Sooke Public Boat Launch

There is room for at least 4 21' along the outside rail, and no reason people can't raft if its plugged. Failing that, stand off-shore for a couple of minutes and chill. It's fishing.

Hopefully we get the canopy up before monsoon season.
 
[QUOTEIf it is so busy why not just take moorage for the summer and not have to deal with it? Open moorage spaces at Mariners and I'm sure Sunny Shores has some space even in summer.][/QUOTE]

I was going to say the same thing ......... but then what would they ***** about then???????
 
With a steady stream of fish guts training the gulls & seals to mooch off the dock, I expect the next complaint to be about the inconvenient women & children getting in the way, particularly after the kids discover the water hoses. Life is too short to listen.

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Forget the kids; what about encouraging the rock sausages... cuteness-overload.jpg
 
Anyone know these guys? A camera was found.

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The pic on the left looks like Tony Carr
 
If he lost a camera have him give me a call. 642-2917
 
So be careful at the ticket thing at ramp if you use your card...Looks like I accidently bought a year LOLOL... I pressed one of the buttons and didn't look at total... Oops.

I thought you had to do buy that yearly pass at municipal office... Question is if you can buy the ticket at this machine there how would you know someone was non-resident or resident? Or someone could easily just swap the pass with buddies... Not saying its a bad thing I have a pass for a year and I am sure I will use it more than 12 times.

I was honest and bought the non-resident pass. Nice to have cleaning station now..
 
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So be careful at the ticket thing at ramp if you use your card...Looks like I accidently bought a year LOLOL... I pressed one of the buttons and didn't look at total... Oops.

I thought you had to do buy that yearly pass at municipal office... Question is if you can buy the ticket at this machine there how would you know someone was non-resident or resident? Or someone could easily just swap the pass with buddies... Not saying its a bad thing I have a pass for a year and I am sure I will use it more than 12 times.

I was honest and bought the non-resident pass. Nice to have cleaning station now..

lmao....damn do I feel better as I did the exact same last weekend! I had non-resident stuck in my head but guess I didn't stick around enough for it to 'scroll' through to show the price of what I was buying...put in visa, then it accepted, no 'confirm', just boom, thx for the year with a price showing after! Cancel didn't work and I had the same. I called Sooke and they worked me through it and are mailing me refund - need to tear up the pass and scan them the evidence (at least they were happy with that solution for me!)

Unlike you, didn't think i'd be out in the tinny a dozen times for the rest of the year to justify holding on to it! Cleaning station is friggin sweet thou.
 
I also agree, the cleaning station is amazing. Needs something to prevent the fillets falling through the hole. Yes I lost one. lol..Oh well at least the seals had a tastey treat. Anyone loose a fillet knife through the hole? We have an amazing spot out there and should be very proud of it. Instead of bitching about what it wrong with things, propose a few viable solutions to some problems.
 
lmao....damn do I feel better as I did the exact same last weekend! I had non-resident stuck in my head but guess I didn't stick around enough for it to 'scroll' through to show the price of what I was buying...put in visa, then it accepted, no 'confirm', just boom, thx for the year with a price showing after! Cancel didn't work and I had the same. I called Sooke and they worked me through it and are mailing me refund - need to tear up the pass and scan them the evidence (at least they were happy with that solution for me!)

Unlike you, didn't think i'd be out in the tinny a dozen times for the rest of the year to justify holding on to it! Cleaning station is friggin sweet thou.

It actually is screwed Dave... I guess I didn't look but when it issues a ticket at 120.00 non-resident it expires at end of year...I am just trying to get it sorted out with Sooke District right now.... Don't buy your year pass at machine.
 
I was next door to the hotel the other day;the place is deserted...perhaps they're using the ramp as a cash cow.
 
Just got off phone with district. If you buy a pass for a year they expire always at end of year? So pass I bought Oct expires in three months? Doesn't make sense for me as I will be using ramp at Cheanuh possibly as well. So split between those won't likely use it 11 times. I will buy at beginning of year.

So for example if you bought in April it expires end of year. Not from date onwards. I am getting a refund and maybe pass that around so people know... just don't do what I did and buy it from that machine...
 
Annual passes

The DoS is going to start bylaw enforcement on the launch. I have suggested they give non-payers the option of buying an annual pass instead of a fine. We are contractually obligated to log the plates and pass it on to the DoS, and some people have racked up a pretty big bill if the DoS goes after them. Bylaw enforcement has access to the ICBC license plate database, so it's not like they can't do it.

The one thing that is obviously not working is the $120 non-resident pass. I told them it was too much, which they ignored, and now, having sold maybe 3 of them, they have to concede that it is doing nothing to attract non-resident boaters, which is the entire point of the launch in terms of economic development.

I can't reduce the amount of the permit, but one thing I can do unilaterally is to sponsor the 2015 passes to net down the cost, and I would like to propose this for comment:

Our funding formula anticipated a 25% benefit for non-profits, and we gross about $100 on the $120, so we could potentially write a check for $25 to a non-profit for every non-resident permit sold through such a program. The non-profit could split the money with the permit holder as a membership benefit.

Comments?
 
I am one of three non-residents.

I talked to them I have to go down to Dos to get mine fixed. I was one of three and I bought it Oct from machine and its expired at end of year which is no good. I only launched there once since I bought it. They just offered to give me a pass for 2015.

I have to think about that idea... and donations are great, Search on Rescue SAR, food bank, SSES or rotary clubs.

Here is what you should talk about with them. If people buy passes you should just be able to go and buy a pass and expires the date one year when you got it...That is not the case here which is very confusing. Say my example but in October then it expires in Dec. In my case that sucks as I likely will only do a few trips until end of winter...Kind of a deterrent.
 
Terrance,
Thanks for positive idea and offer to sponsor. I admit to being one who hasn't always paid the fee. The reason is that I paid about 10 times this summer when the attendant was there - then when she wasn't at the ramp, the ticket machine did not work for me so I gave up paying.
The formula seems a little complicated for the average fisherman who just wants to get his launch cost down. I think the DoS should reconsider and get it at least under $100. An annual pass to launch in downtown Victoria (James Bay) is $25! It also hurts a bit more when Sooke residents pay so much less than us non-residents (yes, its there tax dollars that paid for it - I get it)
Again, I appreciate your efforts to single-handedly get the costs down - and it is a beautiful launch w cleaning station and toilet. Thank you to you and Sooke!
 
Thanks for the good vibes. Unfortunately, the DoS is not revisiting anything until at least June, and passes are calendar year, (also against my written recommendation), meaning 2015 starts in January) so if I want anything to happen in terms of the pass, I have to do it myself.

I also told them in writing in no uncertain terms not to install that particular ticket machine. It's an obsolete 1980s pos that had no possibility of meeting requirements, and cost about 3X as much as a proper payment kiosk that I offered to supply.
 
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