The Urban Oarsman Makes Wood & Leather Bailers for Gwragedd Annwn.

I have made bailers before, out of plastic four litre/one gallon jugs.  The plastic jugs only last so long before sunlight degrades the plastic and they break.  All the bailers that I had have made met this untimely, vampiric death…I have decided to make some Wood & Leather bailers more suited to a wooden boat.  I did like the way the jug bailers worked, as the forward lip of the bailer conformed to the bottom of the boat and they felt balanced when bailing.

A Philip C. Bolger fan, I decided to use the mid-section of his sailing ship, “Rose” as the pattern for the bailer base.  I decided that the bailer should be about the same size as the plastic ones.

I had an old piece of cedar door sill hanging around the shop so I used it.  I cut out the base and the handle.

I then cut a notch in the base and attached the handle.

Cutting the notch

Rough fitting done…time to sand and shape.

I used the top wheel on my 1″ belt sander to shape and sand the handle.

I cut a slot into the handle to put a wedge in to help keep the handle in the base.

When the glue was dry, I sanded and shaped the handle and base to fit my right hand (I am right handed and bail with my right hand).  I took off all the sharp edges.

 

I next marked out the leather scoop/lip on a leftover oar-leathering piece.

I determined the width by measuring the distance from the gunnels of the base using a tape measure.  I wanted to insure that the scoop/lip would go come up a little on the base, imitating the plastic bailers shape.  I used sharp scissors to make the cut.

With all the pieces assembled, I final sanded the base/handle to fit my hand and did a final dry fit.

I marked and pre-drilled the holes in the leather.

The holes are drilled, time to put the leather on.

All the nails are in, time to seal the leather.

I use “Snowguard” on my oar leathers so I decided to use it here too.

The leather turns much darker after you put the leather seal on.  I put the bailer in the oven on 200° to melt the sealer into the leather and wood.

Because it is hard to source leather, I made another bailer using an Ikea cutting matt instead of leather using the same techniques I used to make the leather one.  The cutting mats are easy to find.  I did pre-drill the holes in the cutting mat.

Finished product:

I took the bailers and the plastic jug one down to the sailing club and bailed out all of the boats.  The plastic jug bailer performed as expected.  Good balance, lip conforms to boat’s bottom and no spillage.

The scoop on the Ikea cutting mat bailer is too long…the water in the scoop tends to slop over the handle while scooping, wetting the hand of the person bailing.  The scoop/lip did conform to the boat’s bottom, but the leverage of the long scoop made the bailer feel unbalanced.  The plastic cutting board cracked along the nail line.  I guess the Ikea cutting board is not the right material for the job.

The Wood & Leather bailer worked well.  I found that it was easier to bail when I put my thumb over the base of the bailer.

The Wood & Leather bailer did not scoop as much water as the plastic jug one, but in all other respects it performed just as well.  Good balance, the leather lip did conform to the boats bottom and very little spillage.  I am going to use the Wood & Leather bailer and see how long it lasts.

 

It does look much better than the plastic jug one.

Dry rowing,

 

Mike

 

June 23rd, 2014.  According to my Pitt River and/et Pitt Lake Chart, #3062, mid-June has the highest water levels of the year.  I am going to check it out.

 

Leaving home with Gwragedd Annwn in tow.  

 

Across the narrows, just entering Widgeon Creek.  The water is high.  It is calm with  high clouds.  The “No Power Driven Vessels” sign is in the distance to the right.  Most of my gear is visible in this shot, my axe, GPS, gear bag, water bottle, sun glasses, buckets, bailers, and a red fishing float.  More about the red float later.

 

 Passing the sign.  All of the pilings at the entrance are covered by water.  

The big stump.  I can row anywhere in the estuary, the water is deep enough that I do not have to follow Widgeon Creek’s main channel.

 

Passing by the stump.  I have brought a red float to mark the pipe that I ran into on my Widgeon Creek High Water Row.  

 

I called this pipe the “Cats Claw” because of the way it scraped Gwragedd Annwn’s hull.  It is an old sign post?

 

A picture of the pipe after I ran into it back on the Widgeon Creek High Water Row.  The water level was about 18″ lower then than now.  

 

A picture of the pipe I took during the Siwash Rock Circumnavigation Row.  The pipe is located where Widgeon Creek and Widgeon Slough connect.  

 

The pipe circled.  I managed to miss it that time.

 

I take the float, put it on the end of the pipe and hammer it home with the axe.  The hazard is now marked and if someone should run into it, hopefully the float will prevent damage.  

 

I drift away with the current, leaving the now-marked hazard astern.  

 

Well that is done.  I am now going to explore one of the right forks past the cabin.

 

The depth guage shows over 6½ feet of water.  This is record high for me.

 

A Three pointer on the shore.  This is the first time I have seen a deer here.

 

I work my way up the right arm leading to the North-East.  The “Gate” looks to be fully submerged.  

 

Close-up Google Earth Picture of the “Gate”.

 

This is what the “Gate” looks like with lower water.  I took this picture during the Widgeon Creek High Water Row.  Then there was enough water to slip by to the right of the rocks.  Today there is 18″ to 24″ more water.  I row right over the rocks and continue up the channel.

 

The channel runs to the North-East to the edge of the hill.  It then continues to the North, running along the rockface.  There are a few logs to work around.

 

An Indian pond lily, Nuphar polysepala.  There were quite a few along this shore.  

 

The rockface along the far East side shore.

 

The channel turns to the West, and I cannot push on much further. It is too overgrown.

 

Working my way back along the East shore.  

 

Some open water along the East side.  

