Gabriola - exploring the waters.

It was a bit windy on the Island on Saturday, so we decided to take the opportunity and go for our first sail aboard our 16 footer. We loaded up the cooler, tent, propane stove and kids and left Degnen Bay and headed towards Blackberry Pt on Valdez. It was a great late afternoon sail, we found a compromise that worked for our family, my husband fished, I sailed and the kids tattooed each other with their special markers. We set up our tent about 15 feet from the sandy beach, started a small camp fire and watched this amazing sunset. It did rain during the night, but our tent didn't let in a drop of rain, and we woke up to another sunny day. Submitted by: Tina Lynch

Launching a sailboat on Gabriola

It took us almost a month for my husband and I find a few hours together during the day to launch our little sailboat. On Friday that timed up perfectly with slack tide. We had heard that False Narrows would be the right place to launch our Nordica sail boat, so we thought we'd give it a try. The boat launch for False Narrows is located just off of El Verano on Gabriola. The launch couldn't have gone any better, the sandy bottom and the slack made it really easy for us. When we got to the dock we worked on rigging up the mast and the shrouds, not a bad job for our first time, but we'll have our neighbour come and have a look before we set sail. There are a few options for launching a boat on Gabriola, there is a place at the end of Gray Road (Degnen Bay), a small boat launch at Twin Beaches (Gabriola Sands), and you can also arrange it at Silva Bay for a small fee. With all the outer islands in such close proximity, Gabriola is the perfect place to begin your explorations at sea.

Sailing the seas around Gabriola Island

As someone that spent their time growing up on the Island, I've always had a strong connection to the ocean. Although, I've mainly enjoyed it from the shorelines, we would often use dinghy's, kayaks and boats to go "exploring". With a husband that is a fisherman, we then got into power boating and have done lots of fishing and prawning in the local waters.

My dad recently bought a 16 foot Nordica sailboat from a friend, which I thought would be great in the summer, the only problem is that I didn't have the slightest knowledge about "sailing". 4 girlfriends and myself decided we should find out more, so we hired a sailing instructor from Gabriola. We’re busy working our way through the reading material (Basic Cruising Skills) and set out for a day at sea this past Sunday. We left Degnen Bay at about 12 and sailed into the Nanaimo Harbour at about 4:30, under the direction of our patient instructor Oliver. Tonight it's a bit of theory work, then we have another 4 days of afloat sailing instruction.

Launching into fun from Gabriola

If you live on an Island, you likely have some love/appreciation/longing of the beautiful waters that surround you. We recently put our dad's boat in the water, and found it easy to launch from the end of Gray Road (Degnen Bay, Gabriola). There is also a place to launch your boat from Narrow’s Road just off of Elverano. The best time to launch is definitely high tide, and there are many places to explore around Gabriola, including Valdez, Ruxton, Mudge and Decourcy. With sun in the forecast everyday during the next 14 day period, you definitely want to consider being close to the beach. I've created a google map to show places on Gabriola to set your boat or kayak, if there are any others that you know of please let me know and I'll add them too.

Boating adventure from Gabriola Island

We were lucky to have our friends lend us their Zodiac this summer. On Sunday night, we decided to cook dinner over a campfire. My husband, kids and myself loaded up the small Zodiac and headed to Black Berry Point on Valdez Island, it was about a 15 minute boat trip from Degnen Bay on Gabriola. Surrounded by clouds, the shells on this beach glistened in the sun. There was a beautiful fire pit already made, so we brought out the European Hot Dogs and Bannock Batter and had our best summer night yet. Inspired, we've decided to head there again tonight with some new Islanders - hope they like small boats and outdoor cooking.

A boat seems to sit perfectly with the Island Life.

You’ll find a variety of options for boaters when you arrive on Gabriola, BC offers one of the best coastlines to explore. Courses are offered for novices and those wanting to learn a bit more, you’ll often see a Boat Safe course or Power Squadrons course advertised in one of the local papers. You may want to moore your boat at Silva Bay Resort & Marina or Pages Marina, or put a mooring buoy in Degnen Bay to make your boat excursions a little easier. You’ll need to ensure that your mooring buoy is properly marked and maintained, to ensure that you are in compliance with the Private Buoy Regulations in the Canada Shipping Act2001, this information can be found on Transport Canada’s website @ http://www.tc.gc.ca/actsregulations/GENERAL/C/csa/regulations/050/csa053/csa53.html.

If your interested in sea-going adventures, you may consider joining the Silva Bay Yacht Club http://www.silvabayyachtclub.com/ , a great place to meet other Islanders that share the same love of the sea.

The Call of the Bald Eagles…

It’s always such a welcome to arrive home at the end of the day, especially to hear the eagles calling. We are so fortunate to share where we live with several bald eagles, and it’s not an uncommon sight to see them diving towards the waters with their amazing 6 to 8 foot wingspan, poised to catch a salmon.

No matter how many times you’ve see a bald eagle, it is an absolutely amazing experience to see these majestic birds in their natural setting. There are many good areas to see the eagles on Gabriola, Drumbeg Park, is one of the areas where the combination of the old growth forests which provides trees for the eagles to perch in, the open fields & oceans for them to feed - is an amazing setting to experience the spirit of the birds in their natural setting.

I always know I'm close to home when I hear the amazing sounds of the bald eagles!

The Humming Birds are Back!

Every April we eagerly await the return of our hummingbirds to Degnen Bay on Gabriola, yesterday we saw the first two return. To us it symboloizes a sure sign of Spring! So we quickly got out the hummingbird feeder and made up some nectar.

Directions: One part sugar to 4 parts water, you can boil the mixture to help it dissolve, although it’s not necessary. (There is no need to put red food coloring in the mixture!) At this time of year, the birds are not feeding as heavily, as well all of them have not yet returned, so we usually have extra syrup, the syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. In another couple of months, we’ll have to put up additional feeders as they go through the syrup in a matter of hours, and we want to ensure we keep them around.

There is little maintenance to do, however, it’s important that each time you re-fill make sure to rinse thoroughly with warm water, don’t use soapy water – the birds seem to be detracted by it. Once a month, it is necessary to clean the feeder, any easy way to do this is to soak it in a bleach/water solution for at least a ½ an hour and rinse thoroughly before re-filling it.

In my garden, I have also included some flowers that attract hummingbirds including; Bee Balm, Columbine, Foxgloves, Nasturtiums (I just spent the morning planting 750 seeds – hope there’s no more frost!) & a butterfly bush. I’m hoping the abundance of plant nectar & syrup will increase the buzz of these amazing creatures at our feeders! Just another spring pleasure here on Gabriola.