duke engineers have already shown that they can cloak light and sound, making objects invisible — now, they have demonstrated the theoretical ability to significantly increase the efficiency of ships by tricking the surrounding water into staying still. [...]
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This is the water taxi that’s serving Gabriola at the moment, going back and forth between Descanso Bay and Nanaimo Harbour. (This because of the accident that damaged the trestle where the Quinsam normally docks in Nanaimo Harbour. The Quinsam is running as well, but it goes to Duke Point at the moment.) Here’s some [...]
Filed in boating,ferries,Gabriola Island 9 Comments so far
Do you remember the boat that washed up on the rocks at Drumbeg a few winters ago? It was near the Stalker Road end of the park, and it came in after a storm. It stayed right where it landed for a very long time, because apparently we lack the legislation to get rid of [...]
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There are an awful lot of kayaks on Gabriola, and a couple of places to rent kayaks as well. But if you want your own kayak, if you want it to be super-cheap, ready very quickly… well, here’s your answer: the Four-Hour Grip Clip Kayak! Doesn’t that look like fun? Just the thing for paddling [...]
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If you’ll be on Gabriola this weekend, here’s something you might want to attend: the Silva Bay Shipyard School’s Launch Festival. Who can resist traditionally-built boats?
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This Gabriola boat is an unusual one, and not just because she seems to be motoring about at Folklife Village. Do you know her story? This is Li’l Gabe, the boat that won’t float. The Gabriola Island Power and Sail Squadron built her this spring, to help promote their classes. (See photos of the boat’s [...]
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Look what’s turned up at Gabriola’s Folklife Village: the Silva Bay Shipyard School. They’ve taken over the space Take Two used to occupy. Apparently it’s a temporary (two week) thing. Stop by next time you’re at Folklife. Maybe you’d like to buy one of the two boats on display, which would be a huge favour [...]
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Gabriola’s Village Liquor Store is collecting wine corks, and they’re offering a discount on purchases if you bring in four corks. I’ve heard it’s because somebody’s thinking of building a wall out of wine corks. Well. All fine and dandy, but we can have way more fun with wine corks. They float, right? I therefore [...]
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The Nanaimo News Bulletin reports: Boaters stranded on Snake Island rescued by helicopter. Two men are lucky to be safe after rough weather stranded them on Snake Island Saturday. The men, who set out from Gabriola Island in a 2.4-metre rowboat, were reported missing just after 4 p.m. [Source: sorry, article no longer available.] Yeah, [...]
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If you’re a Gabriola boater, tell me: is your boat vessel large enough to have its own life raft? If it is, maybe you’ll want a to keep an eye on this story: Life Raft Makes Sea Water Drinkable. Pretty cool idea! Of course, the way it rains around here for much of the year… [...]
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Ah, Gabriola Passage — the current, she does run strong there. From the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Two rescued from waters off Gabriola. A fishing expedition turned horribly wrong for a Cedar resident and his friend Wednesday morning when their boat capsized in the waters off Gabriola Island. (…) The fishermen ran into trouble in the [...]
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If I had the ability (and workshop space) to build a boat, I might build one like this: the skin-on-frame Adirondack guide boat. Doesn’t it look fantastic? It would be perfect for puttering about in the waters around Gabriola.
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The Daily News has published a rather odd article about Green Wharf. Mudge Islanders are a step closer to local control of Green’s Landing Wharf. Negotiations are underway between Public Works and Government Services Canada and the Regional District of Nanaimo to resolve the issue of upkeep for the only dock on Mudge. Um, on [...]
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You’re leaving Silva Bay or Pages in your sailboat, thinking about the hurried pace of the world. You wish things like international shipping still happened at the speed of sail. Oh wait – what’s this article from the Guardian? Modern cargo ships slow to the speed of the sailing clippers. The world’s largest cargo ships [...]
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A fine way to begin one’s day.
Filed in boating,Gabriola Island,photos 11 Comments so far
