This is the last row before The Vancouver Sun & Province Kennedy Heights Printing Plant shuts down and I retire.
I have worked my last shift.  Today is the last day of the plant.  A good day to go rowing.

 

High water and not much tide change for the row.

This is the tide chart for the Pitt River (Fenton):

This close-up of the chart shows the small slough I hope to explore, North of Grant Narrows Point.  The chart shows the slough connecting back to Grant Narrows NW of the Widgeon Creek Lodge.  I hope to row around the point.

Google Earth picture of the North Slough.

My reciept for the boat launch.  A bargain at $10.00

Rowing away from the boat launch

I will head across Grant Narrows to the Point.  

Navigation marker on the point on the North West side of Grant Narrows.  

Looking up lake by the point.

The entrance to the North Slough.

I will row Gwragedd Annwn backwards into the slough so I can see better.  Also a little change of pace for the old arm muscles.

An old trailer(?) on the North Shore of the slough.

The way in is twisty and shallow in spots.

Past the first barrier.

The slough turns to the South West.

The channel is not very wide.

Beaver works block the way.  The water is flowing out.

I push Gwragedd Annwn over the beaver works and press on.  For a while, the channel looks as if it may go through.

Looking back where I have come from.

Progress on the GPS.  The way is too blocked and shallow for Gwragedd Annwn to continue.  The white lines show the navigable(?) channels.

The end of the line.

Too shallow even for Gwragedd Annwn.

Beaver Lodge.

Beaver channel beside the lodge.  I will see where it leads.

Signs of beaver activity.

This branch is over 3′ higher than the water.  How did the beavers get to it?  Does the water level get a lot higher than it is now?  Three feet higher?

Leaving the North Slough into Pitt Lake.

A clam on the mudflats.  They form the largest negatively accreting delta in the world, and Pitt Lake is the second largest fresh water tidal lake in the world.

The view up lake.  The mudflats are quite extensive here.  The water is not much more than a foot deep here. I would not want to try walking here.  Looks a little too muddy. 

The Eastern Shore is steep and mossy.

Waterlines on the rockface?  It is almost three feet from the water line to the moss line.

Close-up of the Mossy cliff face.

A small creek enters Pitt Lake on the South side of the rock face.

I pull Gwragedd Annwn up on the shore and take a look at the creek.

Looking South, down the lake on the Eastern shore.

Lunch time for the Urban Oarsman.

A boat dock at the end of the road on the dyke. The gate to it is at Grant Narrows. 

Dead boat on the side of the dyke.

Dead plant pot on the side of the dyke.

Looking up lake.

The piling shows that the current is still going upstream into the lake.

Osprey or Eagles nest on a piling.

 

Lets have a look at the chart again, and try the South enterance to the North Slough.

The South entrance to the North Slough.  I will try and see how far in I can get with Gwragedd Annwn.

Not very far.  Big logs block the way.  Need a chain saw.  A big chain saw.

Looking back out of the channel at the Grant Narrows boat launch.  Time to go home.

A good way to spend my last day before retirement.

Happy Rowing.

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

The company that publishes the Vancouver Sun and Province papers (Pacific Newspaper Group) has decided to shut down the Kennedy Heights Printing Plant and contract out the printing of the papers.  All of us that worked here are now out of work.  Today was my last day.

 

Gwragedd Annwn in front of the famous “family” Statue that used to be in front of the old Sun and Province building at 6th & Granville.

Launchin Grwagedd Annwn into the pond

The four wheel drive FJ Cruiser makes the launch easy.  No ramp required.

Yes, I did ask the plant managers permission to launch Gwragedd Annwn  into the pond.

I think that he thought I was joking.

When My boys were younger, I collected frog and salamander tadpoles for them here.

The pond is maybe 18″ deep.  Good thing that Gwragedd Annwn only draws 10″

The Printing Plant is in the background.  Did you know that the printing press inside is longer than a BC Ferry?

It is not a very large pond.  Smaller than a BC Ferry.  Well maybe not smaller than the one to Hornby and Denman Islands.  But it is still quite small.

It dries up in the summer.

The Newspaper delivery trucks are in the background.

One of the fellows, Dave, who works in the building behind me came out to see what was going on.  Amazingly, He thinks that I am the first Oarsman to row here.

“Just doing a couple of laps around the pond”, I reply.

Not a lot of maneuvering room.

He takes a couple of photos because he thinks that no-one will believe him that there was a rowboat in the pond.  Here I am rowing backwards.

Good thing that Gwragedd Annwn is quite maneuverable.  Tight circumstances.

Not a lot of room to  maneuver.

Lets see what is at the South end of the Pond.

I am going to take a run from the North end and build up some speed!

Just flying by!  Dave cannot believe how fast I am going.

I think this is the fifth stroke on the oars.  Nice form.

End of the row.  Time to bring Gwragedd Annwn out and go home for the final time.

Good-by to the Kennedy Heights Printing Plant Pond.  Onward to bigger and longer rows. Good-by to Kennedy Heights and all the “Day-siders” who worked there.

