I am incredibly frustrated to hear that, despite incredible public outcry, the Kits coast guard station was permanently closed today.  I've spent a good deal of time playing and working on the waters of English bay and I can tell you with certainty that this is going to cost lives. It really is as simple as that. At the Jericho Sailing Centre our much smaller rescue operation saves hundreds of lives a year. I was reminiscing with Jericho Sailing Centre GM Mike Cotter about how many rescues we have performed over the years. I know that by my last year at the JSCA I had personally pulled in well over 1000 people. To intimate that the demand for a local rescue response team isn't there is to akin to burring one's head in the sand. The Kits station is reportedly the busiest station in Canada.

One of the main justifications for closing the station was that the type of rescues they were performing weren't life saving operations. I would argue that is because the coastguard was able to arrive on site in a timely fashion whilst the situation was in it's infancy... a simple matter when left for any length of time can become fatal very easily!

One of the biggest concerns is the off season rescues. With fewer boaters on the water there are less people to respond to an emergency. The current plan calls for the off season rescues to be performed by the hovercraft which has a much bigger area of coverage and is grounded in heavy winds and seas... I guess they're also going to do something to ensure that rescues only happen on calm days when their one vessel is available?!

Recently the statement was made that more money was going to be put in to boat safety education to help mitigate the potential damage caused by the station closure... This strikes me as completely absurd unless they're going to teach people how to postpone having heart attacks and other medical emergencies whilst on the water.

I suppose I'm rambling... Ask me how I really feel... I dare you! :P

Today is a day of deep contemplation... I have to figure out how to most effectively deal with excrement as effluent from boats has to be eliminated as of last year!

Yes that's right Thursday's Child will now be sailing with a holding tank. I can't even begin to tell you how unexcited I am about the prospect of sailing around with the crew excrement sloshing around in what looks to be an overgrown Tupperware container with a pump attached. On the bright side  - If every boat has to have one of these shit-boxes installed I suppose I won't have to be so trepedatious when jumping in to the water whilst in a small anchorage...