Boom Boat Bumper Boat

Isn’t this the cutest little boat? It’s called a boom boat and is used to push logs around in the water. The logs are coralled in a ‘boom’ which is then anchored or tied ashore waiting to be towed to the Port Alice Pulp Mill.

The boat has a 360 degree rotational leg which turns the propellor. When you put the boat in gear the steering wheel is turned in the opposite direction you wish the boat to move. Here’s a picture of me driving it!

Kent, Pop, Tracy (niece) and I left home early Thursday morning to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. We stopped to visit Jean (cousin), Rollie and Auntie Nell in Sydney and had a great lunch with them and Gaie (cousin) and Glenn. Auntie Nell is 96 and her eyesight is very poor and her memory is fading but she’s chipper and was very happy to have company!

We left Sydney at 1:30 pm for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Campbell River, stopping at Costco in Nanaimo for supplies, and arrived at Jill (niece) and Jon’s in the late afternoon. We had a very late dinner, partied and chatted til midnight.

Jon went to work in the morning and the rest of us went shopping for more supplies. This is Spencer (great niece), Jill and Jon’s 2 year old.

She has the biggest vocabulary I’ve ever heard in a 2 year old and uses 3 and 4 word sentences. I’ve said this before, but have to say it again – she has great parents! They are quiet but firm when speaking to her and totally amaze me in their patient, loving, united care. Spencer is a lucky little girl.

We had lunch ready when Jon came home and we headed out in 2 vehicles for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Port Alice. Jon, Jill and Spencer went directly to Lee-Ann (niece) and Sean’s but we knew Lee-Ann was still at work so we stopped by to have a look at the site!

This is a log sorting operation. Lee-Ann is a log scaler and has worked at this site for 18 years. The logs are brought in in booms, scaled, then sent to market to be cut into lumber, made into pulp and paper or exported. I know this is a rather simplified explanation and there is much I don’t know about sorting and scaling!

Did you notice the beautiful view in the background? That’s Neroutsos Inlet – and it has a lot of nicknames by the locals, such as neurotic and neurosis – I think it can get pretty ugly and rough if you are power boating out there on a windy day.

Lee-Ann knew Tracy, Jill, Jon and Spencer were visiting her and Sean for the weekend but she didn’t know Pop, Kent and I were tagging along as well. We were her birthday surprise… We watched the log sort from a viewpoint and then watched as Lee-Ann walked to her truck to head home. She didn’t know we were there… but as we followed her up the road she figured it out. When she stopped at the highway, Kent pulled up beside her and she rolled down her window to ask where we were staying. Tracy replied, “The Watson Hilton” and Lee-Ann realized we were all there to help her celebrate her 40th birthday. I can imagine how she felt. Personally, I’d have been ready to murder whomever (Tracy) organized this little 4 day weekend of houseguests.

I must say Lee-Ann coped with us all very well after she got over her initial surprise and dismay.
She worked an 8 hour day, came home to a houseful, cooked dinner, made dessert and made us all feel welcome. I don’t know that I could have been quite so charitable! Of course, we stayed up far too late, drank and ate far too much and I suffered Saturday morning. Yes it was worth it.