 

The water mark showes about a 12″ drop.  I wonder when the water level was at its highest?  I row back out to the Right Fork of Widgeon Creek.  I am going to row up the creek, following the current to its source.

 

Root Stump in the middle of the creek.  

 

Google Earth picture of where the root stump is.

 

There is much water weed in the bends of the creek here.  The water is very clear too.  

 

Another dead tree to work around?  Trees across the creek have stopped me before.

 

There is enough room for me to get past.

 

It has started to rain.  There is a small side channel to Port.

 

The side channel does not go very far.  I row up the main channel to Starboard.

 

The main channel does not row very far.  This is as far up as I get.  The current is too strong to row against, the water is too shallow to row in but the water is too deep for me to line Gwraged Annwn further upstream.  I need to get higher topped sailing boots!

 

I work my way downstream, rowing backwards.

 

I am trying to stay in the deeper water in the bends, but away from the banks and the tree branches.

 

I let the current carry me downstream.

 

I manage to avoid the stumps & snags on this trip downstream.  The rain is easing up.

 

The depth guage piling downstream of the cabin.

 

The water level has dropped.  

 

About 8″ during the row.

 

The post, now marked with a orange/red float, is more out of the water too.

 

Much easier to avoid!

 

I row out of Widgeon Creek and across Grant Narrows.  I load up Gwragedd Annwn for the ride home.  It was a good row.

Widgeon Creek is a good place to row.

 

Mike

The tide chart for the row:

2015-10-05   (Monday)
Time	Height
PDT	(m)	(ft)
06:13am	1.4	4.6
1:39pm	4.3	14.1
7:50pm	2.9	9.5

The rowing plan is to ride the rising tide into False Creek and then out back to Hollyburn Sailing Club.  I want to be on the water early so I can row around in False Creek & visit Granville Island.

 

 

 On the beach, ready to go by 8:00am.  The seas are calm and it is an easy launch.

 

 

 A container deep sea freighter  heads out to sea through the morning fishing fleet.

 

 

 Today I am part of the fishing fleet.  I am trolling a buzz bomb, green and silver.  The rod tip indicates good action with the lure.

 

 

  No more freighters coming out.

 

 

 The False Creek Pirates are heading into Burrard Inlet.

 

 

 Their real name is Pirate Adventures.  I saw them quite a bit in False Creek during the Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival.

 

 

 I row past Siwash Rock.  The channel between the rock and the Seawall is awash.  I do not row around the remnant of a volcanic dike and “baked” sediments.  I am staying in deeper water because I am trolling and do not want my lure to catch on the bottom.

 

 

 There are eleven freighters out in English Bay.

 

 

 No freighters in the West Vancouver anchorages.

 

 

 Some fall colour in Stanley Park already.

 

 

 These two freighters seem to merge into one super long one.

 

 

 The Pacific Hickory anchored.  Her engines are 2 x 20 cyl., EMD 645E7, Her thrusters: Tunnel thruster 250 hp Propellers: Twin screw, kort nozzle, Fixed pitch Gear Box: 2 falk reverse reduction Gearboxes 4,719:1 For 191 rpm @ propeller BHP 7200.  Her speed is 12.5 knots Bollard Pull: 100t.  She carries 610 t of fuel.

 

 

 She has only one anchor, to Starboard.  She was built at Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John, NB, Canada She flies the  Commonwealth of Dominica flag. Commissioned in 1973 with acomplete refit 2007. Her length overallis 46.78 m (153.47′), Beam,  11.81 m (38.74′), Draft is 6.7 m (22′). 

 

 

 Ocean Cement barge anchored.

 

 

 Pretty flat out by the freighters.

 

 

 Close-up shot of the barge.

 

 

 The buzz bomb begins to attract some gulls who are diving on the lure.

 

 

 I am close to the Vancouver Maritime Museum Heritage Harbour.  I reel the line in.

 

 

 Remains of a sailboat on the Heritage Harbour breakwater.  The boats came ashore during the windstorm (from the west) we had on September 20th 2015.  

 

 

 More boat bits under water.

  On the breakwater.

 

  I row over boat debris.

 

 A chunk of keel on the breakwater.

 

 

 

 

 This is Oarlock & Sail’s newest build, Ragna, she is a Paul Gartside ‘Riff’ design.  They launched the Gartside Riff on May 23, 2015, from here at the Vancouver Maritime Museum Heritage Harbour dock. 

 

 

 

  Oarlock & Sail’s boats Raga, Sam Mac, Vogler and D’Arcy.

 

 

 I do not know this boat.

 

 

 

 The North Star of Herschel Island has been moored here for quite a while.

 

 

 

 Sadly, this wooden vessel has a fiberglass dinghy.

 

 

 

 Masts and rigging.

 

 

 

 Her foremast.

 

 

 

  English Bay beach with Grouse Mountain behind.

 

 

  Northern Spray,.  I always wonder if her clinker planks are the same on both sides of her hull.  

 

 

 

 Rowing into False Creek.

 

 

 

 A barge is at the Kits boat launch.

 

 

 A little tug is tied up to the new dock.  No name, just a registration number.  Kinda cute how this commercial vessel is tied up under the “No Commercial Vessels Permitted sign”.  

 

 

 

 No name on the stern.  

 

 

 

 The old dock has been removed and they are building a new one.  

 

 

 Past the Burrard Street Bridge.

 

 

 

 I turn the corner and pass Fisherman’s Wharf floats A, B, C, D, & E.

 

 

 

 Flags show a slight Westerly.

 

 

 

 End of the cove.  

 

 

 I row out past the mega-yachts.

 

 

 Under the Granville Street Bridge.

