Arjun Tyagi had always wanted to try stand up paddle boarding, so when his friend told him Vancouver’s new Paddling Centre on False Creek was offering free rides he decided it was the time to get his feet wet.
“I’ve never tried it before, but it’s a beautiful day, so why not? The water looks a little cold though,” the 29-year-old Vancouverite said, laughing.
The Vancouver park board’s new $3.2-million Paddling Centre, made up of six small storage buildings for non-motorized boats and paddling equipment and six floating docks, officially opened this week on the south side of False Creek, in front of the Creekside Community Recreation Centre.
The slips and storage containers, which light up at night, were designed to look like floating lanterns.
To celebrate the opening, organizers with Vancouver’s dragon boating community on Saturday offered free 45-minute dragon boat paddling sessions, as well as rides on paddle boards and kayaks.
Tyagi looked a little nervous as he got on the board and stayed on his knees, as did his friend Clara Soh, 33, an avid dragon boater who recently moved to Vancouver from Australia.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver was open to kayakers and rowers on a sunny Saturday, April 30, 2016.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Vancouver, BC: April 30, 2016 -- The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver, BC Saturday, April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The False Creek Paddling Centre on False Creek in Vancouver on April 30, 2016.Jason Payne / PNG
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
“I went paddle boarding once back home, but it was clear and you could see the bottom. So this is a little bit different. Looking forward to it though,” said Soh.
Rick Green, 50, of Vancouver said he had a brilliant turn in a kayak, but cautioned the high traffic volume in False Creek can be a bit of a concern. And then there’s the issue about the fecal coliform count in False Creek, he added.
Every summer beaches close to swimming in False Creek because of soaring and unsafe levels of fecal coliform bacteria, which is a major concern for the hundreds of dragon boaters who train at False Creek. The park board last year launched a campaign to encourage boaters to use the pump out stations at the Heather Marina and the Burrard Civic Marina.
Still, concerns about the water’s bacteria count were not enough to stop dozens of residents and visitors, who turned out for the event Saturday, many of them families introducing their children to the sport, and first-time paddlers like Tyagi.
Ann Phelps, general manager of the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society, said she was thrilled with the new centre, calling it the first step toward a permanent home.
“We’ve been basically squatting on park board land for about 20 years, and when we started it was not much more than mud and dirt around us and now there’s a lot of development. So we really needed a place of surety to have for the rest of our life,” said Phelps. Dragon boating has been growing in popularity since its introduction to Vancouver at Expo ’86 and the annual Dragon Boat Festival takes place every summer on False Creek .
On busy evenings, Phelps estimates about 750 paddlers come through the centre a night, including members and kids taking lessons.
She said while they are delighted with the new home for paddlers, eventually they would like to build a community boat house that has a social area and change rooms.
Rachel Zheng, of Delta was there with her young children. She said they are originally from China and she would like her kids to learn more about their culture, and because it’s a fun way to exercise.
“Dragon boat is team work,” she said. “Hopefully they will get interested. Also I wanted to try it out and see if I like it.”
The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Society and British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society will be operating out of the centre, and will contract out to the Dragon Zone Paddling Club to offer programs such as summer dragon boating camps for children.
Phelps said the allure of dragon boating for most people is the social factor and building team skills.
“So people, especially if they don’t have a big social circle, they join a dragon boat team and the next thing they know they have 21 new friends. And they are not just friends on the water. They tend to be friends for life,” she said.
Funding for the Paddling Centre comes from Concord Pacific via community amenity contributions, money provided by property developers when city council grants development rights through rezoning, and a $1-million donation from Terry Hui, CEO of Concord Pacific.
