Nanaimo News Bulletin story regarding the BCNR.
Category Archives: Member Announcements
BCNR Press release
The BCNR has released a press kit.
The feedback has been positive and the press has contacted us for several interviews.
When contacting government agents this week we were recognized immediately and were told that they feel that our presence is of great value.
The directors feel that after a great deal of work the association is finally gaining credibility and will have the ability to make a genuine contribution to improving the live aboard lifestyle.
Story by Rachel Stern – Nanaimo News Bulletin
New group looking to address liveaboard issues
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Nanaimo News Bulletin
Vancouver Island Central
By Rachel Stern – Nanaimo News Bulletin
Published: February 24, 2011 3:00 PM
A new Victoria-based association wants to create a unified front to address issues that affect people living aboard their boats along the B.C. coast.
The recently formed founded the British Columbia Nautical Residents Association is trying to recruit members.
Rick Schnurr, a founder and director of the group, said the association was formed to fight prejudices and create a unified voice on issues that impact the lifestyle.
“There is a fair bit of prejudice against liveaboards,” said Schnurr, adding there are a number of concerns in Nanaimo that have been brought to the association’s attention.
“It’s pretty restrictive for liveaboards anchoring in Nanaimo,” he said.
One of the major issues that has concerned Nanaimo boaters is the Nanaimo Port Authority’s permanent moorage policy that was introduced in 2009. The policy requires boaters staying more than 14 days in a 30-day period to get a permit and adhere to regulations set by the Port Authority.
The most recent issue to concern Nanaimo boaters revolves around buoys placed as anchorage around Newcastle Island.
Schnurr said an association is important to help boaters deal with issues and the regulations they are expected to follow in certain harbours.
The association wants to create a database so people can clearly understand the regulations for specific areas.
Schnurr said one of the difficulties boaters face is that most harbours fall under overlapping areas of government jurisdiction, including federal and provincial authorities.
The association is a non-profit society and currently has about 45 members.
The Nanaimo Harbour Boaters Community refused to comment as to whether it has joined.
The association has four main goals: to preserve and support the liveaboard lifestyle, promote environmental awareness amongst liveaboards, communicate and resolve issues of concern to liveaboards and serve as a voice on issues that affect B.C. waterways.
Membership in the association is open to anyone interested in the liveaboard life and annual membership is $10 per vessel.
For more information or to join the Nautical Residents Association, please go to www.bcnr.org.
December 2010 Meeting
At the meeting this month it was decided that it is time to announce the existence of the British Columbia Nautical Residents Association.Over the next month we will be developing a press kit that will be circulated to as broad a section of the BC media as possible. The point is to provide a level of credibility for the organization with the media on topics that are important to our members.
At this time the membership has reached the grand total of 27 master members with approximately 50 more associate members. Membership confirmation will be emailed out to the members with a short questionnaire are that will standardize the information and allow us to build a database of members.
At this month meeting one of the topics of discussion was the placement of 43 mooring boys in the area in front of the Newcastle Island Park. Our directors will research how this affects the liveaboards who frequent this area.
Another topic of discussion was the concept of maintaining a series of columns on the web page. If any one is interested in submitting such a column for publishing, they are asked to submit any ideas to bob_goth@bcnr.org. The topic can be pretty much anything that may be of interest to BC liveaboards.
In an attempt to normalize meeting times, the directors have decided to hold meetings on the third Thursday of each month.
Meanwhile the directors of the BCNR would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year
November 2010 Meeting
The directors finally met Nov 18 2010 for the first time since we arrived back after the summer.
The first order of business was to establish a layout for the web presence and determine how to make best use of the Internet.
The directors then started discussion of a variety of topics that affect the liveaboard community.
The topics included :
The importance of anchoring rights and how the growing trends affect the safety and security of liveaboards.
What are the laws around mooring rights on docks. What are the rights of a person living on a boat in a marina. And what are the obligations of marina owners as spelled out in the contracts between the federal government, marina owners, provincial government, and civic governments.
Currently some communities are employing local security in place of the R.C.M.P. to police the harbours. These forces are demanding, in some cases, what appears to be unreasonable access to people’s homes. What is the legal role of the police and do they have the right to board a vessel, someone’s home, at anchor without a warranted reason.
There was also discussion of danger of mooring balls, official or otherwise, to liveaboards and to the boating public in general. What can be done to manage these moorings and protect the few safe places that one can anchor in inclement weather or an emergency.
The discussions above led us all to the conclusion that what is needed is research into the laws regarding living aboard.
To this end we are asking the members for assistance.
We ask for any knowledge that anyone has or any researcher that they may be able to provide.
Participation from our members is paramount so please contact us and help us out to make all our lives safer and more secure.
Incorporation Announcement
Incorporation Certificate
Announcing the incorporation of the British Columbia Nautical Residents Association formed on June 4, 2010.
Several of the residents living on boats in BC waters came together in Victoria Harbour after many years of discussion to start this group under this basic mission statement:
1. To preserve & support the tradition of living aboard one’s vessel
2. To promote environmental awareness among liveaboards
3. To establish effective ongoing communications and resolve issues of concern to liveaboards
4. To serve as a voice for liveaboards regarding activities that affect BC waterways
The BCNR plans to open membership to all BC coastal communities, so we can liaise with community and government groups regarding development and activities that affect BC waterways.
As the summer progresses, we will be canvassing for members in order to strengthen our voice and provide for the cost of establishing a web presence.
The cost to join is $10.00 and the forming members listed in the Contact Us page will provide generic receipts.
Formal membership registration will be set up when we meet again in the fall.
Anyone interested in joining can Contact Us through this link.
You can examine the Certificate of Incorporation.
Meanwhile, the founding members will be cruising the waters of BC signing up as many people living on the water as we can. In the fall we will start addressing, in a strong unified voice all the issues that nautical residents face.
Current Events
Here is the first entry of the official voice of the BCNR.
This blog will carry the news and results of the regular meetings as the season progresses.
This will be the defining voice on line regarding opinions expressed by the association and will provide as much information as possible regarding the business of the association.
Please check in as we try to finally get the voice of BC. liveaboards heard.