 

 

 I row around the corner into Alder Bay.  No anchoring allowed.  One lap and I row back out again.  The wind is starting to pick up from the West and I figure that I should start home now.

 

 

 Good-bye Burrard Street Bridge.

 

 

 Sailboat wrecked at Sunset Beach Park.

 

 

  I  row around the wreck.  The water is pretty shallow.

 

 

 

I cannot tell is the hull is floating at all.  It may still be aground.

 

 

 

 

 The boat is probably high and dry at low tide.

 

 

 I continue along towards the Inukshuk.  

 

 

 Another beached sailboat.  Looks like a San Juan 21.  Poor old Donegal Mist.

 

 

  I notice something off the bow of this sailboat.

 

It is a grey whale.  In reading the news reports, they say that it does look to be the same individual that was in the area in August. 

 

 

  I take some more pictures.  They identify grey whales by the uniqueness of the barnacle growths on them.

 

 

 

 The whale seems to be feeding in front of English Bay Beach.

 

 

Grey whales are often seen close to sandy shorelines because they dine on small marine invertebrates that they filter from sediment or sand on the ocean floor.  The Grey whale is  coming close to shore and scooping up mouthfuls of sediment and filtering that for his prey.

  The crowd is Whale Watching.  I row along the beach, in 5 to 10 feet of water to avoid the Grey Whale.

I do not want to disterb the Whale…or get run into by it.

 

 

 The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American fishes, Whales & Dolphins says: “Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus), grub along the bottom for gammarid amphipods, the staple of their diet, and leave a cloud behind them as they move”.  

 

 

 

 The Field Guide also states:  “Their spout is not distinctive”.

 

 

 This is the Whale heading towards me.  

 

 

 Diving down for a snack.

 

  Up again.

 

 

  A lot of this activity happened in front of the Boathouse.

 

Four shots of the Whale surfacing and then diving:

Picture one.  Picture two. Picture three. Picture four.

 

 

 Probably my best “spout” picture.

The rest of the row is uneventful, and I am back on the beach at Hollyburn Sailing Club by 3:00pm.  

GPS track of the row.  Six hours on the thwart.

An unexpected treat, rowing by the Grey Whale.

Good rowing,

Mike

 

 The 2015 Blood Moon Eclipse Row is organized by the Hollyburn Sailing Club.  This event replaces the cancelled due to weather Fall Equinox Row.

The tides for the row are:  Low Low at 11:27am, 1.4m/4.6′; High high at 5:49pm, 4.6m/15.1′; high low at 12:05am, 1.8m/5.9′.

The tide will be high and outgoing for the row.

 

 Getting Gwragedd Annwn ready to launch.  The wind has been blowing from the South-West all day and there is quite a chop running.  The wind is dying down.  I hope that the chop will too.

 

 A successful launch.  I am rowing over to the fishing pier float to pick up my wife, Pat.  She is coming out for the Blood Moon Eclipse row.

 

 It is still choppy at the club ramp.  The other boats assemble.

 

 Urban Oarsman Matt’s cosine wherry.  This is the boat that Matt rowed in the first Widgeon Creek Row.

 

 More kayaks assemble on the ramp.

 

 Close-up of Matt’s Cosine Wherry.  Matt has rowed the Columbia River heading north from near U.S. border (canal flats).  He did the trip with row boat years ago and got as far as far as Golden.

 

 5:41pm and the sunset starts.

 

 The water is still quite choppy.

 

 I am rowing in the forward station and my wife, Pat is sitting in the stern seat.

 

 We are milling around in front of the Club, waiting for the other boats.

 

 Pat gets an artsy shot of me rowing into the sunset.

 

 The kayakers are launching.

 

 Matt picks up  his crew for the row.

 

 Norah is rowing her Mirror Dinghy tonight.

 

 She heads out past the Ambleside Fishing Pier.

 

 Norah & Mirror, sunset silhouette.

 

 5:57pm, the sun is right on the horizon.

 

 Close-up, Vancouver Island in the background, Bowen Island & Lighthouse park to the right.

 

 We row & paddle past the Ambleside Fishing Pier towards the setting sun.

 

 Either side of the sun, Vancouver Island to the left and in the far distance to the right, Then Sechelt, Bowen Island and Lighthouse Park.

 

 The water is still quite choppy and it is hard to get photographs focused.

 

 Norah and the kayakers continue to head West.

 

 The apartments along Bellevue Avenue, West Vancouver.

 

 The Sun is half-way down on the horizon.

 

 6:00pm, The sun is going below the horizon.  

 

 Barely any sun left.  

 

  I was hoping to see the green flash as the sun sets.  Alas, I have never seen it.  But it does exist.  

 

 Blurry picture of Matt rowing his Cosine Wherry.  The water is still unsettled.  

 

 Good seats for the sunset.  Now it is time to watch for the “Blood Moon”.

 

 Nothing to see yet.  Half of the lights on the Lions Gate Bridge are out.  

 

 

 A party-boat cruises into Howe Sound.   

 

 The darkness deepens to the west.  There is still quite a chop running.  Outgoing tide?  

 

  Twilight reflection.

 

 Still no sign of the “Blood Moon”.

 

 It is after 7:00pm and the “Blood Moon” is in this photograph.  I is so faint that it cannot be seen in the haze.  The moon rose at 6:58pm and the eclipse is at its fullest at 7:47pm.

Unfortunately, Gwragedd Annwn is moving too much to take a photo.  None of the photographs I took after this one turned out.

We row back to Hollyburn Sailing Club for a pot luck supper.  The “Blood Moon” does rise above the haze.  It is faint, but visible.  As Urban Oarsman Matt says:  “It’s an eclipse!  What do you expect to see?”  When the moon is well above the haze it is quite spectacular.  The the eclipse ends at 9:30pm, leaving the full moon to tower above us.  