A thank-you to Gary Berg for taking the pictures of Me rowing in Gwragedd Annwn.

Good Rowing to you.

 

Mike

The Urban Oarsman rows from Maquabeak Park boat launch by the Port Mann Bridge to City Bank and back.

The tide was high, 2.5m (8.2′) at 5:02am, it will be low, 1.7m (5.6′) at 10:37am and high again, 2.2m (7.2′) at 3:05pm. The winds were calm and the river flat.  It is still early in the year and the spring flood has not yet begun.  Not a big snow pack this year.

 

At the Maquabeak Park boat launch.  Because of the Port Mann Bridge deconstruction and the new water pipe crossing construction, the parking lot has been mostly taken over.  There is still parking for a half-dozen boat trailers.

Leaving the boat launch.  They have refurbished the dock for the use of the deconstruction workers going to and from the old Port Mann Bridge.

The New and what is left of the Old Port Mann Bridges.

The outflow from the new Port Mann Water Supply Fraser River crossing sump pump. 

They seem to be taking a little longer than they thought.

An idea of where the tunnel is going:

They are using one of those “Mole” tunnel boring machines

Not much left of the Bridge.

Looking up river at the bridge and the boat launch.  I am rowing between the log booms and the North shore.  There is a pathway along the road on the North.

Looking down river.

Dead and treed boat on the North shore.  Not much left now.

Just past the power line crossing a small creek enters the river.  It’s mouth is blocked by a log bloom.  I row in to investigate.

At this tide, I cannot make it past the log boom.  Looks like it comes from a culvert.

An excavator on floats with a log grapple boom.  

An excavator with a log grapple on a barge.

An excavator with a crane on a dock.  The barge was being used to transport material from the Port Mann Bridge deconstruction site.

A string of barges moored on the North shore.

Some of these barges seem to have been here for years.

Log booms block an inlet at the old Canadian Forest Products site.  Perhaps I can get around them.

I have gone down river and am now rowing up between the log booms and the shore towards the inlet.

The end of the inlet.  

Rowing out, I push between the log booms and the dolphins by the shore.

I row to the other side of  Sapperton Channel, hoping to avoid the Frasers Current.  Passing the barges, rowing beside City Bank and Sapperton Bar.

Sapperton Dyke, a small wooded island in the middle of the Fraser.  Sappereton Channel is to the North (left), Queens Reach to the South (right).

Sapperton Dyke is made up of fill, some of which has a lot of metal in it.

Gwragedd Annwn on the sand at Sapperton Dyke.  It is more sand than mud here.

Looking West along Sapperton Dyke.  City Bank is in the far background to the left.

Looking North-East, Sapperton Dyke is the treed area to the right.

The “Storm Fury” passes under the power line crossing going downstream.

Back at the boat launch, the deconstruction crew is going home for the day.  They took this boat away with a trailer.  I wait for the crew to go home.

I had to see this.  The deconstruction lads use a forklift to put the second boat away.   The lad in the boat ties the boat to the forklift.

He steps out and the forklift lifts the boat out of the water and then puts it into the locked construction compound.  Pretty slick!

Topo map of City Bank, Sapperton Channel, Sapperton Bar and Sapperton Dyke.A good row with almost perfect conditions..  Good Rowing,

 

Mike

 

 

The Urban Oarsman Rows Gwragedd Annwn in Pender Harbour during “Pender Harbour Days” festival.  

On Friday July 10th, towing Gwragedd Annwn, My wife and I catch the 9:40 ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale.  The FJ and Gwragedd Annwn on her trailer are 32′ long.  An extra $75.00 for Gwragedd Annwn.  I can understand why traffic is down going to the Sunshine Coast.  Good thing that we do not have to pay the ferry fare both ways!  I understand that BC Ferries has a special, ($24 vs. $75 extra) that you can get on Wednesday & Saturday Evenings (sailings starting at 4:00 pm) and Sunday Mornings (sailings prior to 9:00 am), June 17 to September 13, 2015.  Like anyone can fit those sailing times into thier schedule!  I think that BCF just wants to be able to say that there is a deal avaliable, even if it is convenient to no-one. 

We have a leisurely drive up the Sunshine Coast to Pender Harbour, putting Gwragedd Annwn in the water at the Maderia Park boat launch.  

Gwragedd Annwn at the Maderia Park docks.

 

There is a boat Parade on Friday night, starting at 6:00pm and going until 7:30pm.  There is a strong SW wind, 15 to 25 kts blowing.  I will not be able to row the entire parade route.  

This is my wife’s favorite boat, “Tick Tock” a Stancraft from Pender Harbour.

 

A very pretty “Dragon” class sailboat, The Lady Jayne,  built in Pender.To see the route of the Boat Parade click here.

