I always tell people to head to the beach because you never know when your ship will come in. I have an 8' Livingston tender that floated here from Oregon, which I recovered from Crescent Rock beach over 20 years ago. Around 15 years ago I helped to organize a cleanup of the shoreline from Kwomais Point to Crescent Beach to recover a 26' wooden pleasure boat that got washed against the rocks and destroyed by a winter storm. Kudos to the BNSF Railway, the City of Surrey, Super Save Group and a large group of volunteers who helped out with that debris recovery. Last weekend my wife and I were down at Crescent Rock beach when I noticed a strange sight in the distance not too far from the recently opened 1001 Steps staircase. When I went to investigate, I discovered much to my dismay that it was a huge log boom with over 80 pieces in it that was hung up on an offshore boulder.
I quickly realized that this massive raft of logs that someone had lost would likely hit the beach, break apart and scatter its load along the shoreline all the way to Crescent Beach and beyond to Mud Bay. I knew that I needed to do something about it and reached out to my friend Mike who captains a large fuel tug asked him if he knew anyone with a salvage license who could help. He put me in touch with a beachcomber named Duncan who I told of my find and came out to inspect the load of logs. For a marine salvage expert, finding a lost log boom is basically the holy grail and he was immediately interested. He came out the next night at high tide to check on whether the logs could be simply pulled off or if the boom chains that were over the boulder would need to be cut. The logs floated high enough that he felt it would come off with a big pull and we took measurements of the water depth to ensure the boat used would not get stuck. Because of the weight involved, he decided to bring in his friends Jay and Stewart who own the Iron Horse tug that by chance was involved with the White Rock Pier cleanup after the Dec. 2018 storm.
On Thursday night, a group of salty pirates descended on the Crescent Rock beach shoreline with a plan in place to remove the stuck log boom. It took six hours for the boats to get there from New Westminster and hook up to the raft of logs. The Iron Horse pulled the boom off the boulder that kept it off the beach without any problem and after re-rigging, they were off for home at 9 p.m. just as the sun was setting. The plan was to go around Point Roberts and dock at Tsawwassen to wait for the tides and winds to improve. Unfortunately just past Point Roberts it was noticed that the Zodiac skiff that was used in the operation had come untied from Duncan's pleasure boat and floated away under the cover of darkness. At first light they continued out around the Sand Heads and entered the Fraser River. Because of the weight of the logs and with the freshet still running, they were making little headway and had to call in a second tug, The Logger, that came out to help with the pull up the mighty Fraser. After a total of 35 grueling hours the boom was tied up safely in New Westminster.
While most of this operation went relatively smoothly, the loss of the 10" Zodiac skiff with a 15 hp Suzuki motor put a real damper on any celebration. Undeterred, Duncan filed a missing boat report with the Canadian and American Coast Guards plus the Delta, Surrey and Blaine police departments. I took it upon myself to post a description of the lost boat in community Facebook pages around Boundary Bay trying to locate it. I even reached out to Global News who had their Chopper 1 on the lookout for the skiff as it flew in and out of Boundary Bay airport (CZBB). On Saturday morning I spent several hours with a spotting scope looking for the skiff around the northern shores of Mud Bay where many floating pleasure boats end up being blown. It was later that day when my wife alerted me to a message from a young man named Jason in Point Roberts who had located the Zodiac and recovered it not far from Lily Point. Needless to say, Duncan was quickly on his way to the Point to pick up his lost boat with a $100 cash for Jason being so honest and helpful. Considering that it happened to be his birthday, the reward was rather well received.
This whole saga has been quite an adventure from beginning to end. Myself and the merry band of naturists who frequent this rugged and secluded shore work together to keep the beach free of garbage, flotsam and debris on a constant basis. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would come across a stranded log boom that needed to be removed from Surrey's nude beach. A fortunate high tide allowed us to move quickly with the recovery to ensure that the logs did not get spilled across Crescent Beach or hopelessly trapped in Mud Bay. I'm left with some enjoyable memories from this salvage operation, some new beachcomber friends, and a raft of great pictures.
For me it truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget and hopefully never have to repeat.
Naturally yours,
Don Pitcairn
I wish to acknowledge we live work and play on the traditional lands of the Semiahmoo People
Local News
July 22, 2025
White Rock Council / Monday Recap
- Council last evening in a unanimous vote agreed to abandon any plans for a new Community Hub in uptown White Rock. The focus will now be on the current city hall site.
- Councillor MICHELLE PARTRIDGE submitted her resignation from council. This will mean the already scheduled September bi-election to fill the seat vacated by councillor ERNIE KLASSEN will now have two new councillors to be elected.
Nomination packages are now available for pick-up at City Hall (15322 Buena Vista Avenue) and can be dropped off between 9:00 a.m. on Aug. 12 and 4:00 p.m. Aug. 22, 2025. For more information on the by-election, visit www.whiterockcity.ca/elections
- the city's financial plan was given its final approval
- the North Bluff Corridor study and its ramifications to the Official Community Plan passed 3-2 with councillors Chesney and Trevelyan voting in opposition
- the next regular meeting of White Rock council will be Monday September 15 @ 4 p.m.
