Coast Realty Gabriola. Your local Co.

We recently reviewed the stats and we're really pleased that Coast Realty Group participates in such a high percentage of Real Estate sales on Gabriola, a continuing trend since 2000.  We work, engage, and live in this community, so having Islanders (& newcomers) choose to work with a local company means a lot to us, and is very much appreciated ! 
If you'd like to know what your home is worth, send us (the Lynch group) an email or phone us and we'll come by and do a market evaluation and show you the current trends.
If you're considering a move to the Island, let us know, we'd like to share our enthusiasm for island living and make the transition to your new home a positive experience.  We'll handle all the details professionally, from gathering information, showing you homes, preparing an offer all the way to delivering you the key.

Gabriola Scooters : The MS Cowichan Valley Grape Escape

We've just completed a great weekend at the MS Cowichan Valley Grape Escape with 6 members from Gabriola, together the "Gabriola Scooters" raised over $7633.  This was a lot of fun, a variety of routes to choose from, a beautiful campus to stay at, well organized and there were plenty of wine tasting opportunities. The bike ride started at 10am on Saturday, we rode for about 10 minutes and came to our first winery, from there on, we would ride to the next winery (usually a 6-8km distance) and sample another glass or two.  It was easy to purchase wine along the way, as you would make your wine selection and they would deliver it to the dorm for the end of the day.  The dinner at Shawnigan Lake School was delicious and the dorm rooms were immaculate, a really stunning setting.  On Sunday we were back on our bikes at 9am to hit the pavement to a few more wineries.  This is sure to be an annual event for us, we hope you can join us next year!

Gabriola. Searching the Sea.

We had the pleasure of taking a few kids out on the boat for a few hours yesterday,  within a short time frame we viewed an amazing amount of sea life.  We started our adventure by pulling the crab traps first, and we were pleased to find they liked the bait.  We then went and pulled the prawn traps and although they didn't overflow, there was enough there to please the kids.  We found an octopus in one of the prawn traps, which was an amazing sight for the kids.  We ended our trip with a little jigging, and managed to get a quillback in the boat.  The 9year old kids ended up with a nice little goodie bag of treats from the sea, and were pretty proud to be providing dinner for their families.  The shores of Gabriola are rich with fresh seafood and have an abundance of experiences waiting for you to discover! 

Summer is HERE & so is the new ferry schedule !

We've just completed a new edition of the Gabriola Reference Card in time for the new summer ferry schedule, which is in place today (June 25 2014).  If you're on Gabriola, check your mail box as it should be there in the next day or two.  We realize that the ferry schedules might change, but in the meantime, we just couldn't leave you amiss and we really wanted to make island living just a bit easier for you.  If you'd like any extra copy of the reference card so you can leave it in your car or keep one on your desk, just visit our little community free library by the Gabriola Ferry dock (located just downstairs at the Skol).  We hope you enjoy a magical summer full of memories on Gabriola !

Car Share : another transportation option for Gabriola residents.

There is a great transportation option for those Gabriola Island residents going to Nanaimo.  The Nanaimo Car Share has a vehicle parked within a few minutes walk from the Gabriola ferry terminal at Port Place.  You sign up and purchase a refundable share, book your reservation online and pick up the vehicle, if your on an errand and need to extend your booking time a simple update from your smart phone allows you to check if your booking can be extended.  This is a great option for those that want to walk on the ferry, reduce their costs and avoid line ups on the commuter runs. To learn if this might be an option that suits your lifestyle, visit : http://nanaimocarshare.ca/.

MS: The Cowichan Grape Escape.

Cycling to the farms and wineries in the Cowichan Valley sounds appealing to you ?  What if it were to raise money to fight against MS.  There is a group from the Gabriola Lions that are going to participate in this two day event on July 5/6 2014.  One of our close friends has MS and we'd love if they could find a cure, so that her life and the 100,000 Canadians living with it, could enjoy a pain free life as well.  If you'd like to sign up and join us for a great weekend, please visit the Grape Escape website : http://www.cowichanvalleygrapeescape.com/

Join the fight against MS and register online today !

Running on Gabriola

View from our Berry Point Rd. on Gabriola

On Wednesday morning, we usually head out to Berry Point Road and meet the rest of the GRUNTS (Yes, the runners under ninety) and go for an 8km run.  I missed the run this morning, but it is one of my favourite things about Gabriola.  We park by the lighthouse, do our run, and come back and pile 8 people or so into a VW van to share home baked goods and drink our coffee.