 

Gwragedd Annwn on the hard at the Maderia Park boat launch.  To the left is a “Painters Lodge” salmon rowboat and there is a newly-launched handliner “John Salisbury”, in the left background.  Also on the hard- a 12′ Ken Douglas rowboat, a Cosine Wherry, a Cosine Wherry style 10′ rowboat, Two Kayaks, A clinker inboard fishing boat, An Easthope engine and three British Seagull outboards.I spent most of the day talking to visitors about rowing, boatbuilding, clinker putt-putt boats and just about everything else.

A nice pair of oars.

 

On the Saturday afternoon, we got a bit of much needed rain.  

On Saturday night, my wife and I went to the Legion where they had a special “Pender Harbour Days” Hamburger BBQ supper.  A hamburger, macaroni salad, green salad, potato chips and ice cream.  Music by Skinny Jimmy & the Preachers.  It was Skinny Jimmy’s birthday and he was presented with a cake.  We sat wtih a friendly couple and enjoyed the meal and entertainment.

Sunday morning all of the rowboats are in the water ready to row.  There is almost no wind today.A Ken Douglas 12′ rowboat, Gwragedd Annwn, The newly-launched handliner and a Cosine Wherry.

The Painter’s Lodge Salmon rowboat.

A 10′ strip-built rowboat that the owner (Bruce) claims to have found every rock in the harbour with.

The Handliner sets out.  The Pender Harbour Dragon boat team is in the background.  They are a body short.

Don rowing his Cosine Wherry.

Bruce trying out “Fine”, Rick’s fast rowboat.  Just after I took this picture, the firehall siren sounded and Bruce, a volunteer fireman, left to attend the call.

The Dragon Boat team building up steam.  

Don by the Hospital Bay marker.

Rick rowing by “John Henry’s”, towards the Lagoon.

The Lagoon outflow at low tide.  No rowing in here today!

Cosine Wherry storage at it’s finest.  

Not bad for the Stancraft either.

This boat is aground (sunken) on Dusenbury Island in Gerrans Bay.  

 

Pender Harbour Days were a blast!!  Looking forward to next year.

Thanks to Rick Crook for inviting me, Don Kernan and Bruce Thompson for inviting me to row with them.   

For more on “Pender Harbour Days” click on the picture

 

Good Rowing,

Mike 

 

 

The first Row of 2015 .  Hollyburn Sailing Club always has a New Year’s Day racing event followed by a Club social.

 

Not much wind for racing.  I row through the fleet towards Stanley Park and Siwash Rock.

 

The lead boat is an Enterprise, “Rusty Jib”  Skippered by Ian and crewed by Tracy.

 

The 2015 Club commodore, Don is next sailing (well drifting) a Laser.

 

Dan has had an unfortunate Spinnaker hoisting incident in his Mirror 11.  It does not seem to be slowing him down too much…

 

The fleet has passed and I row towards Stanley Park and Siwash Rock. I am listening to Vancouver Harbour Traffic on VHS channel 12.  There is no reported traffic. It is safe to make the cross the shipping lane.

 

 

Twice around Siwash Rock.  There are a lot of walkers and bikers on the Seawall today.

 

I am always intrigued by the “hole” in the seaward face of Siwash.  The texture reminds me of the Gulf Island shore line rocks and of the whale pool in Stanley Park Zoo.

 

 The search light building is very noticeable today.  It seems to glow in the sunlight.

 

 In the shade, the icicles linger.  Walkers were throwing rocks at them, trying to break them off.

 

The icicles are visible in the background.  A white rose floats with the tide.

 

 Nearby floats a red rose.

 

Lucky Cleo.  A new (to her) ball awaits her.  Cleo is a German Shepherd owned by a co-worker.  She loves the orange balls.  Cleo will start her New Year off right.

 

There is still no reported traffic.  I make the crossing quietly.  The West Vancouver Welcoming figure welcomes me too.  

 

 

The welcoming figure was erected in July of 2001.  It is  to mark the gathering of ocean-going canoes.  

 

GPS track of the First Row of the Year.

 

5.14 kilometers, an hour fourty at the thwart, about  3km/hr average speed.

What a start to 2015…A beautiful day, a great row, a welcoming figure and good friends at Hollyburn Sailing Club.  Welcome to 2015.  Best wishes for everyone.

 

Mike

 

 

The last Row of 2014.  It has been a good year for Rowing.  Today I am going to Row up the Coquitlam River as far as I can.  The tide at New Westminster will be high at 1:49 at 2.9 meters.  The Coquitlam River is about 8.5 kilometers up the Fraser River from the New Westminster tide station.  I expect the high tide will be a little later arriving at the Coquitlam.

 

Gwragedd Annwn on the beach at the Maquabeak Park boat launch.  This launch is just down river from the New Port Mann Bridge.  The boat launch is a bit of a mess.  There is another project centred here…The Port Mann Water Supply Tunnel Fraser River Crossing.

Metro Vancouver is constructing a new water supply main under the Fraser River, downstream (west) of the new Port Mann Bridge.  

It will cross between Maquabeak Park in Coquitlam on the north side of the river, and Surrey on the south side of the river.

The tunnel hole is centred where the boat launch parking used to be.  Luckly I am the only truck & trailer here today.

