FIRST DINGHY PICNIC OF 2008

The sun shone, the wind didn't blow, we didn't either of us have a kazillion other things to do (both at the same time!) so I stopped at the Deli on the way home from my Knitting Guild meeting this morning and got picnic fare. When I got home Michael had the dinghy all packed and ready to go, and off we went. (Hope you all got over my April Fool's joke yesterday ... I'm pretty sure Michael and I are still happily married!)

Of course, we were no sooner on the water but the wind came up -- so we couldn't head into the Inner Harbour or we'd get cold too soon. Turned around at the Johnson Street bridge, and headed back past our marina to the Upper Harbour ... just at the start of the Gorge Waterway (the southernmost part of which is referred to as the 'Selkirk' Waterway) I wrote about a day or two ago.

Anyway, we'd forgotten the anchor so we ended up tying up at the dock at Point Ellice House (not yet open for the season) to get out of the wind and have our picnic supper.

Here's the view we had from our 'diner' this evening:

... and our company:


On our way back to the marina after our picnic, we passed the pilot boat 'on the hard' at Point Hope Shipyard across from us...

But I'm glad to be home for the evening, because I'm really excited to be working on Sivia's Moonshadow shawl - I've now made it through the edging and the first full pattern repeat, and it's going swimmingly ....

I put an extra bead row in the edging, and it looks lovely!

THE GORGE

The City of Victoria is wrapped around an 'Inner Harbour,' which leads to an 'Upper Harbour' (where we live), and then beyond us is called the Gorge Waterway. It is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, but feels and looks more like a river as it cuts northwest through primarily a residential district.

It's beautiful, and historically has been a social gathering place for rowers and paddlers; these days the waterway is used a lot by competitive teams for practice -- dragon boats, outriggers, kayakers and voyageur canoes go up and down the waterway at all hours of the day and night, and there's always something to see.






The Gorge Waterway Action Society is a registered charity dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of the Gorge Waterway. Check out some of their ongoing projects

Here's some more info about the
attractions along the Gorge ....

I couldn't have picked a prettier place to live! From now until September we will, a couple of times a week, pack a picnic lunch or supper, and 'head up the Gorge' for a few hours, or the whole day -- anchoring in front of Point Ellice House to eat, sliding over the sides of the dinghy for a swim, looking for swans to feed, etc., and doing our part to keep it clean and pristine.

'BIG BLUE'

The Johnson Street Bridge was designed in 1920; it is a ‘Bascule’ bridge -- one end rises while a counter weight lowers on the opposite end to let marine traffic into the ‘Upper Harbour’ (where we live) here in Victoria. The Johnson Street Bridge has two separate Bascules, a railway section and a highway section. Joseph Strauss, of Strauss Bascule Company Limited, who held the patents on the design, later designed the Golden Gate.



The bridge’s superstructure contains 100 tons of steel, and the sub-structure contains 10,000 cubic yards of concrete. The counter-weight block weighs 780 tons, which balances the 350-ton opening span; two 75-horse electric motors power its ups and downs.
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The bridge construction was completed (cost: just short of a million bucks) and opened in January, 1924. The original wood timber deck was replaced by steel grid decking in 1966.

In 1996 the Johnson Street Bridge starred in its first major motion picture, "Excess Baggage" starring Alicia Silverstone. During filming, the bridge was closed 12 hours a day for a week, and the pedestrians, cyclists and 30,000-odd daily vehicles had to use other routes through town.

The bridge has been in the new again the last couple of weeks ...
Blue glow proposed
and
Demolition Permit for buildings

But for me, it's just part of the 'neighborhood.' I can see it going up and down throughout the day -- a siren similar to a fire truck sounds first, which is great because I have time to stop whatever I'm doing and go up on the bridge (of our boat, that is) to see if anything interesting is coming in or going out!

WAITING TO EXHALE

One of our favorite pastimes here in the harbour is going for rides in our little inflatable ... an activity we're sorely missing and looking forward to when these cold days get behind us! Michael is specially looking forward to taking the boys out now that Gibson is a bit older...

Living in what's called the 'Upper Harbour' we usually don't have to go far for entertainment - there's a working shipyard right across from us.

This tug is the Benjamin Foss, which was built in Houma, Louisiana in 1980 and is 75 feet long and 26.3 feet wide. It's currently running out of Gray's Harbour, Washington, but we see it often here. Here's a clip from a press release about Foss Maritime in Seattle:

"The Foss Maritime Company’s commitment to environmental stewardship was underscored last month when a top maritime organization recognized 59 of its vessels for outstanding safety records.

The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) honored the Foss vessels at a CSA achievement dinner in Washington, D.C. Altogether, the ships have achieved the equivalent total of 362 years without an environmental mishap."

Pretty impressive, huh? Well, we hope to be in our little dinghy to great ol' Ben next time she goes by our marina!