Reef Party

We had a two hour window in which to set up a party, have it and begone, before the tide came back up and covered the party grounds. This was the challenge that Jurgen had to deal with in organizing the first annual Satellite Reef party. The loest tide of the year fell mid-day on July 22, 2009 the next tide that low to expose the reef would be midnight sometime in December. He wisely chose the July date. The barge boys, Will and Gonzo his trusty helper, loaded the barge with a piano, BBQ, table and a few lounge chairs, filled the space with people and off we went. It was a lovely party. The Gabriola Ferry had been warned to slow down when passing the reef, else we might have been awash. We sand, some danced, we ate and drank and two hours later packed it all up just before the tide once again covered the reef, and all signs of a party vanished into the sea.

Nanaimo River Estuary Dig

I was lucky to be able to spend a day on the Snuneymuxw archeological dig in the Nanaimo river Estuary helping to find old fishing weirs. They have found many many stakes indicating many fishing weirs. Two of the stakes have been found to be over 1000 years old. We had to work between the low tides. It was hard work as you can see from Gary's pose!