The Squamish Windsurf Society held a ceremony Saturday (June 4) officially opening the newly renovated windsurfing spit. Mayor Ian Sutherland, councillors Sonja Lebans and Ray Peters were on hand to mark the event with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Thanks to a $50,000 municipal grant and donations of work, time and consultation, the spit can now more easily accommodate emergency vehicles and allow all vehicles a turnaround point.
The spiffed-up spit is expected to impress regular visitors as well as those coming for the North American Windsurfing Champ-ionships July 19 to 24.
"It's more usable," said Society president Gary Smith. "Now families can come out and watch. The long-term plan is to turn it into a windsurfing park."
Erosion on either side of the spit created a hazard to vehicles, some of which would be forced to back their way out. Now a built up stone stack wall containing a clean fill of gravel and rock allowed the widening of the road.
"We had an environmental inspector on site," said Smith. "It's on the old road base, so the footprint's no wider."
The renovation also included a cleanup of launching points, which had been awkward and even dangerous in high winds due to jagged rocks and excessive moss.
The society's target for the 2005 season is to increase annual memberships by 30 per cent and to maintain staffing. The society now has staff available to retrieve by jet ski fallen kiteboarders and windsurfers who used to have to swim and climb back onto the dyke with heavy gear, possibly disturbing nearby estuary wildlife along the way. And new technology allows staff to observe the spit from a website. Windsport enthusiasts can check the weather on a website thanks to a meter installed at the spit. And in two weeks, they'll also be able to see what's happening on location when a web cam is set up on an adjacent Squamish Terminal building.
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