FRIDAY JUNE 20 2014 VOL. 41, NO. 24
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Teacher’s Strike
A sudden end to the school year
Whose poo?
The “Thank you” page
The myth and reality surrounding bacterial counts in Mannion Bay
What it takes to make things happen
The Round Bowen Race record-breaker and America’s Cup boat, Il Moro, heads south out of Snug Cove with the rest of this year’s race fleet behind her. Maria Steernberg. photo
2014 Round Bowen Race the fastest ever MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Roughly one-hour before Saturday morning’s 10:00 a.m. start, Race Officer John Culter decided that the nearly 140 sailboats competing in this year’s Round Bowen Race would head south off the roughly 1.5 kilometer start line just north of Snug Cove. There was a strong wind as the boats maneuvered into position, but no one could’ve predicted that this year’s race would be the fastest for the whole fleet, with most of the boats crossing the finish line within a tight time frame. Bowen Island Yacht Club board member Maria Steernberg watched the end of the race from her boat Sea Snaps, and says
this year’s race was one of the most exciting sailboat races she’s ever seen. “Over the radio, the race committee was asking me if I saw Il Moro, and I told them yes, I saw Il Moro come around Hood Point and none of the others. Then, a few minutes later I called in a correction because I saw a dozen boats coming up right behind her. A few minutes after that I called in another correction because saw a hundred boats coming around Hood Point, and all of them heading towards the finish line which was only 300 feet wide as opposed to the much wider starting line.” Il Moro is a 12 meter boat built originally for the Italian Team to compete in the America’s Cup. This year was the third time Il Morro has competed in the Round Bowen Race.
For Bowen Islander and amateur sailboat racer Martin Wedepohl, this year’s race was also the most exciting he’s experienced. Wedepohl’s boat, Ecliptic, is 9 metres long. This is his fifth year sailing it in the Round Bowen Race. “I am not a super-experienced racer so I usually try to hang back during the start of the race,” says Wedepohl. “This time, the wind was strong about five minutes before the start, but then three minutes before the start it died down making it hard to get into the proper position.” Wedepol says that usually there are a few dead spots in the journey around Bowen but this year that wasn’t the case. continued, PAGE 2
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VOL. 4 1, NO. 02
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co-operati MER IBET are on H DEE N s will be revea those detail ntal assessment proEDITO H DEEN R MER IBET the environmeit is conducted by the Howe Soun R ncial govish cess, whether d is a place EDITO Bowen is nment, Provi wher mill near Squam one Federal gover A former pulp shores of Howe erning this of five governing e watersheds and both. boundarie West ernment or Ngo says Woodfibre s converge. estry distr region are the Islan municipalities on on the North a chance at a secde icts, How provi get ds However, to Trus Gas o First e may al Soun d ts, three regio Hydr Elected offic Nations, Natur Soun d. as y, is expecting BC d to compress the a Liquefied nal districts,Also govSound have ials from the com well as provincia ond life as ssing and export facilit neede three l and munities form (the gas the power est, they combeen meeting for whose wate federal governm for(LNG) proce National Energy Board into liquid ximately a anatural gas Forum. At e together unde decade to discuss rsheds feed into theents. now that the the company’s applic cooled to appro r the bann issues of their last needs to be Celcius). common palities, regio er of meet has approved t LNG. The Canadian es inter cy nal governming, the eleven signethe Howe Sound -160 degre on, Bowen’s representoget tion to expor Assessment Agen Commun her to ents es (which Peter Frint to Sky Clean Air ntal ity include mun coordinatedurge the federal andand the Squamish Environme g for public comment to the Sea the Society is coniciNatio prov strat ntative askin n) egy incia onme agree 14th, they for is now l governm n while are hoping the Sound. At their a federal envir ents to helpd to work Society, says the re-industrializatio to give to on whether is required, and