Van Isle Tour 2008

This was my first Vancouver Island Tour and I was looking forward to it. Carole and I, Rick and Marty Bjorndahl and Don and Karen Manning took the 1:00pm Tsawwassen Ferry to the Island on Wednesday. We arrived for the ferry at 1200 noon only to find that one of the brand new ferries had just left on an unscheduled run 5 minutes before. This explained the fact that when we drove into the holding area we were the very first cars in line. We stayed overnight at Don and Karen’s in Chemainus and met up with the Vancouver Island contingent in the morning. Shortly after that we met up with the remainder of the group and headed North.

Our first stop was the Air Force Museum at Comox. We also visited the Spitfire restoration project nearby. You think restoring a Healey is a big deal! You should see what they are doing. Basically they started with the remains of a Spitfire from a landfill and are essentially manufacturing every piece. Our host joked that they took one switch on the dash and are building a new plane around it. We then drove to Gold River on the kind of road a Healey owner dreams about. We managed to see a very large, well fed black bear lunching in a ditch beside the road. We stayed overnight at Gold River and did a little socializing. We got the first hint of rain that evening and everyone put up their tops.

Next Morning dawned beautiful so down came the tops. It was at this point that Earl noted that his generator light had come on and plans were made to switch batteries in the cars to keep him going. From there we headed north to Campbell River where we gassed up at $1.60 per liter - but it was their very high test! We stopped for lunch at the Painter Lodge, a beautiful scenic spot filled full of fishing memorabilia and photos. More importantly Earl changed his generator with a spare that he was carrying (doesn’t everyone carry a spare generator??) and that solved his problem. On the next leg we ran into a little rain but not enough to get wet or put the tops up. We continued on to Port Hardy where Rick had arranged to meet the people that he had bought his car from. They talked him into taking it for a drive for old times sake, and when they drove off I’m sure he was wondering if they were going to come back!

We stayed at a very nice hotel in Port Hardy and of course did a little more socializing. Next morning it was off back down to Chemainus with a stop at Telegraph Cove. We arrived back at the Manning’s in time for a great Barbeque. Other members also showed up and an excellent time was held by all. Organizers Earl Kagna and John Bumpus were presented with AHOABC clocks in appreciation of the effort they put into organizing the tour.

Sunday was the Father’s Day in the Park at Beacon Hill Park. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. There were over 20 Healey’s on display along with numerous other British Marques. It was an outstanding show.

Overall it was an outstanding week of events with near perfect weather and wonderful roads and scenery. My sincere thanks to Earl and John for their work organizing the event and also to Don and Karen Manning for hosting the Barbeque.

Brian Drab..