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Salt Spring Island Real Estate

MLS homes for sale by Scott Simmons

Swiftsure Yacht Race on JJ Flash

May 28, 2007 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

On Saturday the 26 of May two sail boats from Salt Spring Island, Caliente and JJ Flash, raced in the Swiftsure yacht race. The race is the biggest in the area attracting more than 200 boats from all over the west coast to race in different categories and routes. The course is from Victoria to the Cape Flattery through the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

I was on JJ Flash, skippered by Stuart Farson, along with a crew of Saltspringers and three young men from Edmonton on their first ocean race. It was my first Swiftsure and I had butterflies and queasy stomach the night before the race. It was a beehive of activity with all the boats tied up in front of the Empress Hotel in the Victoria inner harbour and about 1500 sailors. I thought I was prepared for the worst but little did I know how wet it would be.

Early Saturday morning our crew had a assembly line set up making 40 sandwiches in a borrowed kitchen in Victoria. We arrived at the harbour at 7am and spent time making sure we had our safety harnesses working and rain gear on. Then we started out of the harbour in a huge parade of boats of all descriptions. Once out side of the harbour we jockeyed for position on the starting line with boats coming at us from all angles. It was not easy to even find the starting line in the mayhem of boats. We maneuvered up to the line and started and we were off but too many boats were over the line early and we had a general recall. Now I thought the first start was confusing but having to turn back and maneuver through the next division that was moving up to the line was total chaos. Finally we were off and had clean air in our sails heading out towards the infamous race rocks. With the wind building up to 20 knots we here changing sails and hammering along. Once past the rock we had a windy sail out towards the Pacific with water coming over the bow and swamping the crew. The crew was sitting out on the rail of the boat using their weight to keep the boat as flat as possible. The water coming on board was bone chilling cold and went through rain gear easily. At one point I was on the bow when the bow went under and had the water fill both of my boots. Ug.

It was a real treat to see the trees on the Olympic peninsula up close and see how huge the ones left standing were. When we got to Neah Bay we had to circle around boat and start the trip home. The sun was setting and we had the wind to our backs and up the spinnaker went. Somehow as the foredeck man I apologize to the crew for the tangle on the spinnaker halyard. I don’t know how it happened but it was around the forestay and we got it up but I knew it would not come down. Now, to be out in the middle of the Strait Of Juan De Fuca with 20 knots of wind, in the dark with a spinnaker up and not being able to take it down is scary. If the wind had picked up we could have broached over and who knows what would happen. With the wind building we were given the order to spike the spinnaker. I spiked the guy, only to have the pole crash on to my head. Luckily my trusty wool toque took the impact and cushioned the blow and sacrificed itself to the ocean. If someone finds a old black toque floating in the strait it’s yours. With three of us tugging on the spinnaker with all our weight we could not bring it down. We had two choices, someone goes up or we fly it and try to unwrap it. We chose the latter and it worked. This happened in the dark while surfing down 6 foot swells. With the spinnaker down we flew the blaster and talk about flying we were on a 39 foot surf board calling out the locations of freighters and cruise ships. Did I mention we had no heat about or hot drinks? Cold coffee just does not warm you up. I was dreaming about a large TJ coffee with cream.

At about 1 am Stuart was on the helm when we noticed a rather big white light and green light bearing down on us…fright..UG…At this moment Roger Kibble took the helm, yelled out “gybing” and we came about and headed for race rocks. The freighter went by about a 100 meters off but why were we headed at the rock? Why not go around? Roger wanted the push of the current through the rocks. Did I mention our GPS was down, radio was out, wind gauges were not working, batteries where dying… The crew was bracing for the crash into the rocks, Stuart was calling out the position of the rocks off the navigation computer that was still working. “Rocks dead ahead 1 mile, Rocks Dead ahead 1/2 mile, Rock dead ahead 100 meters, Rocks abeam “. I still don’t know how we passed them but we did. Roger was just grinning and saying “we are not even close I have been way closer”. Well at this point the sight of the lights of Victoria looked like heaven after just being through hell’s gate.

If anyone would like to go in the Swiftsure next year, Roger is always looking for crew. I wonder why?

Filed Under: Salt Spring Sailing/Boating

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Salt Spring Real Estate Market Report

If you are looking for Salt Spring Island Real Estate it would be well worth your time to check out my Salt Spring Market Report pages.

To help you search for a Salt Spring home for sale I have two systems you can use.  One is a map based mobile search system for tablets and/or phones. This system works really well if you are on Salt Spring, as it will automatically show you properties as you drive around the island.

The other system is a data base (Advanced MLS system or PCS) for laptops or desktops.

These two systems display information in real time, which allows you to view new listings within one second of them coming on the market. You will also find the “sold” prices of homes, as well as other useful information.

