A group with Salt Spring ties is aiming to pacify tensions between Canada and the United States through a meeting of boats on the water.
Hands Across the Water runs Sept. 19 to 21, and was born from the vision of an Orcas Island, Wash. resident and his friends, Lyle MacWilliam, a former MP and MLA in B.C., and Bob Derber from California.
On Friday, Sept. 19, a flotilla of more than 100 privately owned American watercraft will set sail northward from Orcas Island to a location near the international border, where they will meet a Canadian flotilla sailing southward from Salt Spring Island.
The flotillas will meet and exchange greetings of friendship, goodwill, and recognition of shared cultures, the press release said.
This will be followed by formal greetings at Centennial Park in Ganges.
Opening ceremonies will include welcoming presentations from the office of Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson; B.C. Premier David Eby; Saanich-Gulf Islands MP Elizabeth May; and Saanich North and the Islands MLA Rob Botterrell.
The official greeting ceremony will take place on the water on Friday, Sept. 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Welbury Bay (dependent on weather patterns) on the deck of the historic S.V. 2 Providence. The ship will depart from Ganges Harbour at 3 p.m. to meet the flotilla. Tickets are $150 for the three-hour cruise.
“We want to make abundantly clear that this event is not a political protest. Our vision is to meet as neighbours and friends who have long shared common histories and interests,” said Lyle MacWilliam, co-founder of Hands Across the Water, in a press release.
“Hands Across the Water is a voluntary organization concerned about the growing tensions between our two great nations. As a charitable non-profit entity, we seek to raise awareness of the rich history we have long shared – and will continue to share – as neighbours and friends.”
The weekend will include celebrations, discussions and a wide variety of cultural, social and sporting activities that serve to stimulate the coastal communities towards a “synergistic and beneficial future,” MacWilliam said.
Any excess funds raised through these activities will be distributed to charities throughout the regions.
“We’re thrilled to welcome our neighbours from Orcas for a weekend of friendship and festivities,” said Jason Roy Allen, president of the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce.
Learn more at acrossthewater.org.
