Under Our Harbour

When we go kayaking in the Inner Harbour, (and you can see some of our posts here) the water's not like in the parks or ocean spaces we usually paddle. The harbour seems pretty dirty. I always wonder how many living things there are in the water. It's always nice to see a school of little fish go past our kayaks or the dock at Fisherman's Wharf. We usually see a seal or river otter, and sometimes a raccoon along the shore.
Now a local magazine, Hakai Magazine: Coastal Science and Societies, has taken a tour underwater and filmed a diver finding a surprising amount of sea life. It's only a few minutes long, and well worth viewing to answer the question of what could be swimming under my kayak in the harbour.

1860 Victoria Inner Harbour

Here's another excellent historical image of boats in the Inner Harbour of Victoria BC, from the archives at the Royal British Columbia Museum. This painting dates back to 1860, featuring as its highlight the steam paddlewheeler HMS Beaver.

What I like best is seeing the variety of boats in the harbour, including steamers as well as sloops and yawls and brigantines. The little rowboat and First Nations canoe near the shore on the lower left are most appealing. It seems that these boat-users would put a sail on just about any vessel, no matter how small!

The person who made this painting in 1860 was standing on the Songhees peninsula, close to the place where we like to launch when we're paddling in the Inner Harbour. Here's a photo that John took on June 12, 2011 from just offshore. See how the land rises in both images? The church in the 1860 view was the first version of what is now Christ Church Cathedral, on Quadra Street at Rockland Ave.

Retro Boat Racing

I've really been grooving on retro paddling styles, from old kayak videos that John finds, to old canoe photos in the Royal BC Museum archives, to boat racing in Victoria's Inner Harbour and on the Gorge.
On Facebook's Old Victoria page, Brad Rogers posted an old photo he found:

It looks much like another photo in the Royal BC Museum archives, and posted on their page about Songhees canoes. Click here for their page -- it's good reading and terrific photos. I like the discussion about how the style of boats being used here changes over time.

Here's an interesting old photo from the City of Vancouver Archives, of longboat racing in Victoria's Inner Harbour. Rowboats are cool, even if they're not kayaks. This photo dates back to 1895!

1890 Canoe Race on the Gorge

Found two old photographs in the City of Vancouver Archives, taken May 24, 1890. They show a holiday scene on the Gorge Waterway, and they're titled "Indian canoe race in gorge, Victoria, BC."  You can click here and here to see the image on the Archives website, and look through other images.

Wonderful to see the canoes, and the rowboats much like those newly-available through Whitehall with their reproductions of classic designs. The shoreline is still thickly forested, while nowadays in this industrialized part of the Gorge Waterway there are trees only on a few private lots and in parks.

I think the location of the 1890 canoe race is on the part of the waterway called the Upper Harbour and Selkirk Water. Races were certainly held here in the past. This part of the waterway is below the narrows under the Tillicum bridge, so these holiday boaters would be avoiding the reversing waterfall at the narrows. If you want to see some modern photos of Selkirk Water and the Upper Harbour, check out these posts on Kayak Yak with photos taken by John.

Historical Paddle on the Gorge

We kayakers are not the only ones who paddle on The Gorge, that narrow inlet that reaches from Victoria's Inner Harbour to a wide salt-water lake known as Portage Inlet. The Gorge has been the scene of human traffic in small boats for thousands of years since the Ice Age ended, and there are signs of all that use in the middens found at traditional First Nations village sites. There are some projects in place to restore the shoreline and water quality and bridges along this inland waterway.

For more recent history, in 1861 a noteworthy traveler was visiting Victoria, and the Hudson's Bay Company took her touring on The Gorge. This traveler was Lady Jane Franklin, widow of Sir John Franklin (yup, the Franklin who was lost on an Arctic expedition). This week I've been reading an interesting series of books on Arctic expeditions written by Calgary author Ken McGoogan. In one of these books, Lady Franklin's Revenge, McGoogan tells the story of Jane Franklin's travels around the world. It was a great pleasure to learn that on her last great trip, she reached Vancouver Island and actually rode in a canoe in my home waters.

The Hudson's Bay Company wanted to show off their local accomplishments, so the factor arranged for the town's worthies to accompany Lady Franklin on a boating tour. This sheltered inlet is well-suited for taking tours to show off the local shoreline and hills between the new town of Victoria and one of the farms set up to provide fresh produce. In a large Chinook canoe, Lady Franklin and her companion were conveyed by ten Canadian voyageurs wearing red shirts. They launched from the HBC wharf, which was probably located close to the foot of Fort Street today, (near the astonishingly good fish'n'chips booth Red Fish Blue Fish). A fleet of small boats carried dozens of local people along beside the large voyageur canoe.