    The “Blood Moon” Eclipse Row.  Well worth it.

Good Rowing,

Mike

Gwragedd Annwn’s mast is 17’10¾” long, tapering from 2⅜” at the base to 2½” at the partners,  to 2″ at the top of the mast.  It weighs 19.4 lbs.

I have finished sanding the mast and put two coats of thinned semi-gloss spar Varnish on to seal the mast.  I do not like gloss Varnish, always finding it too glaring in the summer sun. The top of the mast is held in the jig by a screw.  This allows the mast to be rotated during Varnishing.  Time to add the coats!

You should have seen the look on the face of the sales clerk when I asked him to put the varnish into the shaker.  He thought I was asking him to perform an unnatural act.  In 45+ years of varnishing wood, I have never brushed on bubbles “from the can”.  I have only had a bubble problem if the wood was warming up and off-gassing.  By the time I got home and opened the can, there were no bubbles and the varnish was thoroughly mixed.

 

 

 Where the router slipped, filled in with epoxy and sanding dust.

I varnish against the rules.  We had a spat of warm, sunny weather here and I put on the next coat of varnish as soon as the prior coat was dry to the touch.  As many as six coats in a day.  No sanding between coats.  I did this for a week.  I kept putting coats on until I had used up 90% of the one liter can, probably more than 40 coats.  I discovered this technique when I varnished the red cedar railing on my house deck.  The finish on the deck railing, with minor touch-ups, lasted 23 years.  I did another major varnishing this year, coating and re-coating until I used up the can of varnish.  Should be good for another 23 years.

 

 

 The clothes-pin splice needed a little filler, epoxy and sanding dust.

The only problem that I have found with this technique is that the varnish takes a very long time to dry “Hard”.  This is not a problem where you are not going to use the spar, oar, etc., for a bit.  For example, when I did Gwragedd Annwn’s oars, I knew that they would sit with her, under her cover for two weeks before I would be using them.  Gwragedd Annwn, sitting outside in the sunshine at Hollyburn Sailing Club for that time with the oars under her cover, thoroughly dried them out.

 

 

 The base of the mast, held by a screw.  I used a screwdriver in this screw to rotate the mast when Varnishing the base of mast.

The problem with using a rotating jig for Varnishing is that you end up with screw holes in the ends of the mast.

 

 

 This knot was small enough to leave in.

 

 

 The clothes-pin splice jig worked very well.  I think that this is a good scarph.

 

 

 Top of the clothes-pin splice and the gouge made by the router slipping.

 

 

 Sanding the varnish for the final coats.

 

 

 It does not matter how careful you are, I always seem to get some runs and sags.

 

 

 I used 220 and them 320 grit sanding paper.

A quick wipe with a turpentine rag to take the dust off and then more Varnish.

 

 

 The rotation jig, with the screw backed out of the top of the mast.

 

 

The rotation jig at the base of the mast, mast removed.

Ready to fill in the rotation jig screw holes.

 

 

 The screw hole in the top of the mast.

 

 

 The screw hole in the base (bottom) of the mast.

I printed two Urban Oarsman logs and used the varnish to glue them to the mast.  Again, it takes forever for the varnish to dry under the paper and stick the decals to the mast.

 Urban Oarsman logo Varnished onto the Forward side of the mast.

 

 

 Old Man Bretner, Boatbuilder logo Varnished onto the Aft side of the mast.

 

 

 Fitting the bamboo skewer for the top hole.

 

 

 Glueing the skewer in.

 

 

 Generous with the glue.

 

 

 Excess wiped off of the base.

 

 

 Excess wiped off the top of the mast.

You can see in the above photo where the coats of Varnish have sagged.  I will fix these when I Varnish over the bamboo skewers.

 

 

 I used a hammer and a punch to insure that the skewer was all the way in.

 

 

Top and bottom.

The next step will be to varnish the mast ends over the bamboo plugs when the glue has dried.

Happy rowing,

Mike

The tides for the row are:  High high at 5:30am, 2.6m/8.5′; High low at 12:00. 1.3m/4.3′; Low high at 4:45pm, 2.0m/6.6′.  The tide will be outgoing until noon for the row down to the Brunette.  There will not be a large rise from noon to 4:45pm, .7m/2.6′ so I do not expect there to be an upstream tidal current for the row back to the Maquabeak Park boat launch.

 

 Gwragedd Annwn at the Maquabeak Park boat launch.

 Gwragedd Annwn with the bridge deconstruction dock in the background.

 The deconstruction crew has refurbished the dock, putting a water level gauge on one of the pilings.  The markings are in meters.  The new Port Mann Bridge is to the left (East).  The orange structure visible underneath the middle of the bridge is what is left of the old Port Mann Bridge.

 The current down river is almost 5km/hr.  Besides taking my GPS navigatin unit, I always take paper charts and topo maps.

 I have a vaavud wind meter.  It works with my phone.  It is reading 20.5km/hr.  The wind is coming up river.  If I row downstream, I get helped by the current.  If I row upriver, the wind pushes me up against the current.  If I take my oars out of the water, the wind and current almost ballence each other off.

I believe this creek is called Dawes Hill.  The mouth is blocked by this big booming log.  The creek goes under three bridges and seems to disappear at United Boulevard.

 At the higest tides, I could work my way around the log…I will have to come back in June when the Fraser is higher to go any further up this creek.

 Dog in a log.

 The log sorting ground is active.

 They are using an excavator on a barge to sort logs.