 

Two buoys mark the pump outfall from the project?

 

The boat launch float.  The water is very still.  It is about 800 meters to the mouth of the Coquitlam.

 

The bridge suppoerts for the new Port Mann.  In the background is the temporary jetty for removing the old Port Mann.

 

Underside of the new Port Mann Bridge, looking South.

 

Underside of the new bridge, looking North.

 

The GPS shows a almost 1 km/hr upstream current.

 

About half-way to the mouth of the Coquitlam.

 

Looking up river.  The Pitt River is to the Port, the Fraser to Starboard.

 

Entering the mouth of the Coquitlam.  The Mary Hill By-Pass Bridge.

 

Rowing up the Coquitlam, I leave the Fraser behind.

 

There is a canoe on the Eastern shore.  Warants further exploration.

 

Approaching the canoe.

 

Gwragedd Annwn on the shore.

 

The canoe looks abandoned.  The Starboard gunnel is broken.  It is full of leaves.  Otherwise, she looks to be in reasonable shape.  Just a little work would be needed.

 

She was built by THORA – IND. PLAS, TORONTO.  I will have another look on my way back.

 

I go to row under the Mary Hill By-Pass Bridge with its mandatory “No Power Driven Craft” sign.

 

Just before the bridge, on the East shore, a side channel beckons.  I check it out…narrow, shallow and blocked.

 

Underside of the Mary Hill By-Pass Bridge.

 

A side channel on the upstream side of the bridge.  It is on the north side of the Mary Hill By-Pass.  Not as narrow as the first channel, but, still impassable for Gwragedd Annwn.

 

The Eastern shore is still in shadow.  The ice remains.

 

The sign reads:  

CAUTION

NAVIGATIONAL HAZARD

SUBMERGED DEBRIS

NO POWER BOATS ALLOWED

BEYOND THIS POINT

I do not see any debris as I row Gwragedd Annwn past the four signed pilings.

The upstream piling on the East side has bird houses on it as well as the warning sign. 

 

The Millennium Foot Bridge.

 

Fancy Iron work on the Western side.

 

Just over half an hour into the Row.  Time for a coffee.

 

I begin to see the river bed.  Still more than 24″ of water.

 

In the still sides of the river there is some ice.

 

Pump house on the Eastern shore.  

 

The pump house has a small bay next to it.  The water is frozen on the West side of the inlet, in the shadows.  I Row in to explore.

 

Gwragedd Annwn’s Depth-Sounder Oar resting on the ice.

 

Rowing out through the now broken ice.  Gwragedd Annwn’s Strip/epoxy hull is ice proof.  The hardest part about rowing through the ice is trying to get the oars to break through the ice.

 

Heading upstream again.

 

A drainage canal on the West bank.  It leads to an inaccessible oxbow between the river and Lougheed Highway.  From now on, I could hear the roar-whoosh of the highway on the West.

Looking up river again.  

 

Some sort of crane.  It is on the North-West bank.  

 

Close-up of the crane.  I have no idea what it was used for.

 

Pitt River Road crosses the Coquitlam River on the Red Bridge.  This is a far as I got.  The current here was too strong for me to Row against.  End of the Row.

 

Just downriver from the bridge, there was a fellow fly fishing.  Despite the puzzled look on his face, as I rowed past, we had a nice conversation about the river, rowing and fishing.  I think that I am the first rowboat that he has ever seen here.

 

Speed of the River current as I pass the fisherman.  The 7.2 reading was the current speed at the Red Bridge.

 

It is always easier downstream.  I usually go backwards so I can see the snags in the river.

 

This log had interesting icicles and the bones of a fish on it.

 

The tide begins to effect the Coquitlam’s flow.

 

Bald Eagles in the trees.

 

Lunch time for the Urban Oarsman.

 

This spot where the tide has reached is shown by a red star on the chart at the beginning of this Row.

 

A pump station on the East shore.  There are four interconnected drainage canals on the East.

 

This canal leads to one of the three drainage canals on the West shore.

 

Poling up the canal.

 

End of the drainage canal.  Did this used to be a dock?

 

Sculling back out to the Coquitlam.

 

A better view of the fancy Iron work on the Millennium Foot Bridge.

 

This is the bow of a submerged boat.  The boat is upside-down, bow facing to the left in this photograph.

 

The West bank is crowded with wild rose hips.

 

Leaving the mouth of the Coquitlam, following the Western shore.  The green canoe that was on the East shore is gone.

 

While rowing downriver back to the Maquabeak boat launch I see a snag in the water.

 

It is about 2:10pm.  The ripples around the snag show that the tide is still going upstream.  Not high tide yet.

 

At the boat launch, ready to load Gwragedd Annwn onto her trailer.

 

Close up of the dock notice.

 

Close up of the NO POWER DRIVEN VESSELS ON COQUITLAM RIVER sign.

 

 

Gwragedd Annwn on her trailer.  Time to secure her for the trip home.

River level heights for the Row:

The New Westminster Tide chart for the Row.

 

 

The GPS track on Google Earth of the Row.

