When I first moved to the Sunshine Coast 26 years ago as a production assistant in one of the community newspapers (while my roommate worked as a reporter for the other – our shared domicile was a thorn in the side of both bombastic publishers at the time) I can remember meeting up with all [...]
Thinking of hiking the Skookumchuck in January or February? The gals at the Sechelt Visitor Centre are just getting the 2013 best viewing times together, but they know there’s always the hardy types wanting to see this impressive tidal surge during the winter, when some of the highest tides and ranges make for some of [...]
Sunday September 16 found my partner Diane and I looking for a place to put in for a leisurely kayak and some marine level photography. We checked out our favorite spot by the Trail Islands but the wind was kicking up and the drift is fairly fast for photos there unless it’s calm – partly [...]
That’s right! Tomorrow is your chance to get out on the water for some standup paddleboard demos, beginner and advanced paddle stroke clinics… and you can even enter a short or long course race and test your mettle against other Sunshine Coast paddleboard enthusiasts. Demos are $5, and race entry fees are $15. All funds [...]
If you’re doing the bumper-to-bumper thing today getting into or leaving Sechelt and getting bottlenecked by double construction at Teredo and managed to get over to the Sechelt Elementary Grounds you were no likely astounded by the mushrooming of a tent colony on the school fields. Not to worry – it’s just the BC Bike [...]
I stumbled across a fabulous site this week – Sunshine-Coast-Trails.com. Created by Sunshine Coaster Becky Wayte as a labour of love (hey, I SO get that), Sunshine Coast Trails has an ever-expanding compendium of both hiking and biking trails across the Sunshine Coast. A phenomenal amount of work has gone into this web site – [...]
13 year old Magnus Manson has been declared the winner of the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Film Competition after intense online voting and the final vote cast by extreme freeride photographer Bjorn Enga. Magnus has won $1000 of bike/camera gear, and will have his film shown on Sunshine TV Network screens in Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, [...]
Woo-hoo… it’s here! WinterFest on Dakota Ridge, beginning at 10am March 10, 2012. The snow has been wonderful this season, with a base of 195 cm and it is snowing lightly as of noon Friday (today). Schedule: available on Alpha web site Highlights include product demos and tryouts, 5 & 10km ski races, introductions to [...]
There’s something magical about getting lost in the woods. In an era of gps, constant cell access, and reductive subdivision mentality in Canadian civic planning, it’s getting increasingly harder to even get lost close to home. Carless for a day, I decided to walk home and tried a new trail I hadn’t even noticed on [...]
by Editor/Publisher Laurie McConnell SNOW>>> Yes, we’re still waiting for the *real snow* of winter to arrive! But fear not, lovers of the stuff that gets down the back of your neck & the best face wash in the Western hemisphere… only 10-45 minutes away (depends on departure point) is tons of fresh, luscious snow [...]
by Jamie Mani, Alpha Adventures Outdoor Adventure Store The term getting “on the water” has taken a whole new meaning with growth a new water sport - Stand Up Paddle Boarding. This intriguing new paddle sport can trace its roots back to the Hawaiian Islands. In the 1960’s the “beach boy” surf instructors of Waikiki [...]
UPDATE: FESTIVAL RACE ROUTES AND PHOTOS: by Publisher/Editor Laurie McConnell Read my introduction to paddleboarding here Actually getting vertical on a paddleboard was VERY different from paddling on my knees or butt. On the good side, once I got going I created a little wake that sounded delicious rising up under the back of the [...]
So, this is me, Laurie McConnell, blissfully unaware of my fate on my very first paddleboard tryout with Wilson Creek’s Alpha Adventures (The Outdoor Adventure Store). BACKGROUNDER Before I share the festival information with you, I’d like to tell you my first paddleboarding story, in the hopes some other coach potato will rise up from [...]
by Editor/Publisher Laurie McConnell. Photo of Pam & John courtesy of Gardar Gardarsson of The Local Newspaper So here’s my goal for this year – to renew my boating education on all fronts. Suncoast Sailcruise will play an integral part. I have sailed before – 20 years ago I occasionally crewed on a 26 foot [...]
A clear example of competent steering at a clinic held by the US National Dragon Boating Club. Not an example of MY steering, or lack thereof. After my first true paddle practice dragonboating – and a full molar root canal two days prior – in my wisdom I decided to show up for steering try-outs [...]