Vancouver Fastboat Adventures

Video recorded with the Canon SD960. As you can tell this little camera takes sweet 720p 30fps HD video.

People always tell me the best views of Vancouver are from the water. Usually these people live in Yaletown and own a multi-million dollar yacht.

The closest thing I have to a luxury boat is an inflatable turtle-shaped dingy I got from the clearance bin in Canadian Tire last year. The likelihood of me sailing around Vancouver Harbour in Mr. Snaps is, well, very unlikely.

This is why I was so excited when I heard about Vancouver Fastboat Adventures. The new adventure tour company, located at the foot of Denman St. in Coal Harbour, just opened its doors this May and has been running two to three tours a day on their 12-seater zodiacs to eager tourists and Vancouver city slickers alike.

Taken with the Canon PowerShot SD960 with Photoshop Solarize filter.

Last week, I had the opportunity to take my mum on both tours and we had a fantastic time. I have to say the biggest thrill for me was the speed. I sat right at the front and could not stop smiling and giggling the entire trip.

The zodiac bolted us smoothly across the harbour at 40 kilometres an hour, until we hit another boat’s wake and were tossed up and down like a mini roller coaster.

Even my mum, who is generally not the thrill-seeking type, couldn’t take the grin off her face as we sped under the Lions Gate Bridge. We both took tons of pictures and laughed a lot.

I loved seeing Stanley Park from the water and getting an up close look at the new Olympic athletes’ village in False Creek.

It was also fun pointing out my first apartment building, my favourite Granville Island gelato shop and my top secret fireworks watching spot in English Bay.

I was genuinely surprised at the number of new places I was introduced to on this trip. I was greeted by new, fabulous little parks and coves during my Vancouver Fastboat tour.

Begrudgingly, I have to admit that the best views of Vancouver are indeed from the water, but you don’t need a pricey schooner to see them.

Published in The Province.