To The Big City - Vancouver - November 2019

We realised that if we did not visit Vancouver before the craziness of landlife set in we never would.  So we took a bit of detour to Vancouver. 

False Creek - Not in the South Pacific any more !

We anchored in False Creek to give us good free access to the city and facilitate a piece with Global TV. The TV segment is here.

 

It was many things but perhaps not a vacation ...

Movie Star !

Funny story: After the Global TV segment I was taking the kids back to the boat at anchor with the dingy and there was a large government RHIB loitering by Fluenta.  There are lots of rules in False Creek and I was sure we had the right permits etc. We try to be good law abiding visitors. Turns out they had seen us on television and invited us over to visit the Coast Guard station the next day.  Little did I know I was to be spending lots of time assisting the Coast Guard as a volunteer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary (now renamed Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue in BC). 

 

Coast Guard Station Visit

More visits were a highlight.  Liz's cousin Catherine and her husband Aaron came to visit and then we were hosted by the ever helpful Ocean Cruising Association Port Officer - Liza Copeland.  Liza hosted us with her family at RVYC.  A side note: about 15 years previously I met Liza at a boat show and bought several of her cruising books with no idea that I would take my own family on a cruising adventure.  Liza and Andy did a circumnavigation with their children and she has written a great series of books (and still writes regularly for Pacific Yachting).

Visitors !

Very welcomed by the Copelands and RVYC.

We also briefly visited HMCS DISCOVERY - a good time to hoist our CFSA burgee - to visit a good friend and wait out some weather !

CFSA Burgee goes up !

 

Not in the tropics anymore !

A bit more traffic than we had seen further north. Little did I know I would be doing regular trips to and from Vancouver in our new "landlife".