 Seaspan barges moored on the North Shore.  They were here on the Sapperton Channel Row of March 16th, 2015.

 The more in the middle of the Fraser I am, the more I feel the wind and waves.

 One entrance to the Brunette.  I row in.  This is as far down river as I got in the Sapperton Channel Row of March 16th, 2015.  Then the way was blocked by log booms.

 The closer I row towards the river bank the more the wind and waves fade.

 For maximun visibility, I row backwards into the channel.

 The channel goes right through the middle of the old Canadian Forest Products site.

 I am on the lookout for loose rock.

 Looking out (South) the way I came in.  Why the steel I-beam girders?

 Is it to hold the sides out?  There is a gauge to the left (East) side.  Once through this part, I turn Gwragedd Annwn around and row normally.  

 The channel banks are now rocky.  I see them.

I row on to the next bridge along the channel.

This is the Canfor Avenue Bridge.  There is a gauge on the South-West side.

 There is another gauge on the North-West side of the Bridge.  If you look at the top of the gauge, you will see that there are two sets of numbers.  The 9 to 0 numbers on the long gauge and the smaller squares with the numbers 1 to 4 spaced 1 meter apart on the right.  The gauge seems to read .7 meters.  Enough depth for Gwragedd Annwn.

 I look to the right (East)  up the Brunette, another Canfor Avenue Bridge in the distance.

 To the Left (West) the Brunette runs along Brunette and Columbia Avenue.

 For maximun visibility, I row backwards down the Brunette.

 Old tree fort.  The river is tree lined on both banks with industrial land beyond.  

 The Skytrain track is barely visible to the right (North).

 A Skytrain passes by.

A small creek enters from the North.  Through the bushes, I spot a beaver dam.  Pretty marginal habitat.

 Another stream enters from the North.  Skytrain drainage?

 A fishing lure stuck in a tree branch.  People fish here?!?

 I continue down the Brunette.

 There is not much current or wind here.

 Coming up to a railway bridge.

 There are a bunch of white plastic pipes stuck in the river bed.  I do not know what for.

 I maneuver around the pipes.  You can see the current washing against them.

 Sign in front of the Skytrain station. You cannot get there from here.

 West side of the railway bridge looking North at the Skytrain station.

 FedEx truck on the Spruce Street Bridge.

 Going under the Spruce Street Bridge.

 The next bridge is unnamed.

 I sis not see any traffic while I rowed here.

 Shadow patterns on the underside.

 More shadow patterns.

 Unnamed pipe crossing.

 I see an anchored boat past the Cumberland Street (?) Bridge.

 The Skytrain line runs parallel to the Brunette River.

 Coming up to the bridge.

 There is a pier where the Brunette enters the Fraser.

 The boat anchored here is the Tuesday Sunrise built and owned by Randy van Eyk.

 I had a nice chat with him, he built the boat in 1987.  He is now waiting for engine parts to arrive.  He has been anchored here for a while.  Google Earth picture of July 14th, 2014 shows his boat:Randy is a member of the BC Nautical Resident Association.  Their website is:  www.bcnr.org

The BCNR’s mission statement is to:

1. Preserve and support the tradition of living aboard one’s vessel;
2. Promote environmental awareness among liveaboards;
3. Establish effective communications and resolve issues of concern to liveaboards;
4. Serve as a voice for liveaboards regarding activities that affect BC waterways;

With a mandate to liaise with community and government groups regarding development and activities that affect BC waterways and the people who live upon them.

 

Randy seemed like a nice guy.  I wish him and the BCNR well.

 The pier where the Brunette enters the Fraser.

 I stick my nose out to check conditions.  Looking East in this photo.

 Looking South here.

 South-West towards the Pattullo Bridge.

 Pattullo Bridge, Sapperton Landing park.

 I decide that it is too windy to row up the Fraser, so I row back up the Brunette.  Let us see how far up I can get.

 I leave Randy van Eyk and  the Tuesday Sunrise behind.

 Another gauge.  It does not seem as if the gauges are cordinated together.  I can just make out the numbers 8, 9 & 0; maybe the number 1 at the top.

 No wind and little current.  Nice rowing here.

 Back at the Canfor Avenue Bridge junction.  I am looking East, up the Brunette.

 Looking down the “Through the middle of the old Canadian Forest Products site”, to the Fraser, fork.

 Looking West down the Brunette.

 I now row up the Brunette River.

 I think that this railway bridge is abandoned.

 The second Canfor Avenue Bridge.

 I row beyond the Bridge.

 This is the new Braid Street Bridge.

 Still shiny and new.

 I row under the Bridge.

 Up the Brunette I row!

 The current begins to quicken.  The river shallows.  I am nearing the end…

 The end of the row.  I cannot go any further, the current is too strong and there is an obstacle across the river with breaking standing waves.  I need higher water to go further on.  There is a fisherman by the rapids.  I am the first rowboat he has ever seen here.

 Another gauge at the new Braid Street Bridge.

 I let the current carry me downstream.

 Back at the fork to the Fraser through the old Canadian Forest Products site.

 A last look down the Brunette, and I row under the Canfor Avenue Bridge towards the Fraser.

 I leave the junction behind.

 Back under the I-beams.

 The tide should be rising, but there is a slight outflow current.  Wierd.  I guess the tide is not rising quickly enough to push water into the Brunette and cause it to  flow backwards here.

  Almost through.

 The river looks pretty calm.  Maybe I am in rowing luck.

 I leave this unstable area for more stable areas.

 West towards the Pattullo Bridge.

 East towards the New Port Mann bridge and the Maquabeak Park boat launch.  I row between the log booms and the shore, staying out of the wind and current.  I just hope that there is enought room for me to row between the shore and the booms.

