Rotary FIND OUT MORE AT
prrotaryclub.org
NEWS...................... 3 OPINION.................. 8 CROSSWORD............ 9 CULTURE.................13 SPORTS...................14 SUDOKU..................15 COMMUNITY...........16 CLASSIFIEDS...........18
SEEKING ASSISTANCE
SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE
Organizations approach qRD for financial help PAGE 6
Keep smiling
DEVELOPMENT CAMP
Referee invited to National Hockey League combine PAGE 14
HEATING & COOLING SPECIALISTS 7239 DUNCAN STREET • 604.485.5352
tempcohvac.com
T I C K E TS A V A I L A B L E N O W
ADVERTISING FEATURE
MAY 30 & 31
• 7 PM • EEN THEATRE RGR EVE
If you want your business to make Front Page News, call 604.485.5313
PRPEAK.COM
Thursday.May 22.2025
Vol.30 No.31
Canada Post Agreement 40069240
SPONSORED CONTENT
Guide turns whale‑watching into moving history lesson Matt Emig shares history, geology and shared stewardship of the Salish Sea
qathet region mariner Matt Emig does not rev his ex‑military Zodiac to chase the quick thrill of a humpback photo‑op. He sets out each day to invite strangers into what he calls “the wider story of this coast and our place inside it.” From the helm of the Black Barnacle, his 6.3‑metre rigid inflatable boat, Emig guides Rugged Coast Expeditions (RCE), a wildlife
tour company that explores the Salish Sea, sharing ecology, human and natural history, and environmental values along the way.
“Plenty of operators treat wildlife as a com‑ modity,” explains Emig. “I’m not interested in ticking humpbacks off a list. I’m interested in how listening to a whale breathe makes you think about your own breath, and about who looked after these waters long before any of us arrived.” Emig’s fascination with breath is not meta‑ phor alone; born with a lung disease, he has always lived with the knowledge that respira‑ tion cannot be taken for granted. That condi‑ tion, he says, drew him to the sea, where briny air feels “fresh, alive, almost medicinal.” Before launching RCE, Emig fished com‑ mercially, served on marine‑rescue crews and led grizzly‑bear and whale‑watching tours from Vancouver Island’s north end. Commercial fishing, “taught me respect for the ocean’s power. You need competence at the helm—not bravado—if you want to come home.” Guiding in that area deepened his awe for ecological complexity and sharp‑ ened a conservation ethic that now
WARREN BEHAN
shapes every RCE itinerary. “I saw how crowded feeding grounds can get when boats compete for the best selfie,” he recalls. “I wanted to create something slower, more reflective, still thrilling, but centred on respect.” A typical outing begins beside the Powell River Coast Guard station, where Emig’s mobile “office”—a white box van— waits with survival suits. After safety brief‑ ings, the Black Barnacle noses away from the dock, and the storytelling starts. Emig sets scenes that leap from deep time to modern intrigue: glaciers carving Savary Island’s beaches, Tla’amin canoe routes that once threaded the inlets, and the war‑ time Hulks—concrete ships now colonized
by sea lions—which loom like haunted sentinels in Malaspina Strait. “Geography shapes cul‑ ture,” he says. “The ocean was the great leveller that forced Indigenous mariners and European captains to meet each other on common terms.” Between stories, he throttles back the twin outboards to scan for dorsal fins or the plume of a surfacing humpback. When animals ap‑ pear, engines fall silent well beyond the legal setback. “Regulations are the floor, not the ceil‑ ing,” he notes. “If a whale changes direc‑ tion or a sea lion rookery looks agitated,
OCEAN VIEW
WATERFONT
WATERFRONT
HOME AND ACREAGE
NEW LISTING 7143 Jordan Street
NEW LISTING 7457 Highway 101
NEW LISTING 7647 Fats Crescent
NEW PRICE 5084 Leaper Road
Beautifully updated 4 bdrm, 2 bath home Cosy fireplace, open layout, rec room, shop Quiet spot, lovely landscaping, super view
$819,900
we give them even more space.” The emphasis on narrative does not dimin‑ ish the wildlife spectacle. Emig’s favourite sighting came not from a breaching giant but from thousands of moon jellies glowing with trapped bioluminescence on a pitch‑black, moonless night. “I looked up and saw a million stars,” he re‑ members. “Then I looked down, Get the Peak to Go and the sea iPhoneback app at now itself was blinking me. That’s the sort in the of wonder I available want guests to carry home; it’s App Store or iTunes something you can’t capture in a single frame or hashtag.” Keeping group sizes to 12 fos‑ ters dialogue and limits the boat’s carbon footprint; routing PERSONAL CORPORATION decisions alsoREAL aim ESTATE to conserve fuel. Emig believes the paradox of eco‑tourism—burning diesel WARREN BEHAN to teach conservation—can be PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION Get the Peak toGet Go Peak to Go mitigated when thetheexperience iPhone app now iPhone app now transforms available inbehaviour. theavailable in the “When an App Storepeople or iTunes Appdon’t Storeknow or iTunes WA ecosystem exists, they don’t value it,” he says. “Show them PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION its beauty and fragility, and they PERS start asking what choices they can make back home.” Although RCE is barely into its second sea‑ son, bookings for 2025 are already open, with summer and early‑autumn dates filling first because humpbacks linger longest then. Tour options and booking information are available online at ruggedcoastexpe‑ ditions.com. For more information, call 604.483.6065. PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
Lovely 2 bdrm home on private 1.7 acres Amazing sunroom, quad friendly beach access Beautiful surroundings, minutes to town
$1,299,000
Rare 2.1 acres with home & shop near town Lovely, quiet property, ~100’ waterfront Perfect holiday spot or build your dream home
$1,295,000
Spacious 3 bdrm, 3 bath home on 1.3 acres Beautiful private setting, fenced yard Attached workshop and garage
NOW $619,900
WARREN BEHAN
WARREN BEHAN
warrenbehan.com 604.485.2324 WARREN BEHAN 604.483.8173 PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
Broker Owner
WARREN BEHAN PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
WA
PERS