 

Coquitlam River Row stats:

Length of Row: 10.3km.

Time at the thwart: 3½ hours

Average speed: 3km/hr.

 

Rowing the Coquitlam River.  A fine Row.

Happy rowing,

Mike.

 

I row 20.75 kilometers up the Alouette, North Alouette, and Blaney Creek to the movie set “Bordertown”.

I spend almost 6 hours at the thwart, averaging a little over 3.5 km/hr.

 The water level at the ramp looks high, should be a good row.

 

 Gwragedd Annwn awaits me at the dock.  The dock is wet as we “slip” away.

 

 The moon is still visible to the West.

 

 There is fog ahead indicating that the air is still.

 

 The water is quite high on the dike doors.

 

 Moon and Trees.

 

 I have seen a photo of “Old Red” afloat, I think it was taken in 2003.

 

 I have seen a photo on the web of this boat still afloat, tied up next to “Old Red”.  I think the picture was taken in June of 2010.

 

 Blue Heron fishing.

 

 Still waters beckon Gwragedd Annwn and I up river.

 

 The North Alouette enters from the Port side.  The Alouette River gauge is to the Starboard.

 

 A small side channel on the North Alouette, just past the River gauge.  This is the East side dike. The water level is high enough to explore it a bit.

 

 A beaver dam keeps the water high when the tide goes out.  I slide Gwragedd Annwn over.

 

 Looking South down the channel.  The dike is to the left.

 

 Looking North along the channel. The dike is to the right.

 

 I row down the channel.  It does not go very far.  It is fairly deep, I cannot make out the bottom.

 

 I turn around and head out the way I came in.

 

As I am rowing up the North Alouette, I hear snorting noises just past the bend again.

This time I really see the River Otters, and for quite a while.

There are three of them.  They go onto the South shore and then swim towards me.

 

 I watch them for maybe five minutes and take a movie of them with my camera. The Utube link is:

Three River Otters in the North Alouette River.

The two River Otters start on the North Shore of the river and swim out to the third one.

 

 I feel very lucky to have seen them.

 

Passing under the Neaves Road Bridge over Blaney Creek.

 

Colourful graffiti on the North End of the bridge.

 

Blaney Creek stretches far into the distance.  Ahead lies Codd Island.

 

I pass by the float again.  I still wonder what it is for.

 

Still a bit of fog as I pass by Codd Island.

 

Going around the bend, rowing up the channel between Codd Island and the North dike.

 

The channel continues ahead.

 

As you pass Codd Island, the channel widens and the water clears.  I can see the bottom and the water is over 24″ deep.

 

McKenzie Creek to the Port along the North dike and Blaney Creek continues to the Starboard.

 

The side channel to Bordertown branches off beside the bridge to Codd Island.

 

It is a tight fit rowing down the channel.  It is between 15 and 20 feet wide.  Quite often I am rowing on reeds.

 

Looking back towards Codd Island an Blaney Creek.

 

The channel continues on towards Bordertown.  According to Google Earth, there is a small pond next to Bordertown that I should be able to row into.

 

I spot the first few Bordertown buildings.

 

I have to start “poling” Gwragedd Annwn down the channel.

 

I do not know what this stream is called, but, it is the end of the row for Gwragedd Annwn.  Google Earth had lead me to believe that a pond would be just a little further ahead.  If there is one, the water level is just not high enough to reach it.

 

As close to Bordertown as I can get.  Need more water!

 

Poling my way back to Blaney Creek.

 

Last close-up picture of Bordertown.

 

The channel is widening enough to row.

 

I stuck my nose into a channel that should go to some ponds in front of Bordertown.  Water not deep enough.

 

Close up of Bordertown from Google Earth.

 

Zoom picture of Bordertown from Blaney Creek.

 

The orange snow fence blocks the Codd Island Bridge.

 

Codd Island Bridge.

 

This channel runs East/West along the road to Codd Island.

 

A fallen tree almost blocks the way.

 

The channel ends where the trees begin on Codd Island.

 

Looking East, back towards Blaney Creek.

 

Leaving Codd Island and the fallen tree behind.  The channel was quite wide, usually more than 30 feet wide.

 

The Trespassers will be prosecuted sign at the junction of Blaney creek and the West/East channel to the North Alouette.

 

Close-up of the sign.  Could use a little touching-up. 

 

At this point, Blaney Creek Runs East towards 224th Street.  Last Row I went upstream.  This time I am going to go West, the maps say that this channel will connect with The North Alouette.

 

This channel runs West towards the North Alouette.  There is a slight current going West.

 

A big pipe, too high to go over and too low to go under, blocks the way.

 

When I rowed Still Creek in Burnaby, I squeezed under a walkbridge to continue upstream.  No such luck here.  I need another six to ten inches of clearance to squeeze by.

 

The channel is a long one, just over 500 meters.

 

About 250 meters to Blaney Creek.

 

Back on Blaney Creek with the Codd Island bridge ahead (I am rowing backwards just for a change).

