Savouring Savary

For travellers with mobility challenges, Savary Island can be an accessible destination, thanks to Ron Findlater and his dune buggy.

BY PATRICIA KARIS

Adventurous folk feel their summers are not complete until they have spent some time on Savary / Kayeqwan Island. Vacationers come and go from far and wide to visit our “Maui of the North,” as locals often refer to it.

Meadows Beach

Photo by Antonio Dom Dom

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on Savary Island 365 days a year? Well, Ron Findlater lives there year-round – one of just a few dozen folks who do, and they’re spread out across the seven-and-a-half kilometre long island. He has been a permanent resident there for the last 15 years.

TOUR GUIDE EXTRAORDINAIRE: Ron Findlater isn’t your average octogenarian retiree. Instead, you can find him behind the wheel of his Savary Tours dune buggy.

Photo by Antonio Dom Dom

Ron, 82, says he loves the peacefulness of living on the island and enjoys living along side his neighbours. He says he has found contentment living there.

Originally from Manitoba, Ron is a retired electrician. He had been living in Powell River, and chose to move to his once-vacation property after a significant life change.

The island, too, has seen a lot of changes over the past decade and a half. The older folks are leaving and younger people are moving onto the island, said Ron. There is more building than ever before; construction is booming. On a recent water taxi ride, the seats were full of plumbers and other construction workers heading over for the day to work on many of the new residences being built. The land has been subdivided into 2,200 lots of 50’ x 300.’

I grew up in Powell River, and I’ve been going over to visit Savary my whole life. When I was a child, I’d visit on my dad or my grandfather’s gas-powered boat – which he built and named the “Lady Frances” after my grandmother. You may have seen the image on an old collectors teacup and saucer. In fact, Ron knew my grandfather, who was the head electrician at the mill. They worked together in the mid-20th century.

I first met Ron about 12 years ago when a group of lady friends and I rented a cabin at Indian Point, Savary’s most western point. We had wandered down to the beach to explore when we happened to meet Ron, who was renting out his kayaks. My friend Lesley and I decided to rent a couple of Ron’s glass-bottom kayaks for the afternoon. It was an awesome experience. I had done a lot of kayaking up to that point, but never in a kayak I could see though. We saw kelp, rocks, and even a seal swim underneath the kayak! Later on in the evening, Ron came over with a complimentary bottle of his homemade wine.

‘Very hospitable,’ we thought.

SUMMER VIBES: Ron Findlater’s Savary Island home; the front porch is a friendly destination.

Photo by Antonio Dom Dom

Ron tells me that as time went on, the kayaks became too heavy for him to carry and move around. He got to thinking that maybe he could showcase beautiful Savary Island in another way. Not everyone he met had the physical ability to kayak around Savary, so he came up with the idea to purchase a dune buggy and take people to – as he says – some of Savary’s “sweetest spots.” After spending the fall and winter on the island in near-isolation, he welcomes the visitors and the social interactions. Although he is 82, he still walks every day and is a very energetic tour guide.

This past summer, a group of two friends and I decided to try his four-hour tour through his business Savary Tours. Ron picked us up at the dock, in his dune buggy, which he has affectionately named ‘Victor,’ after an old friend. We took a tour of the beaches, where he drove us as close as he could and then we were able to walk and explore. After the first half of the tour, he hosted us on his front porch, serving up beers and telling stories. Then after using the washroom, he took us on a tour of a few more beaches before getting us back to the 3:30 pm boat.

Hannah Dom Dom, Margaret Tenniscoe, author Patricia Karis, Ann Duggan.

Photo by Antonio Dom Dom

Ron is very knowledgeable about the post-colonial history of the island. The 1792 description of Savary in Captain George Vancouver’s journals; the mysterious 1893 deaths of Savary’s first settlers, John Green and Tom Taylor; and the details of the island’s land surveying. And more.

He knew the names of all the beaches, where there are trails, the easy routes and what condition they are in, which trails are beach accessible, and whether there are hand-rails. He knows who lives near by, how close the cabins are, and the names of all the people who have been there and their families. In other words, everything a visitor with varying abilities might need to know to enjoy the island without fear – something I appreciated when navigating one of the steeper trails.

Some trails are steep, but Ron has the knowledge to get you around safely.

Photo by Antonio Dom Dom

Ron recommends visiting in July and August. Even though the beaches are busier then, you can can always find a quiet spot.

I’ve found that if you mention Ron’s name to anyone involved in Savary Island, they will sound like they’re a member of the Ron Findlater fan club!

Ron in his Dune Buggy

Photo by Patricia Karis