The Working End of the Wharf

I was glad to see that Fisherman's Wharf hadn't all been given over to floating homes and restaurants.  An equal area still provides home base for commercial fishing vessels.  I always find these fascinating, even though I don't understand exactly how all the gear on these boats is used.

The fishing boats have been here a long time, and still come and go out of the harbour, all governed by the fishing seasons for different species.

Some have double masts like those on the two boats to the right; some are laden with several masts and numerous wires, like the one on the left.  And some, like the one in the foreground are missing the tall masts and seem simpler in outline (this one is a crabbing vessel). During the season you can buy fresh fish right on the docks.

The colourful floats add a flash of colour to boats that are mostly steel-grey.  I'm sure some of these operate as charter boats for salmon and halibut fishing here.

Walking back down the dock, we checked out the restaurants, even though it wasn't time for lunch.  We decided to stop for lunch anyway!

So we split a large order of fish and chips at Barb's, reputedly one of the best fish and chips outlets on the west coast.  Seemed appropriate for a visit to Fisherman's Wharf, and it was delicious!

Then we decided to hop on one of these bouncy little water taxis that bounce back and forth across the harbour, and take the easy ride back into the inner harbour.

If you want to see something interesting, check out this YouTube Video of the Water Taxi Ballet!  Skip to the middle of the video and just watch 30 seconds of it.  They do like to have fun out here in Victoria!

We landed under the looming bulk of The Empress Hotel, opened in 1908 by Canadian Pacific, a big local landmark, and a surviving Edwardian architectural masterpiece.

I picked up two daytime pictures of the provincial Legislature from similar viewpoints as the nightime shots in Thursday's post.  The little water taxi we arrived back on is in the lower left of the top picture.

And then we thought we needed desert, so we loaded up on sugar and calories with a delicious 'Beavertail', a unique Canadian deep-fried pastry delicacy that we've only had in Ottawa previously.  Delicious!  We'll have to skip two meals to make up for the calories!

Meanwhile, here at home the rain and abysmally low temperatures, just above freezing, continue!  Blah!