An early morning text message from Andrew Nelson led to a short but sweet skimboard session at Vancouver’s Third Beach. Around 11am I hopped on my clunker bike, and pedaled along the Stanley Park seawall to Third Beach where Andrew was skimming. While cruising along I found a perfect location to grab some scenic shots.
After shooting for a bit with my trusty old school manual Nikkor lenses, I hopped back on my bike and headed down to the beach to meet up with Andrew. It had been a few months since I last saw Andrew, as we spent some time chilling at the Sub Zero Skim Jam in Port Renfrew back in March. After catching up, we had just under an hour to shoot. After rattling off a number of photos it was time to head off again.
I will hopefully be getting out to shoot with Andrew again in the coming weeks. Although Third Beach rarely delivers a skim-able environment (or so I have been told), tides around 2.0 feet provide ample playing room for skimboarders, as both tidal pools and streams form. Tides like this provide lots of potential and variation for Vancouver’s skimboard community, as I will definitely be coming back to Third Beach again in the near future. Hopefully next time for a little longer.
About the author
Injury plagued for the past half decade, Brett has focused his efforts on documenting and developing skimboarding in British Columbia through photography and literature. Following successful bankart surgery in the fall of 2010 and a lengthy rehabilitation, he hopes to be back in the salt water very soon.
Read more posts by Brett Wildeman
