General News · 25th October 2022
David Shipway& Lisa Ferentinos
Do you have a simple, human-powered craft pulled up on the beach near the spit in the boundaries of the park? It’s likely there is now a sticker on your boat, warning that you have to remove it from the park within 30 days after October 17 or it will be removed and destroyed.
Generations have kept their simple boats there. Some moments you might sigh sadly as you imagine the wooden canoes that must have lined the beach here in times past. Today, there are oyster workers and families that keep dinghies along the shore to reach their moored boats.
Dinghies, canoes, and kayaks don’t seem to have a place at the dock but accommodation is available for large powerboats, their fossil fuel discharges, their noise and wakes, the erosion the dock causes on the spit. Vehicles are also parked and stored within the park and this is accommodated, despite the shortage of parking in the summer, the petroleum run-off from the parking lot, the eroding banks and the pathways turning into gullies due to foot traffic.
Hauling away and re-launching rowboats for each use would substantially increase lagoon traffic and/or beach erosion and negate efforts to keep vehicles off the inside of the spit. Taking and bringing small boats to Clytosin every time they are needed discriminates against bike riders who have helped reduce vehicle traffic congestion.
Yes, there are a lot of decrepit and abandoned boats along the beach that should be removed. But, where can we keep the small, human-powered boats in daily use if we don’t own waterfront property? Is this another aspect of island culture here that is destined to be lost, or can we get together and figure out something that might work better than what’s going on now? Maybe welcome back some dugout canoes and remember the old names? Email lisa.ferentinosgmail.com if you want to be part of an effort to communicate with BC Parks and our government representatives.