Beach Quest : Discovering Gabriola's Marine Life

Explore 5 of the beaches on Gabriola with STU, a Black Oystercatcher, who leads us through this beautifully illustrated book produced by the Gabriola Historical & Museum Society.  This compact book is full of information, tips and gives interesting ideas for turning your walk into a treasure hunt for local marine life.  You'll enjoy the detailed maps of Taylor Bay, Descanso Bay, Brickyard Beach, Silva Bay and Drumbeg in this book, indicating where to find the marine life when you get to the beach.  If you'd like to purchase one of these local books, you'll find them at the Gabriola Museum for $15.
We'd also like to thank the volunteers that created this stunning book: Carroll Hodge, April Vannini, Edith Krauss, Devon Featherstone, Nancy Boyes, Jeffrey James, Ken Cripps, Sandie Hankewich, Lindsay Richards, Charleen Wells, Bill Cornish & Cec Ashley.

BONUS!  We've just added a copy to our little Lynch library on the Gabriola Ferry hill today (Aug.20 2014)

Ready, set, go SAIL !

There are lots of great activities and camps for kids of all ages to attend on Gabriola.  This week, my kids are attending the "sailing camp".  The instructor Tom Bradbrooke is great with children and is teaching them about points of sail, knots, safety and how to tack and gybe.  My 8yr old daughter and a new friend have been busy sailing across Silva Bay on their own.  I'm really impressed with what they've been taught and the weeks not even over yet!
If you live on the Island or if your planning a trip, you may want to look at some of the camps that the Gabriola Recreation Society offers.  (Submitted by Tina Lynch)

Halloween is in the air!

Everybody enjoys the Halloween holiday whether they are young children looking forward to dressing up as their favourite characters and heading out trick or treating, or as adults getting ready for the big night of festivities. On Gabriola being a smaller community have an amazing Halloween line up for kids of all ages…

FIREWORKS
You may have seen the Gabriola Fire Departments rubber boots on display at various businesses as they collect monies to put on the fireworks display on October 31st 7:30 pm at Twin Beaches. Reminiscing on some of my favourite childhood memories on the island this has to be one of the most spectacular evenings, who can resist – goodies, hot chocolate, fireworks & hot dogs…


Gabriola’s SLEEPY HOLLOW
Halloween night could not be complete without a slow drive down the North Road area referred to islanders as the “tunnel” that comes lit up by the amazing display of carved pumpkins. With the homes on Gabriola being further apart, it’s a great way to display your pumpkin by dropping it off in the tunnel – the spectacular display usually is lit up for a couple of evenings post Halloween.


Trick or Treating
Well, the kids tend to have to put in a little extra effort in trick or treating on the island, with the long driveways and the homes having some distance between them, that said there are some popular areas of the island that kids & parents tend to find a little easier; the Strand, Malaspina Galleries, the Village core, are among some of the popular ghouling areas.



For the ADULTS
The Skol & Silva Bay both have events planned for the Halloween weekend. In addition if you haven’t taken in one of the radio after dark Halloween shows, they are not to be missed and usually tend to sell out quickly!



RADIO AFTER DARK
The Radio After Dark Troupe recreate the classic radio shows of the 1930s and 1940s, capturing the essence of those timeless gems with live sound effects, period costumes, passionate performances and the occasional hilarious blooper

Wednesday & Thursday, October 26 & 27 – Silva Bay Restaurant & Pub, Gabriola 7:30pm
Tix $15- , Gabriola tix available at Artworks,

Radio after Dark's Halloween Show catapults the audience back in time to the golden age of radio, bringing those gripping tales of suspense to bone chilling life. Don't miss this amazing experience!

Happy Haunting!

Fishing Thrasher Rock

We had a few hours yesterday afternoon that we could spend on the boat, so we loaded up the kids and took my dad out to Thrasher Rock, near Silva Bay on Gabriola Island. The water was calm, it was hot and sunny and there were lots of boats of all sizes out on the water. We did some jigging at about 50-60 ft, and landed 3 nice size Ling Cods on the boat. I recently found this website that shows the bites and tides in a visual format, which I think makes it pretty easy for anyone to follow : tides4fishing Submitted by: Tina Lynch