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Armchair relief for January cabin fever....
A few lines about one of the popular cruising destinations in thie
region..... ****** Ganges My wife's favorite destination in the Gulf Islands is Ganges, on Saltspring Island. We plan our summer cruises to include a night or two in Ganges Harbour. If I aspire to "most favored husband" status I will assure that our scheduled visit to Ganges allows Jan to spend a few hours, (and at least a few dollars), at the Ganges Saturday Market. Ganges is a free-spirited and eclectic community, with a unique history that continues to exert an obvious influence on the character of the town. Among the earliest settlers on Saltspring Island were ex-slaves fleeing the California gold fields. During the 1850's, it was a common practice for American planters living in southern states to dispatch slave labor to work gold claims in California. Perhaps to help ensure that the slaves wouldn't simply run for the hills upon arrival in California, slave holders would often agree that once a slave had recovered many thousands of dollars worth of gold on behalf of his absentee owner the slave would summarily be granted his official freedom. Some of the slave owners were known to renege on this agreement, but it was honored frequently enough that a large community of freed slaves began forming in California. Concerned white residents of California began passing some racially discriminatory laws, (for example, a black person was prohibited by law from testifying in court against a white person), and many of the recently emancipated blacks thought it might be prudent to move on before conditions became even more oppressive. Slavery had been outlawed in Britain, including all British territories, colonies, and protectorates, in the early 1830's. As a result, Canada was thereafter considered the "promised land" by many freed and escaped American slaves. Governor James Douglas, (thought by many historians to be of mixed-race heritage himself), felt that encouraging ex-slaves to settle on Vancouver Island and other islands nearby would establish a population willing to forcibly resist any territorial incursions by Americans. Nine families of freed blacks in California wrote a letter to Governor Douglas, and he invited them to relocate to British Columbia's Saltspring Island. Just a year after the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire, the Hudson Bay Company opened a "trading post" in the Sandwich Island settlement of Honolulu. Hawaiians were allowed to buy trade goods, liquor, and trinkets on credit- and many quickly found themselves unable to clear their debts. The trading post became the primary recruiting post for "Kanaka" laborers sent to Hudson Bay Company forts, farms, and sawmills in North America. In exchange for three years of labor, Kanakas would receive a small amount of cash, assorted merchandise, and their debts at the trading post would be expunged. Many of the displaced Hawaiians remained in the Pacific Northwest when their terms of indenture were fulfilled, and within a few generations most had intermarried with European or First Nations populations. Probably the oldest building on Saltspring Island is the Hudson Bay Company post at Ganges, (now incorporated into the Hastings House hotel and restaurant), and Kanaka laborers and their descendents have made notable contributions to the unique and diverse culture of Saltspring Island. Young men fleeing a somewhat different sort of "indenture" were relatively recent arrivals on Saltspring. The island developed a reputation for tolerance of a "hippie" lifestyle during the 1960's, and became a popular destination for Americans dodging the grasp of the Selective Service System. While it is certain that the majority of immigrants to Saltspring were hardworking farmers, fishermen, and loggers of European heritage, the prevailing influence of groups which have not always been able to take personal freedom for granted have created a culture on Saltspring that seems even more adamantly independent than that on other free-spirited islands nearby. This independence asserts itself in some unusual ways, and among recent examples was the issuing of "Saltspring dollars", (only negotiable on the island and on par with official Canadian currency). Approaching and Arriving in Ganges: The town of Ganges is at the head of Ganges Harbour, with public marinas located near 48.61.45 N and 123.29.80 W. Additional moorage is usually available to the west of the long dock at the edge of the commercial district, but the fishing fleet has priority in this location. There is excellent anchorage well out into the bay, and during the peak summer months vessels arriving at Ganges will find it necessary to keep an active watch while threading through large numbers anchored boats. Considerate skippers will be mindful not to leave disruptive wakes. The preferred course through the harbour will be to the south of the Chain Islands. It is possible to pick carefully through the rocks separating the individual islands in the "chain," but a completely unnecessary risk. Ganges Shoal (marked with a buoy about ¼ nm SW of Second Sister Island) and a pervasive mudbank close to the southern shoreline represent the main risks for grounding, and there is more than sufficient room to give these hazards a wide berth. Boaters with an appropriate chart should find the approach to Ganges easy as well as uneventful. Public Marinas at Ganges include the Ganges Marina, (viewed directly ahead when approaching up the harbour) and the Saltspring Marina, (viewed off the starboard quarter when approaching the head of the harbour). Saltspring Marina requires a longer walk to town, but has a pub onsite. Beware a notoriously hungry rock (it eats boats) off the Saltspring Marina breakwater. It is clearly marked with a large yellow buoy and easily avoided, but still manages to refer a steady clientele of careless or uninformed mariners to local boatyards. Ganges Marina is a few hundred footsteps closer to the majority