to hear what next build the cerned about d in general, the use y higher level meeting, on Janu a tal assessmentrequest by the Province Bowen munprocess. s of governm ary the annual of Howe Sounsource of power largel icipal coun er the uct the meeting as e Sound for ent are willin cond wheth a to How as cillor zed bia of a representa Wolf d be of hydro g illy waters Trust. rns about locali chilly of British Colum ment, shoul tive of Bow gang Duntz will brave the ntal assess be attending alleviates conce en but also mers onme envir “Par Swim t of this as a trust water)! air pollution. need to know the speee from the rd, wanted to the reason I ran as approved. inside (the suka, photo Islands a trustee ct goes forwa change the I think if “We really Baby it’s cold with the Islan focused on If the proje 3-4 tankers – each fact that Frinton, “butal gas to dip. Kami Kanet ely cifics,” says Polar Bear “And I can the issues just affec the organization was ds Trust is beca approximat and a half times the burning natur use they were plant they would likely the region tell you that that hasting the specific Gulf so inward looking, I roughly one Ferries Coastal Class is seeing . From power their an avalanchechanged drastically Islands,” says Dun so opposition The “thre size of a BC the ferries that tz. as , I am a lot in the past of threa face a lot more he says peopats” Duntz points Ferry (such perspective big picshoe bay and year as now to include ts.” le in the Sout the my personal between Horse by Bowen l about years shell travel trave rned and ago. fish hern Gulf in the - will pass more conce comes to air quality, Islands were farming, whose “After a num Nanaimo) month. Propelled by the paramedics it gas impa relatively directly to ture when ber of these lance. does to the naive abou ct say, greenhouse Island every diesel as a the patient proje of the ambu , we call the t five thee age of questions about d through the natugas and using nger seats debris and landscape and they cts have gone throu create ge,” natural fuel, the double-hulled an emergency the mess iverr and passe paged forKare dam don’t like messaage, drive gh, people emissions try as a whole tonnes whole..” ed get it,” Duntz says age that gets left back-up Hughes 2.1 million we’ven receiv , we “When we n-based behind whenhe says. “And they see what it lance new prop ral gas indus and H DEEN rs will carry gas to China geoducks , the Bowe confirm thatMerib aasfew the ambu tanke to osals eth see Smith MER IBET into her they al Deen tcher an all it of get , for whic the her liquef ispatc close down Merr dispa similar proje photo y with ied natur h is entirely tcher “When we will mean dispa of “homies .” R Clean Energ the thing to cts (incl ” at the new 225 was tank EDITO ays Donohue. ation collected by the says comdirector of end ofofthe ce Station through the ers shipping, coal,to the region), plus uding the farm every year. da, says that that it is a ulance Servi up to New Year’s eve the manager scho ing of al olTides ted softarea have indu get the inform oil and liqui day Cana he BC Amb LNG is lead Marion Ngo, Woodfibre Natur at BICS “Before we raise offer is upda says that about d natural strial plans that busy in the . s with comes in.” new system does not es the ambulance make judg d the alarm. remember an Donohue 29th gas will be unusually tion,” says munication the project is still in ements on edic Brend mber going that ensur Dun What the locations. fossil fuel. these thing this year. Paramen midnight on Decended to four PAGE 2 GPS system The islan tz. MER route emergency il, this is Gas Ltd., says s of planning, so eles, we need continued, ware for the the most directIBET H DEEenNO’Ne shift betwe more infor that could ds in Howe Soun 30th, he respo typically the early phase technology, engir Colle during his E D I T inato d face madrastically g the ding on December drivers take Circle coord OR change the a whole other set g ments regar impacts of the projects and midnighthe says, is unusual durinto those calls in the Carin For region’s land of projects , 2 neering and rn. a com- a large hote hue drove a whole othe On the last proposals calls, which scape: ued, PAGE a major conce equipped with r story.” l-marina r season. Dono of school Hughes said daycontin a Hugh comp slow winte ambulance, which is . 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