The Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival runs at the end of August every year at Granville Island.

I show my wooden clinker lifeboat, “Snowdrop” at the festival every year.  This year I decided to commute to the festival by rowing instead of driving.  The weather cooperated on Thursday August 22nd and Saturday August 24th. 

 

 Wednesday, August 21st, 2013.  Snowdrop at the Festival.  Her signal flags spell out her name.  She is berthed between the steam tug “Master” and the one-half scale Gostad ship replica “Munin”.

 

“Fred” tender to the yacht Winifred.  A pretty little clinker rowboat.

 

The Yacht Tsona from Victoria arriving Wednesday afternoon.

 

Thursday morning, August 22nd.  Gwragedd Annwn is on the beach at Hollyburn Sailing Club.

 

There is very little wind as I head out to False Creek and the Wooden Boat Festival.

 

 

The water is always choppy in the maelstrom with the outgoing tide.

 

 

A tug heading into Burrard Inlet.

 

 

Siwash Rock, 9:11 in the morning.  Is there enough water to circumnavigate?

 

 

Current flowing through the gap between Siwash Rock and the Seawall.  The current always seems to be flowing in, no matter if the tide is comming in or going out.

 

 

The sun rising over Siwash Rock.

 

 

One of the drying rocks that line the West Shore of Stanley Park.  You have to keep quite far off shore to avoid them.  They are marked on the charts and my GPS does show them.

 

 

Another drying rock off of the Teahouse.

 

Drying rocks off of Ferguson Point.
These rocks are why you cannot just row along the shore.

 

 

A deadhead is a waterlogged log that is floating upright with only a small part of it showing.  This one was floating off of the pool.

 

 

A photo of the deadhead with an oar in the picture for scale.  The log is about 18″ across.

 

 

I found a boat bumper floating off the beach.  Swagg!! I lent it out during the festival.

 

A seal following me, looking to steal a fish from me, but, the joke is on him as I am not fishing.

 

Tour boat comming out of False Creek.  I wonder do they really see whales?

 

Passing under the Burrard Street Bridge.  I am entering on the south side of the channel.

 

Tender “Fred”, “Winifred” and “Prima Pacifica” at the Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival Docks.

 

“Tsona”, her tender, “Thelonius” and “Sunrise”.

 

 

“Thelonius” has a pretty clinker tender too.

 

Lunch time for the Urban Oarsman.

 

Leaving the Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival for the row home.  The dragon boat is paddling in as I am rowing out.  There is always a lot of small boat activity in False Creek.

 

MV Constitution, a paddlewheel tour boat enters False Creek.

 

MV Constitution going under the Burrard Street Bridge.  By listening to channel 12 on my VHS radio, I knew that she was on a tour and when she would enter False Creek.  All of the commercial traffic speaks to Vancouver Harbour Traffic on that station.  A good station to listen to when rowing.

 

A life guard rowing in for the evening.  His boat is about 12′ long. plywood clinker build.

 

 

There was a lot of colour in the sky over the Planetarium.

 

Sunset.

 

The freighter’s lights begin to show at twilight.

 

The West Vancouver Shoreline begins to sparkle in the twilight.

 

Rowing around Siwash Rock in the twilight.

 

The West Vancouver shoreline is getting closer.  Almost home at Hollyburn Sailing Club.

 

 

I Leave the Hollyburn Sailing Club at 9:20am, the morning of Saturday, August 24th.  There is a bit more wind than when I left on Thursday morning.  It is much more cloudy too.

 

Looking South towards Stanley Park.

 

I stop to take a picture of the spume at the edge of the tide line.  The black specks seem to be some type of insect on the foam.

 

Close-up view of the foam.

 

Siwash Rock in the morning.  Is there enough water to row around it?

 

Lots of water in the gap this morning.  Not much of a current passing through.

 

There are half a dozen of these puppies lurking just below the surface along the West shore of Stanley Park.

You have to keep well off of the seawall to miss all of them.

 

A lurking rock with a seagull.  There is another one, less than 18″ below the surface at the red arrow.

 

Another rowing hazard, just awash.

 

The “Drip”, a sculpture in Vanier Park.

 

A pretty little whitehall style boat sailing out of False Creek.  Sadly, he was not part of the Wooden Boat Festival.

 

“Deerleap” with her signal flags flying.

 

“Double Eagle” and her tender.  The owner is looking for a small, 10′ or so, clinker inboard to use for a tender.  If you know of one, let me know and I will pass the information on.

 

Wooden Sailboats on the dock.

 

The Munin, an one-half scale “Gostad” ship replica.  My Clinker Turner Lifeboat, “Snowdrop” is tied to the dock behind her and beside the bow of the Steam Tug “Master”.

 

Gwragedd Annwn tied to the dock between “Deerleap” and “Double Eagle”.

 

Bow shot of Gwragedd Annwn tied to the dock.

 

 I was volunteering at the Vancouver Wooden Boat Society main table in the Market Court Yard.  This fellow seemed to be one with the pigeons.

 

“Ryan’s Hope” is another epic rowboat.  Two years ago as part of a charitable fund raising campain, she was rowed to the festival from Vancouver Island.  The owner had hoped this year to row to the festival from Harrison Lake, but the timeing did not work out.

 

Gwragedd Annwn leaving the festival at dusk.

 

Heading out under the Burrard Street Bridge, heading home.

 

Passing by Sunset Beach.  Now I know why it got that name…

 

The Sunset on Saturday August 24th, 2013 at 8:00pm.

 

 

 

Twenty minutes later is is getting quite dark.  Another night crossing.  I do have a white light to show in case another boat comes close.  I stay quite far off of Stanley Park to miss the rocks.

  

Here is a surprise at Hollyburn Sailing Club.  As I was leaving, I heard a rustle.  It turns out to be a skunk caught in a crab trap.  The couple that owned the trap had left the bait, a piece of chicken in the trap while they had dinner at the club.  This is what it looked like when I left, the skunk eating the chicken.  I do not know how the couple got the skunk out, if they ever did.

 

Happy rowing and do not leave bait in your crab traps!!

 

Mike