 

Back on the North Alouette, heading downriver towards the Marina.  Again I am rowing backwards.  I do this sometimes to see where I am going better or to give my rowing muscles a break by rowing with different ones.  A change can be as good as a rest.

 

The dead boat again.  The water level has dropped during the Row.

 

The water level has dropped.  There is more of the door visible.  I should have measured the distance but did not think to.  Next time.

 

Gwragedd Annwn at the dock, waiting for me to get her trailer.

According to the Alouette River Level Guage, I had the second highest water level on this trip.  I am told that the highest water levels are in June, when the Fraser is running high.  I will have to try again then.

Row stats:  Length: 20.75 kilometers, rowing time: 5 hours 50 minutes, average speed, 3.5 km/hr.

The Alouette River and her tributaries.  A good place to Row and Explore.

Happy Rowing,

Mike

The August 11th, 2014 Row.  I forgot my camera on this row.  I only remembered when I had rowed to the end of the drainage canal that I had my cell phone camera.  It is so awkward for me to use while rowing that I only took a few pictures.  

I left the Pitt Meadows Marina around 9:00am and rowed up the Alouette, up the North Alouette as far as I could get.  I made a side trip exploring a drainage canal.

 

When I was about half way up the North Alouette (see Google Earth Picture below), I heard something breathing and snorting in the reeds on shore.

I really missed my camera now.  I caught a glimpse of a beaver or river otter moving in the reeds, going into the water.  The animal had a rounded tail not a flat one.  I followed the snorting noise up a side channel, but only caught glimpses.  I was pretty sure that it was an otter not a beaver.

 

This is as far up the river as I got.

 

The pump house at the end of the drainage canal.  The canal is very shallow at this point, Gwragedd Annwn is constantly scraping bottom.  There are many Indian Pond lilies, but I did not see any fish here.  I am looking due West in this photo.

 

This is as far up the North Alouette as I could get.  The river is to shallow and flowing too fast for me to row further up.  I have noticed that the further up river you get, the clearer the water gets.

 

The view downriver.  The North Alouette river is not very wide at the turnaround point.  It is 12:15 and time to turn back.  3 hours and 15 minutes to row to here.  This is the last picture I took.

I did some more side Channel exploring on the row down river.  I arrived at the marina and was ready to drive Gwragedd Annwn and I home by 4:00pm.

 

As shown in the River Level chart, I had some of the lowest water levels on this Row:

High River Levels mean good Rowing in the North Alouette.

Mike

 

The October 27, 2014 Row.  Up The Alouette, the North Alouette, Blaney Creek and beyond Codd Island.

 I have read WoodenBoat issue #240.  There are two articles on rowing, “The Thames Waterman’s Stroke” and “The Geometry of Rowing“.  Both articles stress the importance of foot braces.   To quote from “The Thames Waterman’s Stroke“: To row powerfully, you have to brace your feet against something solid.  A low cleat on the floorboards won’t do the trick.  A footboard or a  stretcher across the balls of your feet allows you to engage your calf muscles and the power of the rest of your body.   “The Geometry of Rowing”  article echoes the sentiment: “Footbraces are absolutely essential in good rowing craft for transferring power.  If you don’t have them, you’re actually transferring your forward thrust to the boat through the friction of your posterior on the thwart-which is as uncormfortable and as inefficient as it sounds…“. Gwragedd Annwn does not have  footbraces, so, I install one to see if it improves anything. 

Gwragedd Annwn’s “test-of-concept” footbrace.

 

The waterlevel at the launching ramp  is quite high, the highest I have rowed in.

 

Gwragedd Annwn at the dock, ready to row.  The black rowing cushion with the holes in it is another suggestion from “The Thames Waterman’s Stroke” article: “Firm foam padding will help. You may want to simulate a racing-shell seat by cutting the foam to make two holes for your sit bones and a notch for your tailbone.”  

 

An eagle watches me Row up river.

 

I missed this snag, it was high enough out of the water for me to see with my mirrors.  The current is actually going up river.  The tide is still rising.  

 

Old Red seems to be listing a little more with the higher water.

 

A bit of fall colour on the piling.

 

The water level is very high.  This is the first time that I have seen the “No Power-Driven Vessels” sign awash.

 

There is at least two, maybe three feet more water than on the “Past the Neaves Road Bridge” Row.

 

I am going to row closer to the Gauge for a better look.

 

I believe this to be the Alouette River Gauge.   The roof of the pump house is barely visible just behind the dike.

 

  My GPS shows the upstream current at the confluence.  It has taken me almost 50 minutes of rowing to get here.  

 

A cobbled together picture of the Neaves Road Bridge over the North Alouette River and Blaney Creek.

 

Blaney Creek runs West, straight along the dike.  

 

Leaving the Neaves Road Bridge over Balney Creek Behind.

 

I do not know what this float is for…Perhaps a gauge of some sort?  The weeds around it  show a slight downstream current.

 

Does the weed on top of the float mean that it is anchored to the bottom?  If you look to the right, you can see a cable coiled on a post.  What is this float for?