The Gorge wouldn't have looked to Lady Franklin and her niece Sophy Craycroft as it does now, with industrial development at the wide place now called the Selkirk Water and houses along the shoreline where the waterway narrows. It would have looked more like the portion just north of the Selkirk Water, which has been restored to a more natural shoreline with trees and grass rather than concrete docks and buildings.

It was noted in The British Colonist newspaper that as Lady Franklin's boat passed under Victoria Bridge, "three rousing, hearty British cheers were given by a crowd thereon assembled." Ken McGoogan wrote on page 400 of Lady Franklin's Revenge that "Just beyond a rapids, at a place called Craigflower, Jane and her entourage relished an elaborate two-hour picnic before departing on their return journey to a final salute of gunshots."

So, where was this picnic held? Clearly, McGoogan doesn't seem to have paddled on the Gorge above the only rapids at Gorge Narrows. If the picnic site were as McGoogan says "just beyond" the reversing falls under the modern Tillicum Bridge, it could have taken place at either Kinsmen Gorge Park or the beach where the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club launches. Both sites have good beaches for landing and launching small boats, and sloping shores where picknickers still gather today.

But there's a better place for picnicking with dozens of people and small boats.
The picnic site might have been less than a kilometre above the Gorge Narrows, on what is now the Saanich side of the narrow waterway, at the present site of Craigflower Bridge, where Kosapsum Park now has a few picnic tables and a public restroom just above a sandy beach. It's possible, because the fine beach at this spot was there in 1861. There was also Craigflower Schoolhouse, built in 1855, and Craigflower Manor built in 1856 just across the water on what is now the View Royal side of the bridge.

This is a photo from Wikipedia, showing the white schoolhouse building above the sandy beach.

This site is very probably where the picnic was held. The shoreline is not steep, and would suit the 70-year-old Lady Franklin as she climbed out of her canoe towards a fine cup of tea. The beach faces south and on a sunny day in March it is very comfortable to sit here, warmed by the sun and sheltered from the wind. There's plenty of beach for the small boats, and room for people to stroll. It's no surprise that this site shows signs of thousands of years of use!

Another possibility for the picnic site is Christie Point, which was used in the coming decades by the Christie family of settlers and other daytrippers as an excellent place for picnicking and swimming. Christie Point is a little farther on along the waterway, jutting into the wide saltwater lake that is Portage Inlet. But I don't think that the 1861 picnic took place here. It wasn't a popular place for daytripping until there were more houses built along the waterway. Christie Point is not just beyond the reversing falls, and most of all, it's definitely beyond Craigflower Manor farm.

Y'see, the best reason to bring Lady Franklin out on this day trip was to show off how the HBC was "developing" the area. She had made a habit as she toured the world, to see buildings and projects of many and various kinds. Of course the HBC would show off one of their four model farms; Craigflower farm was the most successful of the four, and was already a reliable source of produce and dairy products for the growing community of Victoria. During the two hours the picnic lasted, the HBC would not have missed the opportunity to try to earn her praise.

Christie Point wasn't yet homesteaded in 1861, so it would have been thickly forested and a pretty site with a narrow shore. Neither Kinsmen Gorge Park nor the VCKC site were homesteaded yet, so it's hard to know how closely the trees came to the water at that time. All the trees now seen along the Gorge Waterway are second and third growth after the area was logged clear, so modern photographs aren't a good way to tell how much room there was for lounging picnickers.

It doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, to figure out exactly which beach a world traveler might have lounged on, but it interests me. I like seeing the connection between the colonial imperialists of Victoria and the way Lady Franklin got her way in the world. I like thinking of connections between daring Arctic explorers and long sea voyages, and the calm, sheltered waterway that is our home waters.

Rant

In what can only be described as a massive dereliction of duty, this week the Harper Government walked away from Federal Environmental assessments of thousands of propsed projects, almost 500 in just British Columbia alone, as a result of the changes it made to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Regular readers will recognize two projects mentioned on the this blog that no longer require a Federal Environmental Assessment. One is the Craigflower Bridge replacement, but the other is the more problematic and controversial mega-yatch marina proposed for the Inner Harbour, a plan that will see a marina built in Victoria's Inner Harbour to cater to dozens of huge yachts and which threatens to squeeze kayakers and paddlers of all sorts out of the Harbour altogether.
The mind boggles at the utter irresponsibility of this government, which is rushing at breakneck speed to turn this country into a ravaged tailings pond, the ruined leftovers of a dirty petro-orgy of strip mining, fracking and utter lack of foresight. The Prime Minister seems hellbent on turning most of his home province into a moonscape to get at some of the dirtiest oil on the planet, all for the sake of quick profit from an unsustainable energy source whose use will hasten disastrous environmental destruction.
I am speechless. I truly am.