 Well, I had to pop out from between the booms and the shore…the way was blocked.  I am in the current, but I find that the wind is pushing me up river strongly enough to nearly counteract the current.  Still, it is tough rowing.

 Geese on a barge.  Not as good a title as “Snakes on a plane”, but much more realistic.  Canadian Geese can be pretty nasty.  Ever try to walk on a grassy area where they have been?

 The log sort excavator working.  I am not taking as many pictures as I have to keep rowing to make progress.

 With the wind blowing upriver, this piece of foam was making better time than I was.

 A tugboat, the Harken No.7 comes up from astern.

 Nice guys, they give me a lot of searoom.  I am almost at the boat launch.  I row Gwragedd Annwn to the dock and pack her up for the trip home.

GPS track of the row.

 The Brunette River part.

Copy of the chart I took with me.

The Brunette River part was the calmest, with the Sapperton Channel being the most challenging part to row.  Being given a good run for the money by a foam block was pretty humbling.  The hardest part about rowing in the Fraser is the downstream current.  The upstream wind helped even if it did kick up a lot of chop.

 

The trick is to row upstream with the incoming tide, downstream with the outgoing tide and plan your row accordingly.

 

Mike

May 31st, 2014.  A perfect evening to watch the Sunset at Siwash Rock.  Of course being the Urban Oarsman, I will watch from Gwragedd Annwn.

The Low low tide was around 2:00pm, .9m/3′ and the High high will be around 9:30pm, 4.5m/14.8′.  Sunset will be around 8:20.  

 I row due South, away from the Ambleside launch ramp at 6:40pm.  

 The incomming tide pushes me towards First Narrows and Stanley Park.  

 

  About 20 minutes later, I arrive off Stanley Park.  At low tide, this is a boulder beach, with several large eyebolts in the rock.  

 

 I pass the ramp to the beach and row on to Siwash Rock.

 

 Except at the highest tides, it is always a good idea to stay 300 feet (100 meters) or more off the shore at Stanley Park.  There are many rocks along the shore.  Some quite far out.

 

 I row into the cove behind Siwash Rock and begin to take photos.

 

 A cyclist rides by.

 

  The signature trees. I understand that the original tree died in the exceptionly dry Summer of 1965 and these are replacement trees.

 

 I row around to get different photos of the sun behind Siwash.

 

 The sky is cloudless.

 

 The high tide channel between the rock and the shore.

 

 I circumnavigate the rock to take some photos from the outside.

 

 I have always wondered about the “eyespot”.

 

 Close-up of the “eyespot”.

 

 Very few people see Siwash Rock from this angle.  

 

 Looking South-East at Siwash.

 

 The Ocean Seagull heads out of Burrard Inlet, going to one of the English Bay anchorages. That is Sentinal Hill behind the freighter.

 

 Other freighters sit in the middle of English Bay.  The black streak is a cormorant flying by.

 

 Freighters on the North side anchorages, off Jericho beach.

 

  Ocean Seagull changes course and heads for an anchorage.

 

 A couple of Ocean Seagull Sunset shots:

 

 

 Her anchor is ready.

 

 

 She is a general cargo frieghter.

 

 

 I never do see her port of registry.

 

 Passing behind Siwash.

 

 Photo of her through the channel.

 

 I take some more photos of Siwash, trying to get a really good one.

 

 With the sun behind the rock, you can see some more of the East side.

 

 The three Douglas Fir trees, planted in 1968 still survive.

 

 Another Sunset photo.  The arm of  land in the background is Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver and the tall mountain to the right is Bowen Island.

 About an hour into the row and the view is wonderful.

 

 I am just drifting in Gwragedd Annwn and taking photos.

 

 I guess it would be helpful if I really knew what I was doing.

 

 There are a lot of people on the seawall.

 

 I am trying to get the trees more silhouetted.

 

 Horizon is a bit more level in this one.

 

 I float behind Siwash and take photos as the sun sets.

 

 Trying to get Siwash’s shadow in the picture.

 

 A good silhouette picture.

 

 

 The sun is starting to hit the mountains.

 

 I row out, through the channel to get a different view.

 

 View from the seaward side.

 

 Sinking below Bowen Island, Lighthouse Park.

 

 I zoom in.  The big problem with using the zoom lens is that Gwragedd Annwn is not a stable photography platform.  This is the best of many shots.

 

 Back behind Siwash.

 

 Kinda like that redish streak.

 

 Try again without Gwragedd Annwn’s rowing mirror in frame.

 

 

 It is a lovely evening.

 

 

 Close-up of the Douglas Firs with a crescent moon sliver to the left of the lowest branch.

 

 The sun is half way below the Bowen Island mountainline.

 

 Just dissappearing behind the ridge.

 

 A bit of haze glows in the sunset.

 

 The crescent moon.

 

 I row around to get the moon over the Douglas Firs.

 

 Close-up of the crescent moon.

 

 Moon to the south of the Douglas Firs.

 

 Moon to the North of the Douglas Firs.

 

Sunset.  A jet’s contrails glow.  A little after 8:00pm and time to row home.  The tidal flow through First Narrows has slowed and it will be an easy row across.  I will be packed up and on my way home by twilight’s end.

Siwash Rock Sunset.  A good row.

Mike

The rowing plan for the Nicomekl River is to ride the tide upriver, the low low was at 6:10am, 1.4m/4.6′. The low high is at 12:50pm, 3.2m/10.5′ and then ride the tide/current down, the high low tide is at 5:30pm at 2.6m/8.5′.  The tide will only drop 60cm or 2′ during the day.

