Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A Love Of Boats

Living on the coast of British Columbia means that a lot of our Sunday outings involve water. This summer, a bountiful salmon run led us several times to the pier at Steveston, where freshly-caught Sockeye were plentiful and relatively inexpensive.
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My husband and I love boats, but do not get out on them as often as we would like. We spent a lovely half-hour checking out this old sailboat advertised for sale. We pictured ourselves restoring it to glory, and running away from home to sail the world. Then we remembered that we spend more time out exploring than tending to chores, and the boat would look the same in ten years as it does now!






As well as being drawn to derelict buildings, ruined boats also pull us in. I photographed these old fish boats in Richmond's Finn Slough.

The listing Mermaid III, in the same slough, seems not to have moved for a very long time.



As a route from our outlying suburb into the centre of Vancouver, an alternate to the highway is River Road that follows the Fraser River for a considerable stretch. It is home to sawmills, log booms and wooden docks, some of which have been ravaged by time and reduced to skeletons of their former selves.


And of course there are boats, most still plying their trade up and down the river, and others like this beauty, abandoned and left vulnerable to the ravages of time.
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I caught only a glimpse of her through the trees as we drove past. A quick turnaround and we clambered down to the muddy shore to snatch a few photos. It is small detours like this that make it almost impossible for my husband and I to go directly from A to B.
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On another day, and another stretch of the Fraser River, we came across this wonderfully rusted barge. His size and upright stance imbue him with a sense of majesty as he seems to point upward to the Skybridge and the Patullo Bridge in the background that take people across the river from Surrey to New Westminster.

It is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and these boats are indeed beautiful to me...
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I'm linking this post to Watery Wednesday! For more photos that are damp, doused and drenched check out the link below!
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20 comments:

Penelope Notes said...

Lynette, I was pleasantly surprised to discover your site as you exist somewhere near my area. These photos are picturesque and the haiku lovely. Creative writing is something I dabble in as well. :)

Kay L. Davies said...

Oh, Lynette, the boats are wonderful. (I'll bet you knew I'd love them.) And my friend Penelope likes your blog, too. One of these days we three should meet for coffee when I'm out there at "the wet coast"!!
-- K

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Lynette, Thanks SO much for coming to my blog.... I have never been to your area---and am looking forward to coming next year. I watched the Olympics every single day... You live in a beautiful area....

Are the gardens in Vancouver as nice as Butchert??? I know that Butchert is 'touristy' and reccomended --but sometimes the locals can help us even more with things to do. We will only be there for 1-2 nights and it will be the first of June...

I've heard about tea at the Empress---and know that has to be special....

All of the boats you pictured are neat... Someone sent some pictures of some HOUSES (big ones) built as houseboats. Is that in Victoria or Vancouver????

Nice to meet you.
Hugs,
Betsy

Kay L. Davies said...

PS
I was just talking to my niece about this year's steelhead run an hour ago.

Cindy said...

Lynette,
Great photos! I love photograph of derelict boats and buildings. If they could talk, they could tell such stories! My hubby and I have a hard time putting miles behind us for the same reason as you. Only we normally takes photos of nature here in Manitoba. Canada is such a varied nation, photo ops around every corner.
Hugs, Cindy

Katy Cameron said...

Cool finds, love all the boats

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Lynette,
Such a lovely story. You seem to have a very nice life in B.C. A far cry from Bangor or Carrickfergus!!!

Best wishes,
Eileen

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Wonderful post again, as always with fabulous photos! I enjoyed every word and every photo. Beautiful. I especially love the way the masts in the first photo are fully reflected in the water. And I wish you had bought the boat and sailed away, I could have stowed away on board! Tho you are probably right about geting the actual refitting finished:) I love vicariously enjoying all your weekend jaunts!

Kelly Loy Gilbert said...

Those are so beautiful! Every time I visit BC I'm so struck by the beauty. I really love boat images--there's something so simultaneously soothing and adventure-y about them. Love these photos!

Debbie Taillieu said...

Hi Lynette,
Thank you for stopping by my blog and for you wonderful comment!
Wouldn't it be great to restore that old boat and just got from port to port!
Beautiful pictures, and yes, Vancouver is a great place for great photos!!

Have a fabulous day!

CreativeMish said...

Those pictures of the old boats are awesome. I really want to visit British Columbia.

msdewberry said...

Your boats are beautiful! I've seen boats at Steveston quite a few times but the boats you have on River Road etc. and the barge I have never seen! I sense an adventure in the near future!! We got 10 huge salmon from the fish run but got ours from the Friendship Center in Mission. They are delicious!!

Mike B. @ slugyard.com said...

Love the blue boat with the blue building in the background. Great vision.

Shirley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shirley said...

Lynette, you've captured the beauty and yet the desolation of the piers. So sad when something so great is left to deteriorate like the boat in your photo. BC is one of the most beautiful provinces I have ever seen. Of course the mountains and ocean play a great role in this assessment.

I enjoy your note on the sidebar "The Gift of Simplicity". Beautiful.

PS Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. Visit again soon http://shirley-adventuresinanotsounusuallife.blogspot.com/ or another of my blogs.

Barbara said...

What an awsome series of captures. Love them all but my fav is the 4th. I love anything old and this boat has so much charactor. If only it could talk and tell us of its journys
Have a great up and coming weekend.

Jessica said...

Great pictures! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I am excited to follow along with your Utah parks trip. I used to live out that way but was unable to make it to some of the bigger parks like Zion. I always wanted to hike Angels Landing :) Have fun!

nuts said...

great photo collection of boats!thanks for stopping by in my blog.. =)

Vintagesouthernlife said...

I enjoyed your photos and your story.
Annette

Cherry said...

great photos and story, i enjoyed my visit. thanks for dropping by my blog. :)