creativescans

Sturgeon conservation with “Man in Motion” Rick Hansen

Rick Hansen recently gave a talk about sturgeon conservation on the Fraser River at the Port of Vancouver Community Office in Delta BC.

Rick is one of the founding members of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society. He got involved with sturgeon conservation because he has been passionate about fishing most of his life and lived close to the Fraser River for most of his life and so has a life long connection to the Fraser River. He felt the need to do something about the falling numbers of white sturgeon in the river so he got involved with efforts to address the issue.

Before the session started, Rick shook everyone’s hand and introduced himself to each person and wanted to know each persons name in return. There was a Q and A session as well as a photo op during which Rick told some entertaining and informative stories, some related to sturgeon and conservation and some related to other areas of his life like being on the Rick Mercer Show several times. During the presentation he spoke about his life up to now, as well as the sturgeon conservation efforts he and the FRSCS and various stake holders are involved with. The talk touched on habitat conservation and rehabilitation, what the various stake holders involved with sturgeon conservation are doing as well as what needs to happen going forward to help save the species for future generations.

On a personal note, I have wanted to meet Rick Hansen for quite a while so I am happy I was able to meet him at this event.

For more information about sturgeon conservation efforts on the Fraser River visit the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society website: http://www.frasersturgeon.com/

For more information about the Rick Hansen Foundation visit: http://www.rickhansen.com/

Yours truly with Rick Hansen.

Rick Hansen at the Port of Vancouver Community Office in Delta BC

Sturgeon dispay at the Port of Vancouver Community Office in Delta BC for sturgeon consevation talk

Boat used for Sturgeon fishing on dispay at the Port of Vancouver Community Office in Delta BC for sturgeon consevation talk

Canadian Coast Guard – Keeping our waters safe

I recently attended an interesting presentation hosted by the Port of Vancouver at their Community Office in Delta.

The topic was “who is keeping our waters safe”. Guest speakers Geoffrey Denman, Search and Rescue Program Exercise and Liaison Officer and Art Statham, Superintendent, Marine Communication and Traffic Services, Western Region provided some really great information and stories about what goes into keeping our coastal waters safe. Some of the volunteers from Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station #8 Delta were on hand with a display as well.

There is a lot going on in and around our marine environment to keep people, wildlife and property safe. There are boats and aircraft that patrol our waters looking for problems and performing search and rescue operations. Then there is all the radio communications between the marine traffic centre in Victoria and vessels using our waters to keep traffic moving smoothly and to help facilitate search and rescue. This is in addition to the work done to maintain buoys, navigation equipment, community outreach and providing boating safety education to schools, yacht clubs and the general public.

Did you know?

There are 27 manned light stations along the BC coast.
Delta Station 8 is responsible for 450 square miles of BC waters
The Canadian Coast Guard has responsibilities that reach out past the 12 nautical mile mark (territorial waters) to the 200 nautical mile mark (Exclusive Economic Zone).
The Canadian Coast Guard saves an average of 10 lives per day

More information about the Canadian Coast Guard is available at their website:

http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/CCG/Home

More information about Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station #8 Delta:

http://rcmsar.com/rescue-stations/southern-region/delta/

More information about the Port of Vancouver:

http://www.portvancouver.com/

cg2s — Art Statham, Superintendent, Marine Communication and Traffic Services, Western Region

cg3s — Geoffrey Denman, Search and Rescue Program Exercise and Liaison Office

15268528959_d85c69b64e_o — The Dash-8 that is part of the Spill Prevention: National Aerial Surveillance Program

14787743602_26c5b37c8b_o — The Dash-8 that is part of the Spill Prevention: National Aerial Surveillance Program

SONY DSC — Coast Guard provides security for cruise ships

8693542741_d9222a3f15_o — Coast Guard hovercraft

Fred Herzog exhibition

Saturday was a very cool day. I met the legendary photographer Fred Herzog who is well known for his street photography around Vancouver.
There was an opening event for an exhibition of some of his work at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver and Fred himself was there.
I was lucky enough to speak with him for a few moments about his work. Specifically I asked him about his images taken at night. There are fewer night images of his out there and I asked if he approached night time images differently than his daytime work. He didn’t get into the technical side of things but told me he didn’t do as many night time images because after a long day working he simply hadn’t the time and energy to go out shooting in the evenings.
I was thrilled to have my photo taken with him (even if my eyes are party shut in the photo haha). He suggested we take the photo in front of the gallery promo sign.
Award winning Canadian photographer Lincoln Clarkes was also at the Fred Herzog exhibition opening. I have seen some of his work and also saw a documentary about him on Knowledge Network so it was cool to meet and chat with him for a few minutes. There is a photo of he and I together as well…he is very tall.
I included a few overview photos of the event as well. It was well attended.

