Week 6!

Oh my goodness, it’s been 6 weeks! Things are really starting to pick up at the Port, and it is really making time fly. We have been getting busier every day, and certain times are really hopping! To the south of Nanaimo’s harbour is a very narrow channel called Dodd’s Narrows and it is one of the more treacherous passages on the inside of Southern Vancouver Island. Most boaters decide to wait until “slack tide” (boat talk for the time between ebb and flow, or when the tide isn’t changing), and this generally means that about 40- 50 minutes after slack we have a rush of boats; anywhere from 2-10 boats showing up within minutes of each other. It is a really fun time because we are on the verge of running on the docks to tie up gigantic, $100,000.00+ boats as fast as possible. When we are on a Dodd’s run, two hours can be over in what feels like minutes. Things are definitely getting exciting, plus I get to see some of you guys sometimes which is just an added bonus! See you in a week!

Week Five

Summertime and the livin's easy. Bradley's on the microphone with Ras-MG. All the people in the dance will agree that, we're well qualified to represent the...oh jeez. Sorry, it's summertime, and that means that I break into random acts of Sublime. All is well at the Port, things are starting to get busier, which is good. This week has been good, closing up shop at night has been another new one, with lots of "interesting" people and scenarios to keep us busy (and entertained) through the night. Our schedule is changing to a 3 on 3 off rotation, which means that this weekend I am going to the Tragically Hip, and the next two weekends I will be camping on Newcastle and at Elk Falls. We deal with a large number of tourists, which is awesome for me, and I have actually been able to help people find destinations and attractions that they never would have known about otherwise. Exciting times!

Week four is through...

Well, week four is complete (almost, I guess I still have one hour to go), and it has been another good one. More of the same I suppose, boaters needing moorage, ropes needing to be tied, and washroom needing to be cleaned. Micki came down and visited Jordan and myself this week, and we tried (unsuccessfully) to not squint during our AM photoshoot. I hope that we were able to capture a few images that will work out. Otherwise, it has been another good week at the port. We will be going to a three on three off schedule soon, which means that I can start trying to plan some camping/hiking trips around the island. Awesome. Catch you all in seven more!

Week three ya'll!

Boat Show! This week was really busy, full of things to do, and was punctuated by the 5th annual Floating Boat Show on the weekend. The Boat Show was really good, tons of people came down and checked it out, the weather was awesome, and VIU’s culinary department was cooking up some delicious seafood. The boat show was interesting to say the least. I spent most of the weekend selling tickets at for the boat down by Protection Island/Dinghy Dock ferry. No matter how many signs we put up, people still managed to walk past them all, and then be totally mad that they had to spend 3 dollars to come onto the docks for one weekend out of the year. Despite how miserable people could be through the weekend it was very enjoyable. Too much time in sun has given me an awesome case of heat stroke or sunstroke or something like that. See you guys next week!

Week two!

Week two is well under way. Weather is fantastic, blowing a slight sou’easter. Nautical themes have been infiltrating my daily life very subtly. Week two has been good. I am on day 5, and tomorrow will be the sixth day of the week! We are gearing up for our annual floating boat and marine trade show, which should be quite awesome. Also next weekend we are hosting the Van Isle 360, so it should be full-on. Work has been really good, and I am able to do all sorts of different things everyday. I spent a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday out with a fellow Tourism student, Jordan, canvassing the downtown with posters for our boat show. Overall a good week, plus we had a lovely seal come and visit us early in the week to entertain us for the a while one morning. See you all in week three!