Britannia Beach, 1981

Another tin box treasure for you this morning. This miscellany rested between a series of Kodachromes recording winter drives up the Sea To Sky Highway, bound for skiing and climbing adventures.

I made the photo on a cold and stormy morning, in January, 1981 — forty-years-ago this month. Who knows, maybe to the day. Certainly, the weather matches to a T.

I have no doubt that my intention was to illustrate the contrast of the foreground water, tainted by acid mine waste from the old Britannia Mine, pouring into the ocean from Furry and Britannia Creeks, with the clearer waters of Howe Sound. Much remediation work has been undertaken in the intervening years (beginning in the late ’90s) but heavy metal contamination persists, affecting marine life.

Anvil Island, touched by the faintest wash of sunrise colour, forms a backdrop for the boat and building. That undoubtedly drew my attention too.

The pier, ramshackle in this photo, is all but gone. Consulting Google Images, it’s possible to track the slow demise of the red-roofed building, now collapsed into a pile of debris. I wonder if the boat, hauled out in my photo, was fully restored? It’s nice to imagine it off on a new adventure.

I’d like to escape on a new adventure; how about you?