2024 News
FALL 2024
POTLUCK / AGM / BINGO NIGHT
This year’s event (held on Saturday, Nov 2, 5-8pm) was a great success ! …and enjoyed by the 45 people who participated in the delicious dinner, brief-but-informative Annual General Meeting, and three hilarious rounds of bingo, with great prizes for first- and second-place winners in each game.
We thanked Janet Young for her three years of service on the board and welcomed Vince Olfert. Ann Oosterhuis had planned on retiring after four years of serving on the board, but has since graciously agreed to stay on the board for another year. You can check out the AGM minutes at Board > AGM Minutes > 2024.
Two young bingo players at this year’s Potluck / AGM / Bingo Night on Nov 2. This is the only photo taken by a board member… if you have any photos from this event, please send us a copy at granthamswharf@gmail.com.
WINDSTORM DAMAGE
The windstorm on the night of Nov 7/8 knocked down a tree that fell on our floats in Elphinstone Park (where they are stored for the winter), which damaged over a dozen of the 2×6″ deck planks and parts of the 4×4″ rail, and broke one of the main 4×10″ beams. Likely about $600 of lumber and hardware along with some good volunteer labour will fix up the floats in time for next summer. Our GWA liability insurance does not cover this damage.
CREDIT CARDS NOW ACCEPTED !
Credit Card payments are now accepted for GWA membership donations and merchandise !
Simply click the Credit Card button on the Members > Donate page or the Merchandise > Grantham’s Cards pages.
The previous payment methods (Etransfer, Cheques, and Cash) are still accepted as well.
MEMBERSHIP DONATIONS
- Thanks to the 88 households that have made their 2024 Membership Donation !
- It’s not too late to make your donation, especially if you used the wharf last summer.
- The members present at the AGM on Nov 2 discussed several ideas to raise the GWA annual donation amount… but after some discussion, the board has decided to leave the minimum donation at $50 as it has been for about 20 years. Members are encouraged to donate more if they are able, and to donate every year.
- Use the Members menu above or click these links:
- You can also make your 2025 Membership Donation and, if applicable, pay for your watercraft storage (which is due by April 30 in order to reserve your spot).
- All GWA funds are used for paying for regular maintenance, repairs, and insurance of our community wharf, and to build up our capital fund to deal with emergency expenses and eventual float replacement.
- Examples of regular GWA expenses include:
- removal/replacement of the floats every fall/spring
- materials for repairs (e.g. for the tree damage reported above)
- improvements to the ramp planned for this spring
- liability insurance, etc.
- Everyone associated with the GWA is a volunteer, there are no paid positions or stipends of any kind.
NEW WEBSITE FORMAT
This GWA website has been overhauled… but most of the changes are cosmetic. The structure and content are mostly unchanged. One exception is that the GWA NEWS – invites and info to upcoming events and reports & photos of previous events along with other community news – will now be listed on this Home page. GWA emails will refer to this content, rather than repeating it all in the email message.
If you have any problems or suggestions re the website, please email us at granthamswharf@gmail.com.
FLOAT HIBERNATION
This year’s crew (Adrian, Hans, Al, & Tony – regrets: Bruno & Stu) along with Erik in his Beachcombing boat got the floats disconnected and the ramp pulled up onto the Granthams pier on Tuesday Oct 15 as planned. With the GWA’s new swim ramp as the caboose, the three big floats were towed to Gibsons Harbour at high-tide and pushed up on the beach as usual.
We had a very short low-tide window the next morning, but our regular truck hauler (Lonnie) was not available. So we arranged with the good guys at Readi-Mix to bring their truck to the beach for haulage. Their truck bed is 22 feet long, and our floats are close to 25 feet long, but we didn’t expect that to be a problem (since the floats can hang a few feet off the back of the truck)… until they showed up at 8:00am on Wed Oct 16. Their crane was mounted at the rear end of the truck bed !… so 22 feet was their absolute limit. So there was no way we could haul the floats… instead we used the opportunity to lift the floats and scrape the mussels (thanks Adrian, Randy, Al, and Tony!) to keep the neighbours and the ducks happy.
