FCRCC members,
As some of you may know, on Monday the dock situated in Alder Bay (Granville Island) was damaged due to debris and the low tide on that day. Ths dock was deemed unsafe for further use on Monday. The executive has been following the events since this affects our members and at this time we want to update you on what is currently occuring.
Some facts about the Alder Bay dock:
1. The dock is maintained by the Vancouver Parks Board and as such all maintenance is down through the Praks Board and the city.
2. The club, in the past, has provided funding for expansion of the dock but at no time have we ever "owned" the dock in Alder Bay.
3. The False Creek Community Center, in the past, has provided funding to expand the dock but they have never "owned" the dock.
4. The False Creek community center and FCRCC are users of the dock but are not responsible for the up keep of the dock or any maintenance.
So with the events of this week we have been working with the community center and the parks board to minimize the effect on all paddlers that use this dock.
As of July 7, 2004 the status of the dock and the necessary repairs are as follows:
1. The dock was damaged due to the shifting of weight during the low tides of Monday.
2. The walkway down to the dock was damaged at the same time as the dock and requires a signifcant amount of repairs to correct all of the damage.
3. We are in constant contact with the city and the community center to minimize the effect this has on our paddlers.
The dock does not look unsafe, is it?
If you have seen the dock and walkway the damage does not look extensive but the city has inspected the structure and has deemed both the dock and the walkway as unsafe. The most severe damage was to the walkway that connects the dock to the land. What is being down to correct the damage? The city is currently looking at a temporary solution to open up the dock as soon as possible. This requires a number of steps and fixes to be done to the walkway and the dock. If these temporary fixes work the dock will reopen while permanent fixes are worked on by the city.
When will we be able to use the dock?
The timeframe for reopening the dock is still up in the air but it will not be reopened prior to this weekend (July 10th) and as such only limited access to Alder Bay will be available until further notice.
So I am going out in a dragonboat?
Sea Village has graciously accepted our request to relax the 6 paddler rule for the dragonboats. That does not mean they want a free for all but they have been very good in relaxing the rule for us. To accommodate this, the rules for taking out a dragonboat are:
a. The dragonboat teams will line up at the community center (same as always).
b. You will notify the dock marshalls you are ready to begin your practice (same as always).
c. You will go over to Sea Village and load up in the appropriate dragonboat in a QUICK and QUIET manner.
d. You will return the dragonboat back to Sea Village and unload in a QUICK and QUIET manner.
e. You will vacate the Sea Village area as quickly as possible. If you are planning on having a meeting, please do so back at the community center.
We request that you follow these rules to as we want to be good neighbours to Sea Village and the rest of Granville Island.As a final note, at NO TIME should any FCRCC member or coach use the dock until it is deemed safe by the city. This is for your own safety. We have had reports of paddlers and coaches using the dock and refusing to leave the dock. We would like to remind you that FCRCC has a policy on abiding by rules that will be strictly enforced since we do not want anyone injured because of this event.
If you have any questions, please email the executive at
[email protected] or
[email protected]FCRCC Executive
