Took a walk down to Kits beach last night to check out the several boats that had beached
during the last big storm. As I was shooting photos of the boat Tuesday Sunrise my girlfriend
and I got into talking to one of the boat owners Randy Van Eyk, that happened to be there digging and waiting for high tide to get his vessel back out to sea. Randy told us about the struggle people like
himself have in trying to live aboard their boats, preferring a life at sea these "liveaboards" as they are
called by police are people that have chosen a different lifestyle than the rest of us, and unfortunately
they are punished for it. We heard many stories of sailors being kicked from one port to another and the hardship of families that are trying to legitimately live this life on the sea.
It's not uncommon for accidents, and even death for the people that live on their boats, as was the case last year when a man who was kicked out of harbour died in a storm as he floated out in open waters off of Gibsons landing. We asked if Randy would let us take his picture and in exchange he asked that I give some background on his own history as a boater which began in 1982 when he left land to live permanently aboard Tuesday Sunrise.
The strangest thing to me is that we have people living aboard their vessels and the laws we've created and the actions we take against them have made them homeless by beaching them on land.
This situation serves as proof that no matter what you can't hide from homelessness, not even inside your own home.
The Karanga-lita
Nice boat, Randy! Good luck with it all!
ReplyDeleteDiana