Canadian photographer Lincoln Clarkes and I

Fred Herzog chatting with those in attendance at the opening of his exhibition

The Fred Herzog exhibition was well attended

First A350 flight into YVR

Tuesday March 28 2017 marked the first commercial flight of the Airbus A350 into YVR and Canada (by Cathay Pacific Airlines). Like any other time a new aircraft type flies into YVR or any other airport there are usually “Plane Spotters” there to see and photograph the aircraft/event. The weather Tuesday was absolutely terrible so only the diehard spotters made it out for the arrival and or departure. YVR treats the plane spotting community pretty well especially on these special occasions and Tuesday was no different. Coffee, doughnuts and some swag were provided for the spotters by YVR.

We were hoping the A350 would land on the south runway which is closest to the south side viewing platform but sadly it landed on the north runway. (Weather, air traffic and other factors play into which runway is used so while disappointing it’s no ones’ fault.) Some spotters tried to race over to the north side for the arrival but I don’t think they made it in time.

Several of us decided to stay for the departure a few hours later and luckily it worked out that it would take off on the south runway which is closest to the spotting platform.

Plane spotters — Plane Spotters brave the rain for the A350

YVR 2037 Master Plan Open House (Phase 3)

I attended the latest YVR 2037 Master Plan open house last week. The YVR 2037 Master Plan is used for long term planning and development at the airport and the open house was another opportunity for the public to provide feedback on the future developement of YVR.

Here is some of what I learned about the updated plans.

Plane spotting location(s):

I have been interested in all thing aviation, from aircraft and plane spotting, to airport design and air traffic control for a long time. The latest YVR 2037 summary document says “plane spotting location”…singular. The diagram in the latest set of documents shows two (possible) areas…one on the south side of the north runway (26R/08L) near the east end of the runway and one by what is now known as “the dirt hill” on the north side of 26R/08L. I asked if there will be one or two plane spotting areas and is there a timeline for the construction of the plane spotting location(s)?

Nothing has been set in stone in terms of having one or two spots or in terms of construction timelines. Having said that, construction won’t happen next year but it won’t take 10 years either. I would like to see both locations become a reality but if I had to choose one it would be the location at the east end of the 26R /08L runway because it is more accessible. In talking with people from YVR I mentioned (again) to please make sure that any area or structure made for plane spotting is elevated enough so the fence is not in the way and make sure plane spotters are not looking/photographing through glass. The plane spotting area will most like be built into a larger development so how it will look is still up in the air. Hopefully when the new plane spotting area(s) are being designed, YVR asks the plane spotting community for their input on the design. Stay tuned.

Multi-use Pathway

The airport is committed to providing recreational amenities in and around the airport. There are plans to have a multi-use fully accessible pathway system around much of the island. The pathway would connect the Templeton Canada Line station to the terminal and connect the Designer Outlet to Flight Path Park along Templeton Street. There would also be a pathway along much of the east and southeast part of the island and along part of the north west part of the island. I asked if a pathway would ever go completely around the island to include the west side of the island along the foreshore at the base of 08L and 26R. LAX has access to the beach near the foot of their runways so I wondered if this was something we could see at YVR. The answer is basically no. There is not enough room between the tidal flats and the start of solid airport ground to build a pathway and it would be too costly a project.

North South Taxiway

The elevated north south taxiway is a go! There will be an elevated north south taxiway at the east end of the airport. This will provide a more direct route to the east end of the two main runways for aircraft at YVR. Construction will likely begin in 6-7 years while the planning (and preloading) will start to ramp up sooner than that. As a plane spotter and photographer I am really looking forward to seeing this project becoming a reality.

I had an interesting chat with folks at YVR about “PBN” Performance Based Navigation and also what it takes to physically accommodate a new aircraft type at the airport but will save those for another post (or two)!

For more info on YVR2037 visit: http://www.yvr2037.ca/

Happy Chinese New Year!

At Shangri-La Hotel for Chinese New Year celebrations!

I enjoyed the Chinese New Year celebration put on by the Shangri-la Hotel in Vancouver. The dragon dance and accompanying music was quite the sight (and sound!) to see. The crowd (especially the older kids) on hand enjoyed the performance as well.

It was a pleasure meeting the General Manager of the hotel Mr. Kari Koskela as well as some of the other members of the team at the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver.

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Evergreen Line Opening Day

I took a ride on the new Evergreen Skytrain Line extension on its opening day to check things out.

