c-to-sea

At this point, memory is just a tiny bit hazy but I seem to recall that Gary's expansion

attempts included a small brewery and that part of the reason it didn't go anywhere

was due in large part to his selection of partners in the ventures.

I also vaguely recall that there was a boat rental on the shore at Ambleside and it could

well have involved a ramp type launching system.

Our family boat had an inboard similar to the B&S and also steered with a rope system

running around inside the gunwhales. It made numerous trips to Bowen Island on summer

weekends when not fishing off Cape Roger Curtis.

Such a shame that this has to be bumped. Sure would like to know why it can't be a sticky.

We were off in North Saanich from 0730 to 2200. Tree fell across Wain Road. Hydro crews

worked very hard to restore us. Definitely affected BCF at Swartz Bay. Victoria Airport

was reporting winds at 36 knots, gusting to 51, which is Gale to Storm Force. Would not

have been a fun ride, even after they resumed as the wind here continued until about noon.

Wonder if we will ever hear from the moderators one way or another??

Second, third and fourth the motion. Renmar has been asking for this since he started

the thread. If it can be done, please do it. If not, please tell us why.

Thank you, moderators.

There is also a bus service from Horseshoe Bay to Downtown Vancouver that might work. It appears to be once a day

only but might be a better option if you have baggage.

http://www.islandlinkbus.com/booking/schedule_inquiries.asp

I think it depends on the ship. I know that Star and Sapphire have stair access from Lido deck

but have also read that other ships have access through one of the passageways. Also, I

think (JMHO) that access is restricted when the ship is at cruising speed.

Any bets on how long before this one is locked?

Yes

He is a pianist/singer who was on our Star Princess Antarctic in 2008. He is great. One

night he performed in the Atrium and drew crowds from all the other venues. It was a

formal night with the Champagne Waterfall. Every level was packed and people were dancing

in the aisles. We still have his autographed CD. WE are hoping he will be on Diamond next April

for our Asia/Canada cruise.

I have to tell the truth. This was taken with DW's Nikon L22 at 3.6x zoom, cropped and resized.

The yacht is Attessa IV, owned by Dennis Washington of the Washington Marine Group

and was a refit done in his Vancouver, B. C. shipyard. Formerly the Evergreen.

The picture was taken as she was anchored off Sidney, B. C., Canada July 25, 2011.

This was a couple of weeks ago. The Victoria Cruise Terminal allows up close and personal

when ships are docking. This is NOT a zoom.

Infinity

Since we seem to be into critters, a tree frog in our corn patch. This is a young one, about

3/4" long. Adults are only about 1 12" but they are the loudest frogs you can imagine.

Yesterday, I got my Fujifilm Finepix S1800 to replace my S700. This was taken

while having lunch with friends today. Used Super Macro 1/104sec f3.1

ISO64 5mm FINE mode. Original 4000x3000 (4.4mb comp.) resized to 1200 x 900.

I don't think it's too bad for a $200 camera.

Are you talking about the Victoria cruise ship terminal or Vancouver?? There are all sorts

of tours/cars/drivers at Victoria that can be booked right on the pier. Vancouver involves

either ferries, float planes or helicopters to do the trip in one day.

Christine asked me if we had some dailies with the information and we did. Here is what I

found.

Sailing Date: As of April 12-26 Auckland – Honolulu. (Same crew then Honolulu-Vancouver prior to drydock. Not sure of current names as some changes were

planned for the Alaska season.)

MASTER: Captain Zisis Taramas

Staff Captain: Leonardos Palaiokrassas

Chief Engineer: Georgios Spyrellis

Hotel Director: Sheldon Thompson

Cruise Director:James Calhoun

CC Host(ess): Marissa

Party Band: kristen Lee

Rendezvous: The Azure Quartet

String Quartet: Discovery String Ensemble

Michael's Club: Keith Turner

A Cappella: The Sea Sharps

Classical Guitar:

Guitarist: Tony Swamy

The Enrichment lectures were by Professor Clayton 'George' McGuire on Pacific History and Hawaiian Ambassador Paki Allen and the Hula Maidens.

It will probably depend on how crowded the bus is - do you really want to chance it?

We used the bus to get around quite a bit last month and it got pretty full most of the time.

Roberts Hawaii provises a shuttle bus from the airport to the hotels and from the hotels to

the cruise terminal for a pretty reasonable cost and they take baggage.

http://hawaii.gov/hnl/ground-transportation/airport-waikiki-express

Don't get me wrong - I still find the idea attractive.

I am still chuckling at the vision I have of the poor Post Office in Stanley and

the look on Samantha's face after each cruise ship arrival

when she is handed the huge mass of gifts,

all clinging to each other and inseperable by all but the strongest hands.

Oh, I forget - maybe it works the other way and they will be repel each other,

flying to all corners of the office. Either way, it should be fun to watch.

Thanks, Gixer. I think I have found it now. Looking forward to our visit.

Gixer

Thank you for taking the time to post all this information.

One question remains in my mind, though. We are on Star Princess

January 13 in Stanley (weather gods permitting). We are led to believe

that all of the local tour operators have been booked by Princess for

their shore excursions, so we will most likely be booking one of these.

It is a choice between Sparrow Cove and Bluff Cove. After searching

extensively, I have yet to locate Sparrow Cove on any maps. The itinerary

calls for a 20 minute boat ride, then by 4x4 to the cove. Would you be so

kind as to give me an idea of where Sparrow Cove is?

We had 6028 on Summit. Would always try for one of these Cat 2 cabins again. The

larger balcony is a treat and we had no problem with being observed from above.

Go for it.

A lot depends on how long the ship is in port. We were just there May 1 and arrived 10am,

left at 5PM. Like neighbours on 2 previous cruises, we opted for a beach day. Being

Sunday, there were a lot of local families on the beach and we had an interesting

chat with some of them. Paid $5 for lounge chairs in the shade.

More information on Huatulco at http://www.tomzap.com/huatulco.html