I print out three Google Earth Views of the Row.  This is the first leg of the row:

I also have a topo map and the blueways map from the city of Surrey:(http://www.surrey.ca/files/blueways.pdf) It shows the Nicomekl River Surrey Floating Nature Trail.  The trail goes from Blackie point to 184th Street.  I am going to launch at the Crescent Beach Marina and row up river as far as I can get in five hours and row down (the faster way) in three.  I ballpark the trip as 16 km each way.

I launch Gwragedd Annwn at the Crescent Beach Marina and park the FJ & trailer in their lot.  I row away fromt the dock at 9:35am, just a little behind schedule.

The marina boat launch ramp.  realistically one boat at a time.

The turnstyle railroad bridge over the Nicomekl River.  The bridge is now open for vessel traffic.

The track goes North along Mud Bay to Surrey, between Surrey and Delta to New Westminster.

I leave Crescent Beach Marina behind.  There is a current up the river.

Heading South, the railroad goes along the White Rock waterfront to the Peace Arch Crossing.  I remember to turn on and reset the GPS.

Looking East up river.

I row up to a piling to check the current.

The current is heading upstream.

           The  GPS shows 1.1 knts flowing upriver.  I should make good time.

The marina fades to the West.

As you can see in Gwragedd Annwn’s wake, there is a slight breeze going upriver.

Channel marker.

Looking North.  It really does seem wildernessy here.

The marina at the Historic Stewart Farm.

There are a lot of pilings along the shore here.  I row in to investigate.

This is where Chantrell Creek enters the Nicomekl.

I row into the creek estuary.

There is a walking trail just on the other side of the bank.

I push on, trying to go as far up creek as I can.  I wish the tide was higher.

The channel ends in several pools.  I explore each one.

This side channel to the West is too shallow to go up.  The Google Earth photo shows that Chantrell Creek comes from this branch.

The side channel to the East is too shallow too.  It is navigatable at high tide.

A large meadow(?) seems to go along up the creek.

I row back out and pick another side channel to explore.  This one heads West, but the Google Earth picture shows it deadending.  I Look to the East.

It is hard to tell, but Google Earth shows this channel going to the river and it may connect well enough for Gwragedd Annwn to return to the Nicomekl.  I back down the channel in case I cannot turn around at the end.

Looking more or less south.

I do not know what made this hole.  Looks pretty slimy.  Might just be some sort of outflow.

The channel continues to the North.  Those are sailboat masts on the dock.

A birdhouse in the marsh.

There are thousands of snails in the water.

More Snails.

The channel turns to the East and runs along the pilings along the shore.

Working my way East.

The sailboats at the dock.

The channel is getting narrower all the time.  I am glad that the tide is still rising.  Thisis as far as I can go…The channel is too shallow and narrow to continue.  It does not look as if it reconnects to the Nicomekl.

Back out the way I came in.

Comming around the bend back tot he main channel of the creek.

I rowed out, along the pilings and the shore, between the boat dock and the river bank..The little side channel did not connect up with the Nicomekl.

I did speak to a woman on the dock as I rowed past, who told me that she and her friends could see my hat moving along the marsh, and the occasional oar as I poled myself along.

There is a boat launch here, shallow water.  I could have launched here.  It is shown in the blueways map.

This big house under construction is on Crescent Road next to Nico Wynd Drive.

This boat dock is off of the Nico-Wynd golf course.

There are a lot of boat anchored in this wide bend in the river.

I row past “Maple” one of the boats tied up to the golf course docks.

An orange cone marks the edge of the dyke.

First view of where Elgin Road crosses the Nicomekl.

Well this is dissappointing. It is not a bridge, it is an impassable dam.

Gwragedd Annwn pulled up on the beach by the dam.  Elgin Road runs along the top of the structure.

I walk down to the upstream side of the sea dam.

The river is controlled by sea dams located just south of  King George Boulevard under Elgin Road. The dam consists of gates which open when tides are low to allow fresh water to flow to Mud Bay.  When tides are high, the gates prevent brackish (salt water) from migrating up the river into farm land.

Looking East upriver from the dam.  The bridge carries King George Blvd.  I have no way to get Gwragedd Annwn down to here.

               I check the water level on this side of the sea dam.  It reads about -1.2 meters.

I walk over and back to Gwragedd Annwn.  I will check the level on this side.

There is a gauge on the seaward side of the dam.

Looks to be reading 0.8 meters.  That is about a two meter differance.  I guess the sea dam works…but not for rowing.  I recheck the blueways map.  It shows that there is a “walk in” launch here.  I guess one seaward and one landward.  There is no portage for Gwragedd Annwn as I do not have a portage cart for her and she is too heavy to carry up to and across Elgin road, and down to the river again.

I begin the return row home, leaving the barrier behind.

Another Gauge.  It readings do not correspond to the sea dam’s ones.

A boathouse on the East shore.  It is off of 40th Avenue.

Just past the boathouse, I see what I think is a small dolphin or porpose.  I get out my camera but it does not surface again.  You will just have to take my word for it.  

A blue heron on a small float, anchored in this wide bend in the river.

An anchored powerboat.

There are a lot of dinghies on the shore, beside 40th Avenue.

Close-up of the pretty clinker one.

A fellow rowing to his boat.   I actually have to row a little more off of the shore, as many dinghies are anchored with a line to shore to pull them into shore for loading and out to the mooring for waiting.

A heron on the shore.

These are some sort of daisy.  I could sure smell them.

The wind has picked up from the South-West.  10.4 km/hr.

Rowing back along the North shore, I row into an inlet and explore.

What is that structure in the back?

It is the remains of a shed roof.

