LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED The independent voice of HARBOUR Pender Harbour & Egmont May 2019 since 1990. SPIEL Issue 341 We stand apart from the rest by selling the best! SPRING GARDENING PARKING LOT SALE ~ MAY 8, 9, 10 & 11 ~ • Bedding plants • Hanging baskets • Vegetables MOTHER’S DAY ~ MAY 12 We have a wide selection of fresh bouquets and potted plants. 883-9100 Like us on Facebook OPEN DAILY: 8:30 am - 7 pm • Open until 8 pm Fridays @ Marketplace IGA Madeira Park Denise Brynelsen 604.740.1219 Joel O’Reilly 604.741.1837 Personal Real Estate Corporations Sussex www.brynelsenoreilly.com “We have the tools to market your home and we are willing to invest the time, the money and the resources to do so.” SOLD NEW PRICE 3 bed/3 bath home on over half an acre. 17+ acre private estate in quiet com- 3 bdrm waterfront home w/ moorage on South facing waterfront with a year round, Huge patio w/ beautiful mountain views munity. Zoned for 30+ 1/2 acre lots. level lot & gorgeous views into the inlet. protected & licensed dock for your boat. Madeira Park $575,000 Garden Bay $1,100,000 Madeira Park $1,495,000 Halfmoon Bay $899,000 SOLD Quality log home on nearly 2 acres. Architecturally designed 4 bdrm/3 bath Super cute 2 bdrm Craftsman style 3 bdrm open-plan rancher with excellent Westerly exposure, ocean views & sunsets. waterfront home with 218’ of shoreline. cottage with view on 1/2 acre property. SW exposure in a quiet neighborhood. Madeira Park $685,000 Madeira Park $1,698,000 Garden Bay $495,000 Madeira Park $529,000 To view all of our listings, visit www.brynelsenoreilly.com Page 2 Harbour Spiel editorial HARBOUR You only live once (but hopefully not too long) SPIEL Brian Lee have to work until they die. But, what if you don’t die? People in their 40s According to Statscan, Canadians and 50s face a dilemma. are living an average of 82 years. The independent voice of Pender It’s the question of That’s an increase of almost 25 Harbour & Egmont since 1990. retirement savings and years since 1921. how much enjoyment and adventure By 2050, the typical retirement The Harbour Spiel is 100-per-cent locally should be sacrificed now to ensure a years might stretch to three decades or owned and operated and published monthly by secure old age. more — a scary thought for those in Paq Press © 2019. Any unauthorized reprint or We all ponder the concept when the YOLO camp. use of this material is prohibited. we make our first RRSP deposit but (Mom: YOLO is an acronym for EDITOR a special urgency kicks in when we “You only live once.”) Brian Lee realize that age 65, the traditional Because we’re not frugal. retirement milestone, is just down the In 1980, the ratio of Canadian CIRCULATION (3,000) block. household debt to personal disposable Copies of the Harbour Spiel are mailed free to 1,350 homes between Egmont and Middlepoint Suddenly the puzzle of financial income was 66 per cent. and are available by paid subscription and free planning isn’t abstract anymore be- That ratio recently passed 170 at locations throughout the Sunshine Coast. cause the math gets really easy. per cent — meaning that for every Each issue of the Harbour Spiel (since Nov. By the age of 50, we’ve estab- dollar Canadians earn after taxes, we 2006) is also available online as a PDF lished a pattern of income and spend- download at www.harbourspiel.com. now owe $1.70. ing that makes it pretty easy to predict As middle age delivers daily CONTRIBUTORS our savings in 15 years. physical reminders that there will This month we thank: Susan Campbell, For many, it’s bad news. be an end to our productive working Leonard Lee, Robert Livingston and Shane McCune. A 2017 RBC survey found that years, we’re encouraged to double one in six Canadians aged 55 or older down on our RRSP contributions. COVER hasn’t started saving for retirement. But at the same time, as the ques- A Beaver Island garbage bear wonders what a photographer would taste like, April 25. According to Statscan, the per- tion of how much one needs to retire (Brian Lee photo) centage of British Columbians who becomes clearer, so too does the fact contribute to RRSPs hovers around that some of our peers won’t be join- ADVERTISING 21.2 per cent. ing us. Please reserve by the 15th of the month prior to publication. Advertisers make publication Some who find themselves on In their 40s and 50s, people of the Harbour Spiel possible — please say their retirement savings might be around us start accumulating health thank you, and support our community, by supporting them. lucky enough to have the option of problems — some even die. cashing in their home equity and mov- And there lies the paradox. SUBSCRIPTIONS ing to a less expensive property. Will you regret that impulsive Annual subscription: $60 (includes GST). But unless you’re exiting the trip you took to Italy in your 40s, or CONTACT Lower Mainland, options for relocat- 20s, while sitting in the cancer ward in Paq Press ing real estate holdings to a cheaper your 60s? 4130 Francis Peninsula Rd. (by appt. only) market are limited. Each funeral we attend reinforces Madeira Park, BC V0N 2H1 The average home on the Coast the clichéd wisdom of, “You can’t costs $610,000 while it runs to over take it with you.” (604) 883-0770 $1.25 million in North Vancouver. So wager the future comforts of You could move to Prince [email protected] expensive care aides, assisted living George where the average price drops and medication and have that richer, www.harbourspiel.com to $347,000, or Campbell River where fuller life. it hits $457,000. Take the kids to Disneyland. June issue arrives May 30. Others missed the housing mar- Buy the good flooring. ket entirely — or divorced away a Have scallops on your steak. house or two — and accept they might Just don’t outlive your money. May 2019 Page 3 spiel picks P. H. LEGION TRIVIA NIGHT: Friday, May 10, 7 p.m. Hosted by those book nerds at Harbour Publishing, this trivia night is sure to be both challenging and fun. Rumour has it that the “all-nighter” challenge could be a special crossword puzzle. Teams of five compete for glory while all proceeds go to the Pender Harbour May Day celebration on the following weekend. Trivia starts at 7 p.m. but get there much earlier to order the Legion’s famous — and popular — fish and chips. 74TH ANNUAL PENDER HARBOUR MAY DAY: Saturday, May 18, 8 a.m. It doesn’t get any bigger than this (in our community). Activities run all day long in downtown Madeirs Park (see poster p. 18) with the May Day parade at 11 a.m. The theme for this year’s May Day is “Space Exploration.” PENDER HARBOUR & AREA RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION TOWN HALL MEETING: Saturday, May 25, 2 p.m. Come out to the Pender Harbour and Area Residents Association (formerly Pender Harbour Advisory Council) to Spring town hall meeting on Saturday, May 25 at 2 p.m. at the Pender Harbour Community Hall in Madeira Park. For more information visit www.phara.ca. The website includes a new online membership renewal form. Members will note an increase in the annual individual membership fee from $5 to $10 and the lifetime membership to $100. PHARA has increased its membership rates to reflect the substance of some of the projects they are undertaking such as derelict vessels and dock management, as well as improving beach access and cleaning up in our enviroment. RECYCLING & photojournal GRIPS BOTTLE DEPOT Green Recycling in Pender Society 883-1165 ONE-STOP CONVENIENCE Closed Wednesdays and Multi-material Recycling statutory holidays. Beverage Container Refunds: 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Refund Centre Recycling 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Hwy. 101 & Menacher Rd. GRIPS is closed Sundays. We deliver GRAVEL · SAND · TOPSOIL 12543 Warnock Rd. Madeira Park BC, V0N 2H1 Phone: 604.883.9771 Darcy Eidt Nothing catches the sun’s rays like the sails in the weekly Garden Bay Sailing Club Cell: 604.741.2665 race in Pender Harbour. Photo taken Saturday, March 30. Page 4 Harbour Spiel news 18th annual April Tools boat building competition, April 27 all photos: Brian Lee The ‘twist’ this year, revealed to teams at 10 a.m., was a simulation of being washed up on an isolated island, left only with an unusual pile of materials to get back home. All materials, except those that could fit into a small bag and left behind, were required to make the trip with the competitors — including a Wilson beach ball à la the movie The Fireflies (Garden Bay Fire Hall’s Ray Castaway. Here in the first heat, a battle for last place came down to the BC Fairies Miron and Sawyer Cote) won the final and the Goring in Style team (r), which won the Broken Paddle award for ‘persevering for the umpteenth time. Not pictured are in the face of overwhelming difficulties.’ teammates Kerry Rand and Bruno Cote. Sabotage is common in the youth division ‘fun’ race. The agony of defeat is real at April Tools. A chaotic start to the final race saw an Past champions the Gunboat Bay early collision between the eventual first Challengers, with a three-person crew, The Beaver Island Bandits won the Spiffy and second place finishers.