Our floats rested in Gibsons Harbour for the next 9 days !… until a sufficiently low tide and Lonnie (with Bruno and Tony as helpers) were available on Friday Oct 25 to get them off the beach and into Elphinstone Park by our Community Hall. It all worked out in the end, even for the ducks… and here’s the photos to prove it :o)
Towing (on Oct 15), scraping (Oct 16), and finally hauling (Oct 25) the floats to their hibernation spot in Elphinstone Park.
More photos at About > Photos > 2024 > Float Hibernation
To join the Wharf Crew and receive notifications when help is needed, please email granthamswharf@gmail.com or call/txt Tony at 778-840-7754.
SUMMER 2024
GRANTHAMS DAY
Potluck & Community Jump & at Granthams Day
More Photos at GWA Site > About > Photos… > 2024 > Granthams Day
We enjoyed another fun-filled community get-together at the wharf on August 10. Starting with our traditional community Jump off the floats, followed by delicious BBQ burgers and fabulous potluck finger foods, salads, and deserts, introductions of the GWA Board and new members, an exiting raffle with multiple marvelous prizes, and lots of visiting in the sunshine by the sea.
Based on the vote held at the event, we are switching back to the 2nd Saturday in July so the next Granthams Day will be on 12 July 2025.
A big SHOUT OUT these local businesses for their generous contributions to our Raffle prizes (and to Katherine for drumming up all the support) !
- Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co.
- London Drugs – 3 x 25$ gift cards
- IGA – 50$ gift card
- Dorado Beauty Bar – Joyco Hair Products, nail polish
- KW Nails&Esthetics – Dermalogica Skin Care products
- Supervalu – 2 x 24 cases of bottled water
- Starbucks – basket of goodies
- Gibson’s Pet and Food Supplies – dog toys, massive bone, and treats
- Black Bean – fresh coffee beans, touque, playing cards, frisbee.
- Swish – 25$ gift card, scarf, sunglasses
- Mike’s Place – gift card for Mike’s gelato cake.
We still have a few of the above prizes to give away to the Bingo winners on Nov 2.
SPRING 2024
- May 7: The floats are back in place! And the sun is shining (most of the time) !
- Thanks to the crew for replacing the floats from their winter storage in the park: Mary, Bruno, Betty, Janet, Adrian, Randy, Al, Kelly, and Tony !
- And special thanks to Adrian and Bruno for welding, painting, and installing the new steel braces on the overhead gate at the end of the pier, so we can now lift/lower the ramp every fall/spring without pulling the wharf apart !
- GWA members didn’t waste any time making use of the floats this season, some folks started swimming the very next day.
2023 News
- Check out the photos from our 2023 Granthams Day event !
What is the GWA ?
The Granthams Wharf Association (GWA), established in 1968, is a registered Canadian charity with the sole responsibility of maintaining the wharf and the surrounding area for use by the Community.
The association receives no government funding and instead relies on the financial contributions and volunteer labour of its members to keep this community wharf in good condition. All Granthams residents – homeowners, long-term rental tenants, and seasonal residents – are invited to join the GWA and help maintain the wharf by making an annual donation of $50 per household, and to volunteer on work crews if and when possible.
Notes re Wharf Access:
- Family and friends who are visiting a GWA member are also welcome to use the wharf.
- Homeowners who host short-term rental guests should donate an additional $50 annually if any of those guests intend to use the wharf.
- Any other persons living outside of Granthams must become GWA Members and be current with their annual donation in order to use the wharf.
GWA members may also store canoes, kayaks, surfboards, paddleboards, tenders and small inflatables on the boat rack, on the hillside or at the dinghy dock for an additional $50 per watercraft.
For additional information, visit the various pages on this website (using the menu at the top).
Still have questions? Please email us at: granthamswharf@gmail.com
To become a GWA member, click here.
Aerial View of the Granthams Landing Community and the Wharf