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Jaksa, Chris
and Tanod, Lynn. Guiding Lights: British Columbia's Lighthouses
and Their Keepers. Vancouver: Harbour Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-55017-186-0.
112 pages, 120 colour photos and maps, hardback. |
For
the boater, weekend adventurer or anyone in love with the unique scenery
of coastal British Columbia, Guiding Lights: British Columbia's Lighthouses
and Their Keepers is a delight. Author Lynn Tanod and photographer Chris
Jaksa explore more than 20 of the lighthouses that pepper BC's 27,200
kilometres of rugged coastline, from the beacons of busy Vancouver harbour
to Green Island, BC's northernmost lightstation.
Setting out to capture what may well
be a fading legacy, Tanod and Jaksa were interested not just in the
lighthouses themselves but also the personalities within. "…we
wanted to meet the people who choose this career for themselves today.
Who are they? What do they do? Why do they do it?" Spurred on by
the Canadian government's 1995 announcement of the decision to destaff
and automate BC's lightstations, the authors take us by dirt road, boat,
helicopter and small plane to many of the most remote locales on the
coast, sharing the beauty, isolation, unique charm and romance of both
the stations and their keepers.
From the first glimpse of the cover this
book captivates, drawing the reader in with hundreds of exceptional
colour photographs, many full page, then rewards the more curious with
a history of each station and an introduction to the personalities on
the watch. The thumbnail maps alongside the stations featured help keep
the reader oriented and give a real sense of place, even to someone
not overly familiar with the geography of the coast.
While the Canadian government has, for
the time being, stayed its order to automate the stations, their fate
still hangs in limbo. More than just a coffee-table book, Guiding Lights
is a monument to these lonely outposts and a tribute to a lifestyle
that may well soon be part of the past.
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Maloney,
Elbert S. The Boater's Handbook: The Indispensable Look-It-Up Book:
A Chapman Nautical Guide. New York: Hearst Books, 2002. ISBN 1-58816-050-5.
320 pages, soft cover. |
How
long is the tidal cycle? What goes into a properly stocked marine first
aid kit? What is the correct rope to use for a flag halyard? Even the
most seasoned boater will appreciate The Boater's Handbook: The Indispensable
Look-It-Up Book, now in its third revised edition. Author Elbert S.
Maloney brings his almost 50 years of boating experience to this information-packed
reference manual, putting a wealth of general marine knowledge, tips
and tricks, and important boating information right at any skipper's
fingertips.
A sturdy soft-bound book, each of its
sections is tabbed for quick location, and its size is both large enough
to be clearly readable onboard and small enough to be easily carried
in a pocket from ship to shore. And it's easy to see the practicality
in this; although designed as a quick reference manual, The Boater's
Handbook is interesting reading for its own sake, covering such diverse
topics as navigation, marine electronics, yacht club etiquette, government
regulations and vessel lighting. It even offers information on how to
choose the right propeller and how to read a barometer. The abundance
of handy charts, illustrations and photographs that go along with each
topic round out the book, and with the text make short work of getting
the facts both the novice and the experienced captain need, and reward
a longer perusal with a great depth of valuable insight, wisdom and
advice.
Although written more with the powerboater
in mind, much of the information presented will be useful to the sailboat
captain as well. A must-have for anyone who takes to the waves, you
or the boater on your list will soon find The Boater's Handbook an indispensable
addition to every onboard book locker.
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Armitage,
Doreen. Burrard Inlet: A History. Vancouver: Harbour Publishing,
2001. ISBN 1-55017-272-7. 324 pages, hardback. |
Lost
amid the hustle and bustle of urban Vancouver, it's easy to forget that
Burrard Inlet is more than just a traffic obstacle that jams Second
Narrows Bridge with commuters each weekday morning, more than just a
wide vista to be glimpsed a moment heading home to the North Shore over
the Lions Gate Bridge, more than a place for freighters to loom anchored
and idle off the beaches of Kitsilano awaiting orders and cargo. In
Burrard Inlet: A History, avid boater and local history expert Doreen
Armitage takes a 30,000-year journey from the inlet's earliest glacial
origins to its present status as the third largest port in North America.
For thousands of years before the arrival
of the first Europeans, Burrard Inlet was the fertile hunting and fishing
ground of a broad mix of Aboriginal peoples. In 1791, Spanish explorer
Jose Maria Navarez became the first to sail the inlet's waters, but
missing the entrance to First Narrows he returned to the Spanish anchorage
at Port Discovery, leaving the inner harbour to be discovered by England's
Captain George Vancouver the following year.
While the promise of a rich deposit of
coal, which gave both Coal Harbour its present name and what is now
Stanley Park its original name of Coal Peninsula, proved fruitless,
it wasn't long before enterprising colonists realized the potential
of the abundance of prime timber on the inlet's shores. Burrard Inlet:
A History traces the development of the inlet from these earliest industrial
beginnings, through two world wars and seemingly innumerable fires,
explosions, disasters and epidemics, to its present status as a world-class
port striving to strike a balance between industrial, recreational and
conservation needs.
The history of Burrard Inlet is the history
of Vancouver itself, one whose drama and struggles come to life in Burrard
Inlet: A History. A finalist in this year's City of Vancouver Book Awards,
the pages are filled with well-crafted text, hundreds of black and white
photographs, and exhaustive quotes from many of the pivotal personalities
that helped shape the inlet, and what has become one of the world's
great cities, into what it is today. 
