As rogue oil oozed from the Westwood Anette last Friday, kiteboarders and windsurfers in the Sound helplessly watched the black sludge moving towards their playground. As the filth came closer they also saw their hard work and future plans suddenly go dark.
"It was a normal day then I saw a black streak," said Michelle Rudell, the Spit site manager for the Squamish Windsports Society. "I said 'what the hell is that? It looks like a bloody oil slick!'"
After realizing it was indeed oil approaching the exposed shore of the Spit, Rudell attempted to warn other people in the water.
"I was amazed at how fast it was seeping [from the boat]," she said. "I was out on the jet ski telling everyone to come in. It was horrible."
Gary Smith, Squamish Windsports Society president, member of the Estuary Committee, and veterinarian, was also at the Spit at the time of the spill.
"I thought it was another derailment, I thought 'Here we go again,'" he said, referring to the CN spill, which dumped 41,000 litres of toxic chemicals into the Cheakamus River exactly one year ago from the date of the oil spill.
"There were five kites with oil on the lines, the kite, the uniforms - oil everywhere. All of that equipment is ruined."
Smith was also concerned about how the spill would affect the birds in the area, which he said could suffer from hypothermia because the oil would inhibit their ability to keep warm.
"[The birds'] insulating ability goes away," he said. "Fortunately it's not too cold a day today. But you have to keep them warm [when they're cleaned] to keep them alive."
As a result of the spill, the District of Squamish closed access to the Spit, also hurting the Windsports Society financially as it would not be able to collect user fees from long-weekend kiteboarder and windsurfers.
Jean-Michel Tremblay is the director of finances and operations for the society, which leases the spit from the district and charges users $15 per day to sail the area or $145 for the entire year. He said the spill came during a weekend where 300 kiteboarders and windsurfers were expected to use the site.
"It is a big impact to us. Once again, for the second year in a row, we have lost access to our site on the long weekend," he said. "On weekends we will loose $400 to $500 a day in revenue, during the week it could be any where from $100 to $200 a day."
Tremblay said society staff would be out of work and companies which operate out of the spit would also be out of luck.
"Financially, it will also impact our staff - who have lost all of their employment right now," he said. "There is also the kiteboarding school and the kayak rentals, which will be hurt."
In June of this year, the Squamish Windsports Society received a $120,000 grant in aid from the District of Squamish to expand their site. Tremblay said this money would have been used to double the rigging and set-up area as well as improving users access, but plans would be halted because of the spill.
"We had started the work. We had all of the rocks lined up to start doing the expansion and now we don't know," he said. "The shores need to be cleaned up before we can do anything, so we are a bit in limbo. Really, we are back to square one so it is frustrating."
Despite the financial loss the Squamish Windsport Society has suffered, combined with the loss of their main area for sailing, Tremblay said his members were not trying to play the role of victims.
"Don't feel bad for us, feel bad for Squamish. Everybody is a victim. To lose access out there is brutal and it is more than for the sailors - it is everybody coming with their dogs and their families to enjoy the place and now they can't," he said.
"Whatever happens from one season to another we always manage to be ok, financially. But we are devastated by the fact the site is pretty much destroyed. The beauty it is gone and that is the major impact on us, really."
Updated information regarding the status of the Squamish Spit can be found at www.skypilotkiteboarding.com.
-with files from Sylvie Paillard
