Ladysmith Maritime Centre Opens

In the October issue of Canadian Yachting and Canadian Yachting West, we erred in our description of the Raritan Electro-Scan sewage treatment system. The manufacturer claimed, and we repeated, an incomplete statement that this system treated onboard sewage to a level safe enough to pump overboard with no further treatment. In fact, this is only true in some jurisdictions in the United States. It may be true in Washington State, for example, but it is not true in Canada. In Canada now, no discharge at all is allowed within one mile of shore. And discharge is only allowed directly into the ocean at locations three clear miles from shore.

The devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 has created an enormous debris field floating in the Pacific, much of IT heading to west coast shorelines. Some US states have already made provision for a clean-up but Canadian authorities have so far not followed suit. The Maritime Museum of BC has stepped up with the creation of a reporting website on which they are inviting reports and, more importantly, photos of incoming debris. The museum is conducting a curated study of the arriving debris, almost in real time. Cooperating with local schools, the museum plans to teach about tsunamis, their damage and the ocean currents that transport disaster-related debris to our shores.

The 2012 National Bank Easter Seals WAVES Regatta drew 169 dinghies and keelboats to Royal Vancouver Yacht Club June 23-24, raising $175,000 to support operations at Vancouver’s Easter Seals House.

WAVES is produced annually by the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities in partnership with RVYC.

Catch Me, skippered by Philip Cragg, won the Easter Seals Cup, while top fundraising sailor was once again Rick Reynolds, who secured $7,000 in boat sponsorships.

Spring commissioning should include a look at everyday items that we often take for granted. Easily overlooked are inflatable PFD’s, but they shouldn’t be. These important safety items – which automatically or manually inflate with the tug of a pull cord – have been around over 25 years, but there are still quite a few misperceptions about these life saving devices and how they work. The BoatUS Foundation set out to debunk some of the myths: