The Macaw’s Portuguese Water Dog

Fred Bailey

8 years ago

‘Macaw’ side view. Built in 1956, every fitting on her is solid bronze. The skipper’s crew is a magnificent Portuguese water dog named Wilson.

Well, a week and a half later I’m writing the next paragraph in the middle of another sleepless night. I’m back in Ladysmith after a very successful gig and back to frantically scratching around for survival dollars. The movie scrum is gone. A few remained to repaint the shops and put things back the way they were. Did it ever really happen? The fall rain and drizzle are back and life settles into a dreary routine. Only six months till spring. Southern latitudes are calling loudly.

Returning to normal. There have been a few spectacular weather days.

Full normal at the corner of Seemore and Do-Less in the wind and rain.

I’ve always been a sucker for a Bristol channel cutter. no exception here.

Active Pass. A conundrum unfolds. Many tons of ferry in opposing directions, swirling tides and fortunately, no other yachts.

Old S2. The second buoy up the mouth of the Fraser River. The tide is at an hour after low slack, which means that the ocean is flooding into the river and slows the current enough to allow boats like mine to slowly ascend the river. The Sea lion is ubiquitous to each buoy.

Once in a while I find a media item that I feel is worth mentioning. A friend mentioned a BBC series on YouTube called ”Great Canal Journeys.” It is hosted by geriatric British actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales. You do remember her. “BASIL!” Say no more. They’ve spent much of their fifty year marriage touring the canals of Britain aboard their own narrow boat. This series is beautifully filmed and presented; a welcome and refreshing interlude. Also prescribed by another friend, and also on YouTube is a series by Philomena Cunk (Hmmm, two lugubrious English female names!) She too is utterly delightful with subtle humour and charming wit, a master of Elegant rudeness.

The loveshack, a float house in the waters of Ladner.Of course it could be a Seagull mosque

Community.
Part of the wonderful float home lifestyle prevalent in the backwaters of the Fraser River.

Sand Heads. The iconic light and weather station at the mouth of the Fraser. It is where many voyages begin and end.
A lightkeeper’s house used to sit here where many a long, stormy must have been spent. So isolated and yet within close view of three million people.

I think I’ll make a cuppa and watch some more canal yachting. I always find myself wondering how they manage to find all those sunny days in England.

“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another.” ….Thomas Merton

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