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Memories crowded in as my eyes swept
the scene and I became lost in reverie...
until Laurie pointed out a monstrous
freighter bearing down on us. We dutifully
steered to starboard and the giant went by.
Once under the bridge and into Burrard
Inlet, which is an enormous, well-protected
natural harbour, we passed anchored
freighters from around the world—Asia,
Europe, Africa, South America.
On one side of the Inlet, huge cruise ships
were provisioning for trips up the coast to
Alaska; on the other, tall grain elevators
were loading prairie wheat into ships; coal
was being loaded from mammoth conveyor
belts; and everywhere tugs rushed about.
We passed massive Neptune Terminals
and swept under the two Second Narrows
bridges with the gathering current. Already
the tidal race was frothing on the far side of
the narrows and we danced on the turbulence
past shoreline industry—chemicals,
refineries, shipyards.
Rounding Cates Park, we turned into Indian
Arm. When I was a boy this was a
sparsely populated area, but now we were
met by the sight of houses of all shapes,
sizes and designs clustering the shoreline.
Looking past Deep Cove, however, the
Arm was still largely undeveloped. It reminded
us of one of the big inlets up the
coast, stretching majestically ahead of us, a
deep fjord snaking in among the mountains.
The beauty of this area has atttracted two
kayak operations: Takaya Tours and Deep
Cove Canoe and Kayak (see sidebar page 32).
As was evident to us, these two sites manage
to put a lot of paddlers on the water. It
Indian Arm beckons.
was great to see so many people out enjoying
themselves in such a beautiful spot.
Being hermits, we anchored in Bedwell
Bay, across from Deep Cove, and launched
the kayaks for a lovely paddle before heading
back to the boat for a quiet evening and
peaceful night.
Next morning we hauled anchor early
and headed up the mirror-still waters of the
Arm. As Laurie snapped photos, I stared upwards
at the peaks of Mt. Seymour Park,
remembering plunging into ice-fed alpine
lakes there after long hot summer hikes
many years ago.
➞
Laurie MacBride photo
JOLLY GOOD TRAP is a high quality crab trap made
with a 5/16 stainless steel frame measuring 14” x 13.5”
(41cm. x 36cm.) and weighing just 3.5 lbs. No assembly
required. Just release the hook and the trap springs open,
ready for fishing. A separate float package containing
the float, 60’ of line and a bait bag is also available.
For more details see
www.jollygoodtrap.com
or call 250-245-7407.
On your next trip—catch your dinner!
October/November 2002 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
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