Old pilings.

Looking back out towards Nicomekl river.

There are several of these islands/inlets on the North Shore.

I row here to explore and because the wind is lighter.

The end of another inlet.

Back in the river again, rowing downstream, into the wind.

As I near the train bridge a train appears.

The swing bridge is closed, much to the chagrin of the sailboat.

 The McGregor heads back up river.

It is a long train.  I row beside the trestle bridge while I wait for the train to end.

Empty coal cars?

The end of the train.

I wait around a bit for the bridge to open but it does not.  Another train expected?

I back in to the boat launch, beside “A” dock.  The row is over.  Now to pack up Gwragedd Annwn and drive home.

I will have to figure out a way to get past the sea dam or launch on the other side of it.  Time for some reconnoiter trips in the FJ.

Good rowing,

Mike

Yesterday I tried to row in Pitt Marsh.  The water level was too low.  I then went to Grant Narrows to check the water level in the Pitt River.  It was very high.  Today I will see how far up I can row in Widgeon Creek.

Water level chart for The Fenton gauge on the Pitt.  The gauge is located on the river near Sheridan Hill, South of Addington Point.

The water is very high on the ramp.  The tide will drop about 60cm to a low at 6:00pm.  Lots of deep water time for rowing.

At this point, there is not much current, but, there is a slight ebb.

 

I depart Grant Narrows boat launch around 11:00am.

 

There is no wind.  It is a quick  row across.

 

A nine minute crossing.  I have never seen the water this high up on the No Power-Driven Vessels sign.  Compare this photo to the one I took at the Widgeon Creek High Tide Row:I thought that the water was high on that trip!  It is 3′ or 4′ higher on this trip.  I should be able to row anywhere.

 

I row up the estuary, around the first bend.

 

Where the park bench now makes some sense.

 

 

This stump is usually much more visable.  Compare this photo to the one took on my third visit (The Widgeon Creek Ice Row, Both Forks. December 7th, 2013. In the Oarstrokes of Shackleton) to Widgeon Creek:

The Urban Oarsman Rows Widgeon Creek, Both Forks, in the Oarstrokes of Shackleton

 

The top ot the stump is awash.

 

The water seems to go to the base of the hills now.

 

I think this is the Gauge piling with a bit of weed stuck on it, completely covered.  I have never seen so much water here.

 

This is where the “No-Tresspassing” cabin used to be until three young men burnt it down July 7th, 2014.  They were charged with arson.  I do not know what final result was.

 

I spotted this young black bear on the shore.  He/She looked at me for a bit then ambled into the woods.

 

This is the channel that runs North-East towards the unnamed hill on IR Pitt Lake 4.

 

The posts have been here a very lone time.

 

The channel goes North-East for a bit, then splits into two main fingers, one going South-East, the other continuing North-East.  Are these posts the remains of a fence?  There is a rock wall across the channel between them.

 

I float over the barrier.  The water is still flowing into the marsh here.

 

Comming to the end of the line.  I push on as best I can.

 

Gwragedd Annwn in a sea of reeds.

 

Cannot go any further.

 

A damselfly hitches a ride.  I begin the return row to Widgeon Creek.

 

Passing over the barrier.  The water was not as deep as I expected.  Does the bog swell with the influx of water?  Here is a photo of what the barrier looked like during The High Water Row:

Widgeon Creek High Water Row

 

Going back into Widgeon Creek.  I turn to Starboard and head up river.

 

I take the Right Fork (Not the Left Fork that leads to the campground).  I go around the two bends, and take the channel to the Starboard.

 

The Starboard Channel.  I have never rowed here before.  I will see where it leads.

 

The channel is quite wide and deep.  Has it been dredged before?

 

I wonder why?  I go on to see.

 

There is a piling on both side of the channel.

 

The end of the channel.  It is a small creek.  Acording to the maps, it drains from a lake up the unnamed mountain between the Widgeon Creek drainage basin and Pitt River.

 

I leave the creek outflow and try to push East.  How close can I get to where I was stopped earlier?

 

What would Allan Quatermain name these mountains?   They are always in the background of photographs taken in Widgeon Creek looking North.

 

Acording to the GPS, I am maybe 300 meters away from where I was stopped before.

 

Back to the main fork.  Acording to Glen Stedham , author of the Vancouver Paddler, The right fork used to be the main fork of Widgeon Creek.

 

A fallen tree blocks the way.  It does look as if there is navagatable water upstream of the tree.  I try to work my way around the root base, but there is notenough room to do so.

 

Looking enviously upstream, I turn back and drift down.  Time to row back to Grant Narrows.

 

I row past the entrance to the North-East channel.  The wind has picked up and is comming from the South.

 

I spot this toad near the shore.  I would like to have a closer look, I have never seen a toad (or a bear) here before.

 

I scoop it up with my net.  It looks like a Western Toad, Bufo boreas.

 

The toad is not very active, it must be quite cold from the creek and the wind.  I put it back, out of the water and in in the sun.

 

The pilings near where the cabin burned are awash now.  I could not see them when I went up river.

 

Rounding the bend by where the cabin used to be.  I do not see a bear now.

 

The Gauge piling is just visible.  6½ feet of water?

 

I can clearly see the stump.  The water has dropped about 2′.

 

I leave the estuary behind.  It has been a good row.  I have gone upstream further than ever before.  The highest water levels are in June when the Fraser River floods.

 

The bench is a lot higher above water now.

 

You can see by the No Power-Driven Vessels sign how much the water level has dropped.

It is a quick ten minute row to Grant Narrows.  I pack up Gwragedd Annwn and drive home. Good Rowing to you.

Mike.