Victoria Harbour Celebration

We put the kibosh on our kayaking plans before we even got out of bed this morning as a wind storm blew in over night. And then the rain started.
The kayaking bug has not hit us hard this year at all so far. We've only been out a few times. One reason is certainly the weather -- this is the coolest June in these parts in half a century. There's another reason as well, one we'll talk further about here in a couple of weeks. Foreshadowing -- the sign of a quality blog.
But we did have some paddling related plans, and Louise and I made our way down town to Celebrate Victoria's Harbour.


Have to say there wasn't much going on while we were there, but the weather wasn't cooperating and we couldn't stay very long. We did go for a ride on a Harbour Ferry between the two venue sites...

...some people did venture out on the water.

Province Approves Mega-Yacht Project and Sells Out The Songhees For A Song

The following open letter was posted on the Ocean River blog from Tim Houlihan of Save Victoria Harbour, an umbrella organization helping to protest the planned mega-yacht marina in Victoria Harbour. The Provincial government has now approved the Marina plan and will lease the water lots to the developer for the pricey sum of $24,000 -- annually. Yes, a huge chunk of Crown Land (or seabed in this case) that is undeveloped, unspoilt and picturesque AND IS OWNED BY YOU AND ME will be frittered away for a pittance. $65.75 a day. Okay, if the government has its heart set on spoiling this jewel of a harbour, making it damn near impossible for paddlers and rowers to use, and to promote an industry that relies on the burning of massive amounts of fossil fuels, well so be it, but at least let's get some money for it. $24,000 a year -- are you serious? It's no wonder they introduced the Harmonized Sales Tax, they're selling our province away for a song. No, even less than a song...for a verse and half a chorus.
Tim's post follows below:

Despite no approvals from Transport Canada on the Victoria Harbour Airport safety and the with no permit from the Minister of Transport to condone the “substantial interference” to navigation that the proposed marina will create, the BC Government has as of June 23, 2011, offered Community Marine Concepts a lease on the waters that is needed to berth the large vessels on what is now the “non motorized zone ” in Victoria Harbour. Developer’s cost in initial year $24,000.
The detailed information about the offer to lease, and its terms and conditions will not be made public except under a Freedom Of Information request. This request has been made and denied.
Prior to making the offer to the developer, Crown Lands, extinguished the title on the large lot off the Songhees. In doing this, the BC Government, by Ministerial Order, removed the opportunity for a subdivision approving officer at the City of Victoria to call the only public meeting that could be held by an approving body to assist in determining just what is the public interest. I’m sure that all of us would be at City Hall again to say NO! Mega Yacht Marina!
Where are we?
If the Federal Minister of Transport hasn’t made a decision in August of 2011, the Crown Lands people are operating on an indefensible grounds when they claim that, based on their evaluation of the input between Dec 2009 and April 2011, they have accepted a “public paddling corridor” which denies access to the larger human powered vessels today, and will, as water levels rise make the “paddling corridor” under the two concrete platforms more and more inaccessible for even the vessels like kayaks.
How can Crown Lands have made a determination that is in the Public Interest and assume that the non motorized zone of the Victoria Harbour Traffic Scheme will be re-zoned for large yachts when they have not received the final Environment Canada report nor the report on Air and Marine Safety, much less a permit to permit “substantial interference” with navigation, nor have carried out the consultations with “stakeholders” who use the non motorized zone?
How can Crown Lands have made a determination to offer a lease when shared studies of the Environment are not available. Have they used the studies that are subject to the Judicial Review which was adjourned when Transport Canada withdrew the contested Navigable Waters Permit?
Why?
In my opinion, it is obvious that the Crown Lands part of the BC Government and Transport Canada, both of which treat applicants as if they are Government Clients, have not considered the public interest, only the interest of their clients.
What to do? Ask for help!
1. As a human powered vessel user, ask these questions to the Attorney General of BC and the Minister of Justice of Canada. Crown Lands policy says that they are the elected officials to protect the rights of people like you and me who share these waters with the commercial air and marine users.
2 Explain to the Attorney General of BC and the Justice Minister of Canada that, as the operational departments of the BC Government and Transport Canada, treat the applicant -as client, you want the Attorney General of BC to intercede for you as a citizen of Canada and BC and protect these shared rights. Ensure that the non motorized zone of Victoria Harbour remains.
Please write now:
Attorney General BC
Honourable Barry Penner
PO Box 9044 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9E2
Phone: 250 387-1866
Fax: 250 387-6411

