FRIDAY JULY 20, 2012 VOL. 39, NO.12
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What’s farming on Bowen like?
Paddling around Bowen
Helping a village get healthy
A local grower offers her view on what works and what is difficult
Being in a kayak out on the water can be a great de-stressor - or not
Kids’ book author presents her vision for making a difference in Africa
Abandoned and derelict Several different approaches may be needed to deal with the boats (and outflow) in Deep Bay SUSANNE MARTIN EDITOR
I
t was a beautiful day to be on the water but the group of people taking a boat ride around Deep Bay last Wednesday, July 11, wasn’t out to enjoy the sunshine. M.P. John Weston, Councillor Alison Morse, Bowen Island Municipal Bylaw officer Bonny Brokenshire and Deep Bay resident Mike Lightbody toured the bay to look at the various boats moored there. Mixed in with the boats owned by Deep Bay residents are abandoned boats, derelict boats that serve as homes as well a couple of sunken vessels. The group discussed various aspects as well as possible avenues to remedy the situation. Deep Bay, a.k.a. Mannion Bay, is in a unique situation on Bowen Island and Brokenshire stated that about 98 per cent of all abandoned vessels can be found in the area. “They are anchored here because this is geographically the best place for people to pull up an anchor. It’s also close to amenities because it’s walking distance to Snug Cove,” she said. Weston interjected that he did not understand why amenities would come into play when someone decided to abandon a boat. Lightbody believes that often the intent is not to give up the vessel. “I believe that there usually is a sense of ownership as well as pride,” he explained. “But either the funds get low or the ability to find a time to get to your boat and deal with it isn’t there.” But he believes that the owners of the vessels also understand that there are no consequences to leaving the boat in the bay. “They know there’s no way to make a phone call and have someone take your boat away as it’s your responsibility and the bigger the boat, the continued PAGE 3
These women don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Gardeners Karen Shea and Leah Serna and gardener and manager Kim Howden are proud of the lush green of the Ruddy Potato garden that offers islanders the choice of eating more locally grown produce. More photos on page 7. Debra Stringfellow photo
The talkers, the doers and the dreamers SUSANNE MARTIN EDITOR
M
aria Steernberg and Mercia Sixta are looking back on a hectic few weeks as they were very involved in the nine-day-long Steamship Days celebration. They were very, very busy but not too busy to have loads of fun in the process (examples of events can be viewed at www.youtube. com/watch?v=S_qJ3imHL8U&sns=em).
Sixta could be seen with a clipboard and printed pages of the latest schedule as she was responsible for organizing the musical events and scheduling volunteers. Steernberg coordinated the wooden boat show, helped out with computer input and general issues and was on duty with her camera, capturing the fun for Sea Snaps Photography. The success of Steamship Days was due to the effort of the dedicated organizers and countless volunteers. Sixta
says that the organizing committee was made up of Bowen Island Chamber of Commerce manager Rob Wall, Alan Mills and Murray Atherton and that Lorraine Ashdown came on board for the last few weeks to lend a hand. Sixta said, “I was involved right from the beginning. I went to the first meeting at Doc Morgans and Norma [Dallas] pulled up my hand and told me that I should volunteer.” continued PAGE 2
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