of shops and restaurants in Ganges. During the busiest summer cruising months it may necessary to contact the staff of either marina by VHF radio and stand by until a slip is assigned. We have waited for as long as 20-30 minutes some years, but have always been accommodated. Once asho Expect to encounter a collage of cultures where Woodstock meets Country Grocers meets Greenwich Village Coffeehouse meets Little House on the Prairie. In addition to being the center of tourism on Saltspring Island, Ganges is the primary commercial area for island residents. This is the sort of town where a new-age shop peddling essential oils and therapeutic aromatics shares a storefront with a filling station featuring entirely different oils and aromas- and it isn't unusual in the local context. One can purchase anything from the most fundamental necessities to exquisitely fashioned handicrafts or world caliber works of original art. The laidback but culturally sophisticated lifestyle on Saltspring attracts a variety of exceptionally talented people. On any given day, one might even rub an accidental elbow with Randy Bachman of "The Guess Who" and "Bachman-Turner Overdrive", one of the more internationally recognized residents of Saltspring Island. Scores of sculptors, writers, photographers, musicians, painters, and potters enrich and diversify the creative community on Saltspring. Our perennially favorite haunts include the Tree House Cafe, Mouat's General Store, the gelato shop across the street from Centennial Park, the fish market at the head of the Ganges Marina gangway and the craft store in the old church directly across the street. Book lovers will find several well-stocked shops. Baked goods, teas and coffee, and snacks of all varieties seem to be within a 30-second walk regardless of where one is standing at any given moment. Galleries and stores with arts and crafts ranging from some that can be purchased for pocket change up to awesome offerings that would require most of us to seek a second mortgage line nearly every street in the compact town. A well-stocked full service grocery as well as a licensed beverage store makes Ganges an ideal stopover when ready to reprovision. The Saturday Market: If you have only one day to spend in Ganges, Saturday might be the best choice. Beginning each year on Easter weekend, (or April 1, whichever is earlier), and ending the last Saturday in October, the Ganges Saturday Market convenes at Centennial Park. Official hours are from "about 8:30 to about 3:30", with the caveat that snow, thunderstorms, gale force winds, or an extreme deluge may result in some vendors leaving early. Most sellers are prepared to endure a typical Gulf Island rain squall or steady drizzle. The general rule governing the Saltspring Saturday Market is vendors must personally grow, bake, or locally make anything offered for sale. Saltspring abounds with organic farmsteads, and from midsummer on there are tables heaped with amazing herbs, fruits, and vegetables of all descriptions. (Something to bear in mind if reprovisioning at the grocer's on a Friday). Wool and mutton are popular farm commodities on Saltspring, and several artisans offer knitted hats, scarves, and other items created from locally spun yarns. Musicians of all descriptions take apparently orderly turns entertaining at various locations within the market, with hats and instrument cases left open to catch any stray coins or bills that appreciative listeners might care to drop. Pastries, cookies, locally produced cheeses, candies and specialty snacks cooked up hot on the spot assure that nobody will walk away hungry. Jan stores her quilts in a handmade oak chest we bought a few years ago at the Ganges Saturday Market, and in 2006 we added a splendid hand-knitted "runner" that now protects the galley sole aboard "Indulgence". We have artwork hanging in various rooms of our home created by Saltspring painters, dishes in the cupboard thrown by Saltspring potters, and we've hauled home chutneys, cheeses, and bits of handcrafted jewelry from nearly every visit. We'll undoubtedly do the Ganges Saturday Market again in 2007. There's no telling just exactly what we'll decide we can't live without, but neither is there any doubt that we will have an absolutely incredible time. ******* Sidebar: Saltspring or Salt Spring? Hudson Bay Company records indicate that the original name of the island was "Salt Spring," spelled as two separate words. In the early 1900's, the Canadian Geographic Board officially declared that the spelling would be "Saltspring", a single, compound word. Both spellings are accepted by Canada Post, and the two-word version seems to be more currently in vogue. The compound spelling, "Saltspring" appears on the Canadian Hydrographic charts, and as we are a boating publication it seems appropriate to use the spelling that agrees with official charts. Sidebar 2: Isn't Ganges a River in India? The town of Ganges was named after the vessel HMS Ganges, normally considered the last surviving sailing ship of the British Navy. The vessel destined to become the town's namesake was the second to be named "Ganges". She was built in India of Malabar teak and launched in 1821. A proud three-master with 84 guns, she had seen service around the globe before she became the flagship for the Royal Navy's Pacific Squadron and patrolled the local waters between 1857 and 1861. Fulford Harbour on Saltspring Island is named for the Captain of HMS Ganges, one John Fulford. By the turn of the 20th Century, HMS Ganges had been converted to a training vessel for young men aspiring to a career in the British Navy. (The author's maternal grandfather, who served as a British naval officer in the First World War, learned to sail on HMS Ganges). She later served as a hospital ship, and at the venerable age of 108 was broken up in 1929. The name transferred to the British Navy's training school at Shotley, and is endeared to many a British sailor who never set foot aboard the original ship. |
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