Harbour Celebration Sunday April 17

Here's a note forwarded from SISKA -- the South Island Sea Kayaking Association -- about next weekend's Celebration of our Harbour. This event is another practical way to demonstrate that a proposed MegaYacht Marina is not the best use for this public space in our harbour! When: Sunday, April 17th, 11:00am- 3:00pm Where: On land in front of the Songhees and on the water along the north shore of the harbour. Victoria Harbour Celebration Society is a group of human-powered advocates that will be hosting this first “Celebration of our Harbour” event. The group wishes to protect, celebrate and encourage safe use of our beautiful harbour. The vision is to have this become an annual event, with support from Tourism Victoria, clubs and businesses. This fun community event will have: · On land displays by the paddling and rowing clubs and companies that operate in Victoria harbour. The public can learn about the diversity of healthy, inexpensive, environmentally friendly recreational opportunities available to use in our beautiful working harbour. · Fun Citizen Exhibition Races for kayaks, canoes and rowing craft, starting with the outriggers at 11:30am. Everyone is invited to race! The sea kayak start time will be 12:10 with the start line at the Victoria Harbour Ferry wharf near Royal Quays. · David Anderson, ex-Olympic rower and ex-MP will be kayaking as well as speaking with the media. This is another opportunity to show the public and media how important safety and access through Victoria Harbour is to us as kayakers. There will be all the other human-powered craft there as well. · Let’s see a really good turnout from SISKA at this event! Volunteers are also needed to help with safety on the water. If you have a VHF radio and are willing to help, please contact Jennie Sutton at jsl50@shaw.ca or 250-592-6434. · Demonstration of different types of kayaks, rolling, etc. It would be good to have some Greenland style kayaks and paddles as well as the “regular” kayaks and Euro paddles. Hopefully some of the more skilled paddlers will demonstrate rolling, etc! Launch sites: Bamfield Park, Selkirk Waters, Esquimalt, VCKC, Kinsman Park, ORS dock, Songhees…contact Jennie Sutton if you need more information… See you there!

Son of Mega-Yacht Marina Proposed for Victoria Harbour Episode Two: Attack of the Zones (as in Zoning Bylaws... okay, yeah, an unwiedly post title, I admit it...)

....but we couldn't end the year without having another post about the mega-yacht marina proposed for Victoria's Inner Harbour, could we?

The new marina proposal is now before Transport Canada and the deadline for submitting comments to them is December 27, 2010. While the new design is signicantly smaller than the previous version, the Save Victoria Harbour coalition stills finds much at fault. Their website says, "Although the footprint of the marina has been reduced, other than viewscapes, none of the serious safety and operational issues associated with the marina have been eliminated. The meagre information provided so far indicates that the layout may not conform to the zoning restrictions. The layout violates the intent, if not the letter of the new zoning...The profile shown raises even more safety worries for paddlers and, in fact, the plans do not appear to satisfy the conditions of the Navigable Waters Act permit which was granted earlier this year."

After a year of protests by kayakers, other paddlers, and other interested groups, Victoria city council to voted to amend zoning bylaws regarding the proposed site earlier this year. However, the developer has vowed to carry forward with his plan, despite the pollution and congestion it will cause in the harbour.
Help stop the marina, click here.

Mega-Yacht Marina Project to Go Ahead

The developer behind the propsed mega-yacht marina planned for Victoria's Inner Harbour announced it will carry on with the project despite the city's rezoning of the marine lots that will limit the size of the marina and reduce its scope. As reported by the Victoria Times-Colonist this morning, "the company had wanted to build two one-storey commercial buildings on water lots they own at the site, along with a marina on a leased 2.63-hectare provincially owned water lot for 52 boats ranging in size from 65 to 135 feet. But after hearing from more than 40 speakers — mostly opposed to the size and scope of the proposed Victoria International Marina — Victoria councillors rezoned the water lot Tuesday night, effectively shrinking the number of slips that can be built to between 26 and 28 from the desired 52."
However, the spokesperson for the company now says that amenities planned to placate the local paddling community which, among other groups, has vigorously opposed the project may have to be scrapped. These include a kayak launch and landing dock, and paddler right of way through the marina. "It's hard to see where we can actually fit them," he said.
"There's not so much an obvious place now but we'll have a look. They were always a nice fit. We liked the idea of paddlers being able to stop in and have a coffee at the café or go visit friends. It gave a nice feel to the project."
(We liked the idea of being able to paddle in the area without risking getting run over by 135-foot yachts, and maintaining the way of life of the people who actually live in this city and use the harbour all year. But I digress.)
In an editorial on the subject, the Times-Colonist notes the failures of every level of government in dealing with this issue:

The last-minute decision is unfair to the proponents and the public. It sends a negative message to potential investors, who must now wonder if their efforts will be sabotaged by a last-minute change in the rules.
And the rezoning offers no assurance that the concerns raised by project opponents will be addressed.
The last-minute rezoning is the result of a series of failures. The city failed, over the years, to put in place proper zoning (apparently in part because the provincial government wasn't keen, though it's hard to see why that mattered). The federal government's review process failed to allow public input or address a wide range of concerns. The provincial government, as owner of a water lot necessary for the project, failed to consider the public interest in deciding whether to lease the property for the marina.

The biggest failure is the failure of all levels of government to not listen to the people they serve. We don't want a marina there. The provincial government is currently facing the consequences of not learning this lesson with the HST issue and its backlash -- the other levels of government would be wise to pay attention.

A Solution Only A Lawyer Could Love

In a classic political compromise that left no one happy, Victoria city council voted last night to rezone the site for the proposed Mega Yacht Marina for the Inner Harbour. This will allow the marina to proceed, but on a much smaller scale. Needless to say, neither side is happy.
According to the Victoria Times-Colonist, "[t]he city-initiated move eliminates heavy-industrial uses at the site, and reduces the proposed marina's footprint by prohibiting structures such as piers and wharves in part of the provincially-owned water lot in front of the Songhees area of Victoria West."
However, the spokesperson for the developer said that the rezoning will result in the loss of public amenities as part of the project. "The removal of over 40 per cent of useful water space from the eastern and western ends of the marina will make it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to deliver public access amenities that have been volunteered such as kayak launch and landing docks," the spokesperson said.
Opposition to the plan has been plentiful and constant, particularly from the local paddling community. To quote the Times-Colonist again:

Opposition to the plan from some residents and harbour users has been persistent and loud. Speaker after speaker addressed council in support of the downzoning — with many saying it didn't go far enough. The number supporting the council's action vastly out numbered those opposed.
Leading off was former Victoria mayor Peter Pollen, who called the marina proposal "grotesque."
Proponents say the facility would bring revenue to the city as wealthy boat owners spend money on everything from supplies to boat repairs. But Pollen said it would actually be a storage marina for mostly foreign-owned mega-yachts.
To suggest that such a marina had approval when he was mayor is a misrepresentation, he said.
"It was a concept but there wasn't any approval of city council," Pollen said.
Opponents, some of whom are residents of the Royal Quays condominiums at Songhees, said the proposed marina would be out of place and spoil the harbour and walkway.
They also worry that the project would block views, make the harbour unsafe for other water users and obstruct paddlers.

The development process has been cumbersome and confusing, with many people of both sides unsure of who the final authority is in this situation, and no level of government willing to step up and take ownership of the decision. A spokesperson for Save Victoria Harbour told B-Channel news before the meeting that "...I would really like to see is the provincial government to step up and listen to the electorate and just deny the lease, it’s that simple. The province is saying it’s up to the city, but the city’s hands are really tied. The property belongs to the province; it’s the province that can stop it."
Some council members took other levels of government to task for their handling of the proposal. As reported by CBC, Councillor John Luton "criticized the higher levels of government for their lack of public consultation. Neither the federal nor provincial governments has held public meetings on the marina proposal, and federal reports that approve the plan have not been released to the public," while a local resident told the council she believed the mega-yacht marina would harm the public good: "It's not just about kayakers. It's not just about the residents of the Songhees. It's about all the residents of this whole city. We all use the downtown area, the harbour area, and we all enjoy its beauty."
Local federal MP Keith Martin believes the marina will raise congestion in the harbour, creating an accident waiting to happen. He told local radio this morning that he thinks "...due dilligence hasn't happened in terms of a safety perspective in looking at this marina. Move the marina somewhere else, but not in the harbour. It is, as far as I can see, a significant potential hazard to health."
The developer was not thrilled with the result either. As reported by C-Fax, the developer's spokesperson said, "The rezoning really is a blunt instrument which results in a political compromise which really satisfies nobody. I don't think the rezoning satisfies what the public was looking for, those that spoke in opposition, and it doesn't satisfy you know those that spoke in favour, and us as the proponent. So I don't think there's any winners in this process tonight."
The developer gave no indication whether it would proceed with a scaled-down version of the marina.

B-Channel News has published an in-depth info page on the issue with lots of interviews and videos. That page is here.
Below is one of the videos, an interview with a local paddler describing his concerns on paddling in the harbour after the marina is built.