The Cowichan Bay Current

WWBA Spring 2012 Poster

From the WestCoast Work Boat Association Website:

MAY 4th to 6th, 2012 WWBA Spring Rendezvous

The 2012 Spring Rendezvous will be held in the friendly community of Cowichan Bay at Cowichan Bay Fisherman’s’ Wharf.

Our Spring Rendezvous coordinator is Dave Erickson of “Seal Rock”.  We will be using VHF channel 68 for our communications.

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The sail-past, held at 11:00 Sunday was a lot of fun. Several village residents were invited aboard the Mermaid I, which calls Cowichan Bay home.

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Looking down Salmon Street Cowichan Bay Village

Spring is rapidly turning into summer here at Cowichan Bay Village. It’s that time of year when rain coats and rubber boots are being traded for short-sleeved shirts and running shoes or sandals.

Just like the Marmots of the local mountains, tourists and weekend visitors are beginning to poke their noses up out of winter burrows to scent the air and have a look around. Of course Cowichan Bay Village stands ready!

Tea and prawns. Not normally mentioned in the same sentence outside of an Oriental cookbook,  but that’s what’s on offer here in the coming weeks.

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Queen of New Westminster - Our New Guest

The British Columbia Ferries Corporation announced this morning that seven of its recently decommissioned ferries will be taking up a temporary residence here in Cowichan Bay. “It’s a matter of economics”; said Corporation Spokesman Captain Relinquo Navis. “To improve service, BC Ferries has retired a number of  its older ferries from active service. It’s become financially untenable to maintain them at the old location in the Frazer River any longer.  Condo developments along that waterfront have made the area too politically sensitive.” Until a buyer can be found for each vessel, they will remain at anchor in Cowichan Bay. We’ve had the Queen of Sidney on the market for the last 8 years, but hopefully a buyer will be found in a month or so.”

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The Lasqueti Fisher - Cowichan Bay Village

Name: Lasqueti Fisher

Type: West Coast Drum Seiner

Length: 44 feet (13.41 m)

Weight: 29 tons (58,000 lbs)

Hull: Carvel Fir Wood Planking

Built: 1958 by Tom Milichap and Peter Forbes at Lasqueti Island

Owners: Alma and Tony  Owen

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Dominion I at Deepwater Dock - Cowichan Bay

The Dominion I, the 46 meter factory fishing ship which has been raising the hackles of some here at Cowichan Bay since 2007, is no longer at anchor in the Bay. It has been moved, apparently cut free from anchor chains and towed  to the Deepwater dock.

It now shares that dock space with a former Canadian Coast Guard Icebreaker, now a privately owned and operated vessel and the crew associated with that vessel have apparently been asked to keep an eye on the Dominion.

An overnight storm which hit early Monday morning posting wind gusts up to 95 km/h  caused the Dominion I to drag it’s anchors, the vessel shifting position as much as a quarter of a mile.

Little more is known. When more information becomes available, it will be presented here. Meanwhile, it’s pleasing to note, that it can no longer be said that the Dominion I is squatting in Cowichan Bay, floating in harm’s way.

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Pier 66 Cowichan Bay Village

Commentary:

It was bound to happen, and now it finally has. At the CVRD’s February 21st Electoral Area Service Committee a motion was passed directing staff to initiate a process to amend the Area D Cowichan Bay Official Settlement Plan Bylaw No. 925 and Area D Zoning Bylaw No. 1015 to regulate float homes in Cowichan Bay Village.

Lori Iannidinardo must be beside herself with glee. She’s finally been given the green light to extend her influence over those who were previously beyond her reach.

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Many Hands Make Light Work - Cowichan Bay

It’s not quite ready to take passengers yet, but the marine railway is at least back on track at the Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre. The call went out yesterday for eight sturdy folk to show up to help lift the ways carriage wheel sets onto the rails, and no less than 15 people showed up to do the job.

The old ways carriage, which lifted its first boat back in the early 70s had come to the end of a long service life and was deemed no longer up to the task. Rust had taken its toll and while the carriage had been made of tough rail road track steel, the time for its retirement had come.

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Dominion I near Deep-water Dock

An overnight storm which hit early Monday morning posting wind gusts up to 95 km/h  caused the Dominion I to drag it’s anchors, the vessel shifting position as much as a quarter of a mile. It’s currently sitting close to the deep water loading dock, near where the Cowichan River meets the ocean.

According to local reports, the Canadian Coast Guard is making ready a plan to move the 46 meter factory fishing ship back to roughly where it had been moored for five years before the storm hit.

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My troller, Bruno on the old ways. Cowichan Bay Village

Suzan Lagrove, Executive Director of the Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre writes:

On Tuesday morning at 10:30 am ( rain or shine ), we need 8-10 people to invert the ways carriages and set them on the tracks.  If you can assist, please leave me an email confirming same.  Bring a friend. I would envisage 1/2 hour is all that is required.

Suzan Lagrove

cwbs@classicboats.org

So how about it friends? I’m going, and I’m bringing Brian Salmon.

Hungry Ocean at Cowichan Bay

The “beach nourishment” plan recently implemented  by the CVRDs Parks Planning department at the far end of Hecate Park proved insufficient this morning, as the hungry seas claimed about half of the new sand and gravel during an overnight storm here in Cowichan Bay.

The weather, which boasted wind gusts up to 95 km/h was largely unexpected in the bay, in spite of warnings posted by the weather office at Environment Canada.

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