GORGEOUS VIEW...Wasn’t that a lovely sight seeing all those sailboats blowing into Discovery Passage Monday?
Kristen Douglas’ front page shot of the main pack of sailboats in the Black Press Van Isle 360 yacht race captured the beauty of blue waters, azure skies and colourful sails as the racers battled a sudden drop in wind by unfurling every inch of sail they could. It made for a picturesque moment.
There were a few people who made it down to the Discovery Pier and the foreshore to watch the boats come in. Campbell River is lucky in that we are one point in the round-Vancouver Island race that has a grandstand-like view of the race as the boats complete the third leg.
TANKS FOR THE AQUARIUM...Another great addition to the community opened last Saturday.
The Discovery Passage Aquarium opened on Oceans Day and was an instant hit. People lined up to be the first through the small but informative aquarium. The Discovery Passage Sea Life Society, which operates the aquarium, has hit on a good idea by showing the fascinating sea life that lives in the very waters just a few feet away. After a season of exhibiting, the sea stars, rockfish and anemones will be released back into the local ocean.
And while a lot of the animals in the tank will be deeper water denizens, our intertidal zone is very accessible in the Campbell River area. The Willow Point Reef in the very low tides of spring is always a fascinating place to visit. There you can see many of these animals “in the wild.” I always love seeing the bed of purple sea urchins towards the end of the reef.
TheDiscovery Passage Sea Life Society will also use the facility to educate people about their local oceans. The first of a series of presentations begins June 20 with a talk about cetaceans or whales, dolphins and the like. See the story on page A15.
WHAT’S GOING ON AT THE MILL?...Meanwhile, the question on everybody’s mind these days is what is going to be done with the Elk Falls Mill site that was bought by Quicksilver Resources of Canada Ltd. for $8.5 million?
Well, the company has put together a website (www.discoverylng.com) that at least shows what they’re thinking about.
The website says “upon regulatory approval, Quicksilver would construct a facility that would convert produced natural gas primarily from British Columbia into LNG for export to Pacific Rim markets in Asia.”
“Processed natural gas would arrive at Discovery LNG through a yet to-be determined transmission method from Quicksilver’s sites in the Horn River Basin in Northeastern B.C. Once arrived at Discovery LNG, the gas would be converted from a gaseous form to a liquid form through refrigeration to allow for efficient offshore transportation. In liquid form, the gas would travel by highly advanced, specially designed LNG carriers to LNG receiving terminals in Asia.”