 

The coiled cable on the shore next to the float.

 

Blaney Creek, Codd Island is the treed area to Starboard.

 

Going past Codd Island.

 

The water is murky enough here that I cannot see the bottom.  My “Depth-Sounder” oars report that there is more than 24″ of water under the keel.

 

A canoe on the shore.  The topo map shows two houses on the other side of the dike.

 

Looking down Blaney Creek.  Codd Island is the dark treed area on the left.

 

The McKenzie Creek channel is to Port.  Blaney Creek continues to Starboard.  

 

McKenzie Creek flows down from Cranberry Lake and enters midway along the channel.  This agrees with chart #3062, Pitt River and/et Pitt Lake.

 

My topo map shows McKenzie Creek should enter at the far end of this channel.  It does not.  The chart (#3062) was correct.

 

In some places the trees over grow the channel.  Many of the branches have been chewed off by Beavers.

 

You can see the grass poking out of the water.  It looks like it could be a grass Beaver Dam.

 

The grass is just below the surface.  Good thing that the water level is high or I would not be able to go over it. 

 

 

Leaving the dam behind.

 

A smiling face greets me at the end of the channel.

 

Close-up of the smiling face. Better head back.  If the water level drops, I will be stuck behind the grass dam.

 

The return view.

 

Going over the grass dam.

 

Going forward to rock Gwragedd Annwn over the dam.

 

The technique is to row like crazy, then at the last moment, go to the stern so you run Gwragedd Annwn as far up the dam as possible.  Just before she stops, you go to the bow and slide her down the other side.

 

Across the barrier.

 

Looking up McKenzie Creek.

 

Codd Island in the distance.

 

Back in Blaney Creek, rowing upstream.  I as starting to be able to see the bottom of the Creek.  The water is clearing up.

 

An old bridge crosses Blaney Creek.  The road goes from Border Town to a house on Codd Island.

 

The bridge rests on two big steel I-beams.  Seems as if the West side has settled more that the East side.  Not a lot of clearance under the bridge for Gwragedd Annwn. 

 

The bridge looks more picturesque on the upstream side. I can see the bottom of the Creek quite easily now.

 

Border Town.  It is a movie set with it’s own website:http://www.virtuestudioranch.com/location/bordertown

Here is a link to a map showing it and the Codd Wetland Aguilini Reserve(zoom out to see them).:  http://wikimapia.org/8985829/Bordertown-set

 

Blaney Creek, looking upstream to the East.

 

A side channel off of Blaney Creek that goes to the West, connecting to The North Alouette River.  

 

A weathered “Trespassers will be Prosecuted” sign.

 

Looking downstream.

 

The western side channel to The North Alouette.  There is a slight current flowing down the channel.

 

I head up Blaney Creek.

 

The creek parallels 144th Avenue.

 

A culvert under 144th Avenue.

 

Another spawned out salmon floating in the Creek.

 

The high waterline mark is over a foot higher on the Culvert.

 

The 224th Street Bridge.

 

Blaney Creek is getting too narrow and swift.

 

Looking back at the 224 Street Bridge.  This is about as far as I am going to get.

 

The current in Blaney Creek is between 1 to 2 knots.  It took me about 3 hours of rowing to get here.  The current is getting too strong and the Creek too narrow for me to row on.  Turn around point.

 

I wonder what pulled this salmon up onto the bank.

 

Swallow nest under the Bridge.  It would be neat to come here when the Swallows are still nesting, but I would not want to disturb them.

 

Swallow nests under the 224 Street Bridge.

 

Making the turn to go down Blaney Creek.

 

Upstream side of the bridge to Codd Island.  You can see that it has settled more on the West side than the East side.

 

Underside of the bridge.

 

This side channel heads East towards Border Town.  I will explore it another day.

 

Down river from the Neaves Road Bridge.

 

Geese flying to the Pitt-Addington Wetlands?

 

This stump shows the water level drop.

 

The water level has dropped about a foot during the Row.

 

Spawned out salmon floating down river to the sea.

 

A clinker lifeboat very similar to “Snowdrop” on the hard by the Pitt Meadows Paddling Club.

 

 

A partly-submerged log lies across the entrance to the ramp.  I used the run up and slide over technique to get across it.

 

Gwragedd Annwn on her trailer.  The water is still quite high.  I believe that the footbrace worked well.  I could row faster with less effort.  5 hours and 36 minutes of rowing to cover 21.6 kilometers at an average speed of approximately 3.8 km/hr.

 

The Alouette River and her tributaries are worth exploring.  There is a lot to see.

River Level chart for the Row:

Happy Rowing,

Mike

 

July 28, 2014.  The Alouette past Neaves Road Bridge.

 The last time I rowed the Alouette I ran out of time at the Neaves Road Bridge.  Today, starting an hour earlier,  I will row past the bridge and as far up the Alouette as I can get.

 

Gwragedd Annwn leaving the Pitt Meadows marina float.

 

The electric Davidson Chugger, “Watts Up”.