First impressions are mostly good. The new line uses the same mix of cars as the other lines, including the latest Mark III cars.

The stations are bright and shiny with all the standard and upgraded signage. There are large electronic signs that show how long before the next trains will be arriving and their destination along with other information. The stations seem larger than Canada Line stations as well, with room for a train with several cars.

The only negative from the trip on the train is that there is no cell phone service in the tunnel between Burquitlam and Moody Centre. I asked Translink if cell service would be available along the entire line including in the tunnel and the answer I got back was “Not at this time, but in the future that is a possibility.” So this was and is disappointing. Hopefully they do add the ability for people to use their cell phone on the train from end to end with no gaps. Maybe Telus will step up and invest in cell service on the new line?

At Coquitlam Station they had festivities and activities to celebrate the opening of the extension…food trucks, music, a vintage bus and various activities for the kids. There was a pretty good crowd on hand despite the heavy rain.

Time will tell how well the line is used.

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Gord Downie’s hats…

While at the Circle Craft Winter Market at the Vancouver Convention Center I had the pleasure of meeting and spending a few minutes chatting with Karyn Ruiz of Lilliput Hats. She designed and made the hats Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip wore on stage during the Man Machine Poem tour.

dsc01235s2 — Karyn Ruiz of Lilliput Hats

I have been a fan of The Tragically Hip for many years and was lucky enough to see them live in Vancouver on their Man Machine Poem tour. Seeing them in concert was both amazing and sad…amazing because hey it’s “The Hip”, sad because of Downie’s terminal health issues and this would be their last tour. I have very fond memories of that concert. And a major part of those memories are the bright outfits and very cool hats Downie was wearing during that concert. To meet and speak with someone who had a hand in creating those memories is very cool.

When asked what it was like to meet Gord Downie, who is to a lot of people, a Canadian icon, she said he was just a normal quiet man who was quite involved in the creative process of designing the hats.

She told me 6 hats were made for Gord to wear on stage during the tour with another two hats made to be auctioned off. And she mentioned how she printed some of the lyrics of two Tragically Hip songs into two different hats she made for Downie. The two songs were “Bobcaygeon” and “Done and Done”. Downie was surprised and really happy with that detail. How cool is that!

The auction was in support of the “Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund at Toronto Foundation”, “Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconciliation at The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) at The University of Manitoba” and “Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre”. The website with more information is https://www.courageforgord.org/ The website has a page where donations can be made and a gift shop as well. All proceed from the site support the above funds.

While we chatted she showed me some photos taken when she met with Downie at her shop and there were photos of him on stage wearing the hats she created.

It really was interesting to meet and spend a few minutes talking with Karyn. Maybe it’s time for me to upgrade from wearing ball caps to something custom made and a lot more stylish.

Below are a few cell phone images from the Tragically Hip concert in Vancouver BC, July 26, 2016.

The Tragically Hip concert in Vancouver BC July 26, 2016

Electric Buses

I had a chance to check out Greenpower Motor Company’s all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. They have been in the news in B.C recently when they provided the world’s first double decker all electric bus to the transit authority in Victoria BC.

From a passenger perspective, the fit and finish of the bus on display looks good. There are slight differences to the buses we are used with Translink buses here in the Vancouver area; the seats are a formed plastic with no covering or padding and there was no bike rack on the front of the display bus. There are two spaces for wheelchairs or scooters (or baby buggies too I suppose). There are plenty of hand rails to hold on to while standing and there are ample next stop buttons throughout the bus. The bus is also equipped with multiple (8) security cameras on board. I almost forgot to mention how quiet the bus is. While I was there they had to start up and move the bus and it was pretty much silent. In talking to one of the company representatives this was a big issue for Victoria testing out these busses for the cruise ship industry. If you have several busses waiting dockside for cruise ship passengers all running their engines and air conditioning it can be quite loud. These busses should help address the noise issue as well as the issue of emissions.

From an operators perspective the company says there could be more than $50,000 a year saved in diesel fuel costs and less money needs to be spent on electric bus maintenance.

It will be interesting to see how well all-electric buses are received not only in BC but across the country and the world.

Greenpower Motor Company’s all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre

Fraser Atkinson, Chairman of Greenpower Motor Company in front of thier all electric zero emissions bus at the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) Fall Conference and Expo held at the Vancouver Convention Centre

Let it ride…

I received the post season summary and accounting from my horse racing club manager. After all expenses, the club made a bit of money with our two horses Merlot and Shooting Jacket. Since I made my original money back and a bit extra I have decided to be an owner again next season. I will have both horses, Merlot and Shooting Jacket, again next season.