Ric Wallace, Artographer & White Rock Beach resident
Tel: (604) 259-0105
VIRTUAL EDGE COMMUNICATIONS
PO Box 75214, RPO White Rock, Surrey BC V4A 0B1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telling White Rock’s Storm of the Century in Pictures and Postcards

The historic and disastrous storm of the century on December 20, 2018 in White Rock, BC caused millions in damages but LUCKILY spared the lives of White Rock residents and visitors. As an east beach resident and participant in the Artist Walk program on the waterfront, Ric Wallace was seconds away from the action working on his computer. As the storm intensified, he could hear a loud BANG, BANG, BANG of the glass balcony canopy on a neighboring house, and with a camera always at the ready, he ventured out across Marine Drive to get a first-hand look.

While snapping pictures, Wallace tried unsuccessfully to protect his camera and lens from the salt spray and did something no professional photographer would do under normal circumstances: more than once he went into the washroom to dry his lens and camera with toilet paper and under the hand dryer. Venturing back out into the storm, he asked a stranger if she would mind if he used her back as a salt-spray shield, and he continued recording this historic happening as both stills and video. Suddenly another bystander shouted that the boats had come loose and were smashing into the pier.

 

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A post shared by Mr White Rock (@mrwhiterockbc) on Dec 20, 2018 at 2:03pm PST

Wallace rushed west up Marine Drive – the promenade was too risky because of the high waves and debris littering the walkway. He captured on camera the sailboats smashing into White Rock’s landmark pier, acting as crowbars with the force of the waves and wind thrusting the vessels under and up through the pier, lifting the decking that gave the pier its strength. He also watched and recorded the successful rescue of the stranded visitor, who was cut off from the shore by the now missing midsection of the pier.

Knowing that many people would want a keepsake of this moment in history when White Rock’s over 100-year-old pier was destroyed by the Storm of the Century with a wind force likened to a Category 1 hurricane, Wallace has produced a selection of prints suitable for framing, and now has available postcard sets, time-stamped on the back indicating when the photograph was taken, showing the progression of the damage to the pier as well as the dramatic Coast Guard rescue. The waterfront restaurants Moby Dick’s Fish & Chips and Charlie Don’t Surf  both have purchased photo enlargements to display on their walls to share this historic event with their customers for years to come.

Ric Wallace has been made famous many times for recognizing when an opportunity comes knocking. The BANG BANG BANG he heard while he was working at his computer was the UNIVERSE KNOCKING LOUDLY and telling him to get out and take some photos of this historic event. The universe also rewarded him for his efforts by telling him to register the domain WhiteRockPier.ca which had just become available Christmas morning December 25, 2018.

If climate change experts are correct in their predictions of rising sea levels and stronger storms in the future, a pier that is higher and stronger along with a higher and longer breakwater should be considered to insure that the now estimated $16.2 Million for repairs or replacement of the pier is not wasted money and effort. The White Rock Beach pier is like a part of the family and many memories are tied to it – everything from first dates, weddings, anniversaries, birthday, learning to swim, fishing or snapping award- winning sunrises or sunsets captured from the pier.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ric Wallace, Artographer – Tel: (604) 259-0105
Visit WhiteRockBeach.ca or WhiteRockPier.ca