 

One of the snags I avoided.  The ripples trailing from the log show the current going downstream.  The tide is falling and will drop throughout the Row.  The green whipping on my oar is to hold the oar at the correct place in the sculling notch in Gwragedd Annwn’s transom.

 

The GPS reading of the speed of the current I am rowing against.  0.8 km/hr.

 

Passing under the Harris Road bridge.

 

The path to the river from the parking lot at Harris Road and the Alouette.  You can launch your hand-carried or cartop boat from here and avoid the $17.00 fee at the Marina.

 

There is not much current near the shore.

 

Indian Pond Water Lilies.

 

There is an indent on the North bank.  Just past it the Alouette turns almost 90° to the North East.

 

I know that it is hare to see, but, there is a Blue Heron in the grass at the centre of this picture.

 

This canoe is from the Pitt Meadows Paddling Club.  

 

The South shore is covered with Indian Pond Water lilies. 

I did not run into the snag with the ducks.

 

Probably Pink Fleabane.

 

Looks as if they are still working at Cranberry Slough.

 

The water is a little higher than the July 22nd Row.

 

Thankfully there was no foot in this shoe.

 

The Neaves Road Bridge.

 

Downstream view at the bridge.  Looking WNW.

 

The GPS shows the end of the chart, #3062, Pitt River and/et Pitt Lake.

Reflection pattern on the underside of the Neaves Road Bridge. I row under the bridge.  The shadow is Gwragedd Annwn’s bow.

 

Gwragedd Annwn’s stern  and bow wave shadows.  

 

Past the bridge there are several islands in the river.  I choose the starboard channel.  

 

This tree looks a lot healthier than the one downstream on “Dead Tree Island”.  If you go to Google Earth, you can see this tree and a log blocking the channel.  The log is gone.

 

The grasses on the banks were covered with these beetles.

 

There were lots of small fish along the shore in the shallows.

 

Another beetle picture.

 

I think that I have made it to Jerry Sulina Park.

 

This is as far as I can go…The Alouette is too shallow and fast for me to go further upstream.  The river water is very clear here.

 

Gwragedd Annwn grounded out on a gravel shoal.

 

The rocks along the river bank show that the water was deeper earlier in the day.  I will need a high tide to be able to row further upriver.  I wonder how much further along  another foot of water would get Gwragedd Annwn.

 

I try exploring a side channel.  It is so narrow, I pole Gwragedd Annwn along.  The Trans-Canada trail is on the bank to starboard.

 

Looking back to The Alouette.

 

There is a beach with benches at the bend in the Trans-Canada trail.

 

Exploring some of the side channels. 

 

Outfall from a pump.  There are many inter-connected waterways in the area, but one would have to portage over the dike to get to them.  I believe that this one could lead you to the North Alouette River.

 

The pump in action.

 

A little bay full of stumps.

 

This Blue Heron landed as I was passing and began to fish.

 

Heron in action.  I got quite close.

 

After I got this picture, I thought that I should leave the bird alone.

 

This is as far as the mower got.  This is actually a fence across the dike.

 

Tall trees downstream of Neaves Road Bridge.

 

The Neaves Road Bridge in the background.

 

The mower working the other side of the gate.

Some of the bigger minnows.  These were in a side channel I explored.  There were thousands that swam past me as I rowed in and then passed me going back in as I rowed out.

 

The minnow-full channel.

 

There is a horse trail on the North bank.

 

The ripples are caused by even bigger minnows.  I estimated these to be between 4″ to 6″ long.

 

Dead Tree Branch snapped off.  I was trying to get an “Artsy” picture of the wood grain.

 

The pump station at the confluence of the Alouette and the North Alouette.

 

The No Power Driven Vessels sign at the confluence.  I believe that the white gate-like looking thing in the background is the actual gauge.

 

Looking up the North Alouette.  A Row for another day.

 

Looking down the Alouette.

 

Looking up The Alouette.

 

Leaving the confluence behind, I row down river.

 

A pair of kayakers paddle up the North Alouette.

 

Mount Baker in the background to the East.

 

A row of nice-looking pilings on the North Bank, opposite of the Pitt Meadows Paddling Club, downstream of the Harris Road Bridge. 

 

Sunken boat on the South shore.  

 

  Harris Road Bridge in the background.

 

At least this boat is on the side of the dike.

 

I do not think that arrows wrecked her.

 

Vise-Grips are the next best thing to Duct Tape and bailing wire.  

 

Passing by Old Red, almost at the Marina.

 

The drainage structure on the North bank near where The Alouette enters the Pitt River.  

 

That is water coming out from between the doors.  Do they open more when the tide drops?

 

The Stained Glass floathouse.

 

The record of the trip.  18.6 kilometers, 7.1km/hr maximum speed,  5 hours 52 minutes rowing time, 15.25 minutes stopped time.  Moving average speed, 3.2km/hr, Overall average speed 3.0km/hr. Six hours at the thwart!

River Level chart for the Row:

The next Row, I will Explore North Alouette River.  

Good Rowing.

Mike