I escaped for my second fishing trip of the year this past weekend and again got a first-time salmon fisherman out on the water with me. He didn’t do so well the first day, struck by sea sickness, but days 2 and 3 showed improvement and though the fishing was slow, there was no shortage of excitement on the water! We saw numerous bears scooping up mussles on the shoreline, including a sow with two of the smallest cubs I’ve ever seen. There were more bald eagles than I’ve ever seen there before and I am continually amazed by their size and keen eyesight. The orcas (killer whales) also put on a show for us on Sunday as they seemed to dance all over the water and somehow miraculously not touch a single fishing line. I don’t know how they do it, but somehow in all my years of fishing I have never seen a pod of whales disrupt any fishing gear. I’m sure anglers in Alaska feel differently though with recent reports of whales there that have taken to stealing salmon right off anglers’ lines! So best be on the watch if you are in that area or your salmon may end up like the one in this video.

I see all of this wildlife fairly regularly and continue to be awed, inspired and rejuvenated by it. So if you’re thinking of getting out fishing this summer, stop thinking about it and just do it! You’ll rarely regret getting OutThere! and enjoying all that nature has to offer. Don’t forget to take a friend to help grow the sport, and to check out the RBFF’s Take Me Fishing page.

Well this was it: the 2008 Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival was finally here. As we gathered at the race site on Saturday morning, there was a nervous anticipation in the air. More than 150 teams from across North America had gathered in Vancouver for the biggest dragon boat event in North America. Some of the teams were fun recreational teams full of team spirit, positive attitudes and crazy costumes that included wigs and super-hero capes; others were more serious competitive teams that had trained hard all year for this weekend with an intense mix of dry-land training and on-water practices. It was a fantastic weekend of festival fun and on-the-edge-of-your-seat racing that was capped off by the Guts & Glory race. The top 16 placing teams of the event (including that of yours truly - yay team!) competed in this 2000 metre race - the equivalent of 4 races in 1 - that required sheer determination and grit. Crazy passes, sharp turns and near-collisions excited the crowd as the 16 boats progressed the course. In the end the FCRCC team proved the victors of both the overall event championship and the Guts & Glory competition. Kudos to them and congratulations to my own team for such a great showing this weekend! Go team go! Thanks also to all the crew of 450 volunteers coordinating teams in the racers village, at the marshalling area, down on the docks and OutThere! on the water.

Entries like this one from usefulguy have started to come in for the Safe Boating Photo Contest. You still have plenty of time to share your photo and have the chance to see it used in the Discover Boating program and win a family pack of Mustang Survival life jackets.

Entering is easy using the free photo sharing site Flickr. Simply upload your photo and include the tag sbpc2008 and you are entered.

I don’t know know about you, but I am a total Facebook addict. I can’t go onto my computer without checking what my friends are up to or seeing what new requests I have gotten.

A couple people have asked why we don’t have a page on Facebook for people to become fans. Well, good news. As of today we do. The next time you are on Facebook do a search and become a fan!

Today is one of those rare Vancouver days where we get snow! It started to come down over night and depending on where people were in the Metro area it ranged from a couple inches to close to a foot. Now before any of our friends in the East start to laugh at us you have to realize this only happens a couple of times a year. We’re just not used to it. In a show of strength all of us in the Marketing department made it in to the office today. The forecast for later today is to warm up and be back to our usual rain. Its going to be one of those days where we dream of early March when the cherry blossoms are out and the crocuses will be in full bloom.

Sheldon our graphic designer went out and took some pictures outside our facility for us to share with you. Click on any of the pictures to go to our Flickr page to see the large ones. The Vancouver Sun has some other ones from around the city in a gallery.