Radio Real Estate Shows

TV show Realty Reality on Salt Spring

So glad shooting for the new Real Estate TV show “Realty Reality” is over. It was a lot of work. It all looks so easy on TV but in reality it was not easy. I think they were waiting for the “moment” to happen. You know the big fall down the steps or fall of […]

Home inspection on Salt Spring Island

Home inspection on Salt Spring Island happened yesterday at a 42 year old log home. To accomplish the home inspections the buyer brought in a  Home Inspector, Geo-technical Engineer and a local Salt Spring contractor. Jeff the home inspector tells the story about the bag of Gold he found in an attic; gold story How […]

Salt Spring home face lift

My clients bought this dated salt spring home a month ago and are upgrading it.  The home was built in 1996 and is structurally 100% perfect.  It seams as if the original owner skimped on the finishing.   The main up grade Alex Denny (salt spring master carpenter) will be doing for the owners is re-finishing […]

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Packing correctly can simplify the burden of the entire process for a household and potentially their moving company. By packing smart, using proper protocols, and paying attention to the details, things can be ready to go far before the movers arrive and ready to unload upon arrival. Here are some tips for busy home sellers […]

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Buying on Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring rental homes by the numbers

July 18, 2018 By Scott Simmons 2 Comments

I get many people asking me about buying a rental home on Salt Spring and usually spend a lot of time answering all their questions.  So in this post, I hope to cover some of the factual information. Here are the typical questions and basic answers; What is the rental market like on Salt Spring?  […]

Ban on Dual Agency BC

June 16, 2018 By Scott Simmons 2 Comments

On June 15th, 2018 the ban on dual agency just came into effect in BC. Here is a post I wrote about how the new rules will change the way I do business on Salt Spring New Rules for BC Real Estate As a continuation of the New Rules post, what happens if we are […]

New Rules for BC Real Estate

June 16, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

On the 15th of June 2018, the new rules governing BC real estate have come into effect. If you come to Salt Spring to look at homes and or land Scott will go over the form below and ask you if you would like agency representation and ask you to sign this Disclosure-of-Representation-in-Trading-Services as a represented part […]

Salt Spring Island Trust Land Use Zoning bylaw 355

February 17, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

On Salt Spring Island the Island Trust is responsible for our local zoning.  You can find our zoning info here at the Salt Spring Island Trust LUB 355. The bylaw has maps that cover every part of the island.  Believe it or not every few months or so I get an email from someone saying […]

Is an offer an sale?

January 26, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

This last month I had an accepted offer on a home and had a backup offer come in.  The backup offer was a very weak offer because the condition precedent (subject to clause) was so subjective.  It was subject to the buyer viewing and liking the lot.  Normally no one would take an offer like […]

More Posts from this Category

 

SALT SPRING NEWS

Salt Spring Housing Crisis explained

July 12, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

Is Salt Spring in the middle of a housing crisis?  It all depends on who you talk to and what one defines as a crisis. If you move to Salt Spring and have limited funds and are looking to rent a home at about $1000 per month your probably out of luck.  There are basically […]

Candidate for Regional Director CREA

March 7, 2017 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

I’m running for the position of board member Regional Director for BC for the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).  Below is my official platform after edits suggested by CREA lawyers. My name is Scott Simmons. I’m a REALTOR® on Salt Spring Island BC. If you go to the REALTOR.ca site and put in Salt Spring […]

CRD sewer and solid waste

January 23, 2017 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

The nuts and bolts of local goverment are really the non glamours basics of water, sewer and garbage (solid waste).   The CRD is the local service provider for Salt Spring.  On the night of 24 Nov 2016 Russ Smith Senior Manager, Environmental Resource Management for the CRD put on a waste presentation.  Here is a […]

Incorporation – A Third Option: Self-governance with contracted services

May 11, 2016 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

This was just posted on the Salt Spring exchange in 4 parts.  I have permission from John Gauld the author to publish this document on my Salt Spring web site;   SSI is known as a community that questions conventional practices and is creative and innovative in its response to community challenges. Perhaps the up-coming […]

Salt Spring’s new SSIWPA PAC

November 4, 2014 By Scott Simmons 2 Comments

If you live on Salt Spring you have to get used to all the acronyms.  If you have not heard of SSIWPA it’s because it’s new.   SSIWPA stands for Salt Spring Island WaterShed Protection Authority.  Today  was the first meeting of the SSIWPA PAC (Public Advisory Committee). The ideal behind SSIWPA is that it […]

 

Critical Salt Spring Buying Info

Ban on Dual Agency BC

June 16, 2018 By Scott Simmons 2 Comments

On June 15th, 2018 the ban on dual agency just came into effect in BC. Here is a post I wrote about how the new rules will change the way I do business on Salt Spring New Rules for BC Real Estate As a continuation of the New Rules post, what happens if we are […]

New Rules for BC Real Estate

June 16, 2018 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

On the 15th of June 2018, the new rules governing BC real estate have come into effect. If you come to Salt Spring to look at homes and or land Scott will go over the form below and ask you if you would like agency representation and ask you to sign this Disclosure-of-Representation-in-Trading-Services as a represented part […]

Sun Path Chart

Does the home get sunlight?

February 28, 2013 By Scott Simmons 1 Comment

If you’re planning to live on Salt Spring year-round, one of the most important things to consider when buying a property is SUNLIGHT. Do the neighbor’s trees or a mountain block the sun during the winter months?  According to Salt Spring real estate mythology, “If they buy in August, they will list in November and […]

Aggregate Days on the Market

January 2, 2012 By Scott Simmons Leave a Comment

What are “aggregate days on the market”? On the Victoria Real Estate board an agent can “Re-List” a property for a mere $25 fee.  An example would be if a home has been listed on the board for 180 days the listing can be taken off the market and then “Re-Listed” and appear to be […]

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