At least 100 vessels are expected to converge near the mouth of McNab Creek this Sunday (June 30) as the Future of Howe Sound Society ramps up its campaign against non-sustainable heavy industry in the area.
The SOS Save Our Sound Mariners' Rendezvous will take place between noon and 2 p.m. and will include vessels ranging from kayaks to an 87-foot (26-metre) yacht carrying a band that will play live music on the water, said organizer Ruth Simons.
"Things are building up for the event," Simons said Wednesday. "It's getting exciting."
West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country Member of Parliament John Weston is slated to attend, as well as Squamish Nation representatives and local government officials from the region.
The event has three objectives, Simons said.
The first one is to register strong opposition to the proposed Burnco Rock Products aggregate mine at McNab Creek.
"The Future of Howe Sound Society is definitely opposed to the Burnco gravel mine - absolutely, for sure," she said.
A second objective is to show people the McNab Valley, an area few have actually visited. After the event, Simons said, "everyone will know where this beautiful part of Howe Sound is."
A third objective is to drum up support for a comprehensive land-use management plan for Howe Sound and draw attention to the industrial activities that could threaten the area's recovery.
Those include a pending timber sale for land on the north side of Gambier Island, said Simons, whose group also raised objections to the proposed Box Canyon hydro project on McNab Creek.
"I think our objection is the process by which rezoning from rural to industrial is taking place - the way in which public meetings are held when they know, or should know, that the area is under discussion," she said.
The group is also "very concerned," she added, about changes to the environmental assessment process and the reduced role of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
A guided tour of McNab Creek Estates for media and invited guests will follow the rendezvous, and barbecue parties will be hosted at yacht club outstations.
"It'll be a fun day. The band is going to start off with a rock-crushing sound," Simons said.