75,000 celebrate food, music and culture at western Canada’s largest multicultural festival
The City of Surrey’s 18th annual Surrey Fusion Festival yet again transformed Holland Park into the ultimate celebration of music, food, and culture this past weekend. Presented by Coast Capital, attendees experienced this year’s theme, Flavours of the World, at over 50 cultural pavilions representing countries from six continents. The festival was headlined by international reggae stars Easy Star All-Stars on July 19, and South Asian music icon Miss Pooja alongside Geeta Zaildar on July 20.
Chani Nattan, Inderpal Moga and Miss Pooja (left to right)
The crowd received a special surprise when Chani Nattan and Inderpal Moga joined Miss Pooja during her performance. The duo previously performed at the Let’s Hear It BC JUNOS Plaza Party earlier this year, an event also produced by the City of Surrey.
Attendees are invited to provide their feedback on the event and help shape future events via an online survey for a chance to win a $200 gift card to Guildford Town Centre at surreyfusionfestival.ca.
Surrey Police Service Expands Operations into South Surrey
Next Monday ( July 28) Surrey Police Service (SPS) will expand their policing service in Surrey as they begin providing policing service to the west side of South Surrey.
Since becoming the police of jurisdiction for Surrey on November 29, 2024 (see previous news release), SPS’s policing presence has been primarily concentrated in Whalley/City Centre (District 1) and Newton (District 3). The RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit (SPOSU) has been policing the remaining police districts: Guildford (District 2), Cloverdale (District 4), and South Surrey (District 5), as part of the phased policing transition plan.
Over the past eight months, SPS has hired over 100 more police officers. This growth, along with the continuing demobilization of RCMP SPOSU members, has allowed SPS to expand its policing operations in the city. In March, SPS expanded its investigative capacity in Newton, and now SPS is ready to take over frontline and investigative duties for the west side of South Surrey. Specifically, SPS will assume responsibility for the geographic area including, and to the west of, Highway 99, including the Peace Arch Border crossing and the Semiahmoo First Nation. SPS plans to expand their service to the east side of South Surrey this fall.
Although South Surrey residents will be seeing more SPS officers in their community, there is no change to how they access police services – police office locations and phone numbers remain the same (604-599-0502 for non-emergencies or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
“Surrey Police Service is excited to continue expanding our community presence and we look forward to serving South Surrey,” said Chief Constable Norm Lipinski. “We appreciate the support from the residents and businesses during this comprehensive move to Surrey’s own police service. We also remain grateful to the RCMP for assisting us on the delivery of effective public safety in the City during the policing transition.”
In 2026, SPS plans to assume policing responsibilities in Cloverdale as the next step towards transition completion. Representatives from the City of Surrey, RCMP, Province of BC, and SPS are all working together to develop and implement each phase of the policing transition. The RCMP SPOSU will continue to provide temporary policing support in Surrey until SPS is fully established. Residents will continue to see both SPS and RCMP officers and vehicles in Surrey until the transition is completed.
NOTE: White Rock council will receive a verbal presentation this evening at the regular council meeting
@ 4 P.M. in the Community Centre uptown White Rock / Open to the public.
There will be a motion brought forth at today's council meeting on whether or not to add a Community Hub location question on the upcoming White Rock September bi-election
July 19, 2025
White Rock RCMP are launching the Home Vacation Check (HVC) program
Time for some rest and relaxation away from home?
Let the White Rock RCMP know!
The community policing section of the White Rock RCMP are launching the Home Vacation Check (HVC) program. If your residence is in White Rock, attend the White Rock RCMP Detachment located at 15299 Pacific Ave., during business hours, 5 days prior to your departure date and complete our HVC forms.
White Rock Kicks Off Pride Week with Pride Flag Raising
The City of White Rock, in conjunction with the White Rock Pride Society, yesterday afternoon welcomed the community to its annual Pride Flag Raising ceremony, marking the official start of celebrations across the city from July 18 to 25, 2025.
Celebration of Light Returns for 2025
If you love fireworks it is that time of the year again.
The SYMPHONY OF FIRE this year is broken down into three shows each presented by a Province.
NOTE: WHITE ROCK will once again have a fireworks display over Semiahmoo Bay as part of this years Sea Festival.
Sunday August 03 to close out the annual Sea Festival.
Thursday July 17, 2025
Police Incident
Residents in the area of Thrift and Finlay streets in White Rock witnessed a huge presence of White Rock & Surrey RCMP mid morning yesterday (Wednesday) for a police incident.
The RCMP does not release any information on such activity in our neighbourhoods.
Wednesday July 16, 2025
National Drowning Prevention Week is next week, July 20–26!
Join us in White Rock for a week of FREE water safety and CPR classes for all ages - kids, youth, and adults!
Locations: White Rock Community Centre & West Beach
Enjoy live music, family-friendly activities, Indigenous culture, food trucks, environmental education, a Torchlight parade presented by Waste Connections of Canada, and fireworks - all for FREE.
