Thursday 27 November 2014

West Coast Tuna Fishing

Most people associate tuna fishing with more southern (warmer) waters, but in late August and early September the waters off the west coast of Vancouver Island can warm enough to bring the thrill of tuna fishing to local fishermen.



When they know the time is getting near the messages start. Someone is watching the water temperature sites, and texts and emails fly back and forth between friends and acquaintances, checking to see if the temperatures and conditions are right for a run out to the open water of the Pacific off Vancouver Island.

You can be sure Ed will be out there at least once, more if he can manage it and conditions allow. The thrill of the chase never gets old, and Ed is always grinning when he returns.


It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!

Thursday 20 November 2014

Nature Lessons at Your Back Door

Vancouver Island is world famous for salmon, and there is good reason for that. Many of the rivers on the island are salmon bearing, meaning that salmon spawn in those rivers. A number of the rivers around Campbell River are salmon bearing, and every fall a walk along the river becomes a lesson in the lifecycle of the salmon.
A shallow tributary of the Campbell River, where the salmon could be both seen and heard as they moved their way upstream. 

Two salmon still following nature's call to spawn in the rocks of the stream bed.

Once done, the fish die on the banks and in the shallows of the river, creating a smell unlike any other.
 
 
On the coast nature is often in your face, raw and unfiltered. When the province used the slogan "Super Natural BC" in their marketing a few years back, it was extremely appropriate. It's a big part of what attracts people to the region, and what keeps people here.
 
It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!


Thursday 13 November 2014

What Are FINTRAC Forms?

FINTRAC forms have become a standard part of the Real Estate paperwork. FINTRAC stands for Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. The completion of these documents by realtors and the brokerages they work for is a federal requirement.

According to the government's FINTRAC website: FINTRAC is part of Canada's national initiative to combat money laundering and terrorist activity financing. It is a specialized agency created to collect, analyze and disclose financial information and intelligence on suspected money laundering and terrorist activities financing.

Not only is filling out the documents required for every transaction, the documents need to be witnessed by a professional, in our case either a realtor or a notary/lawyer. A realtor in a cooperating office generally will not charge for this service (so if you are a Royal LePage client you can go to any RLP office to fill out the paperwork) but a notary/lawyer generally will.

The information collected is kept locked away and confidential, by the brokerage office. It does not stay in our files.

For more information on this, please visit the website: http://www.fintrac.gc.ca/intro-eng.asp
 
It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!

Thursday 6 November 2014

BCO Coastal Gems: Jervis Inlet

Jervis Inlet is the principal inlet of the British Columbia Coast.  It slices through the Coastal Mountain range, narrowly zigzagging over 80 km through stunning granite-walled cliffs and forested mountains. This inlet is the deepest of British Columbia’s Inlets reaching depths of over 720 meters or 2,400 ft. and is located about 95 km northwest of Vancouver The inlet was named by George Vancouver after Rear Admiral Sir John Jervis.

 
Like elsewhere on the rugged BC Coast, Jervis Inlet was involved in the logging and fishing industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. It also has a history as a seasonal settlement for local First Nations.
 
Access points and service centers include Egmont providing access to Sechelt and Vancouver as well as Saltry Bay which provided access to the Northern Sunshine Coast and Powell River. Both of these locations are approx. 25miles travel by boat. There are no roadways into Jervis Inlet, this is another of the boat in areas of the coast. The remote location and breath-taking beauty make it a location for outdoor enthusiasts.
 
It's a Coastal Lifestyle ... Pass It On!