2008-09-19 49 -122

Fri 19 Sep 2008 in 49,-122: 49.1475079, -122.8478166 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

It be just off King Gearrrge Highway, nearrr the cornarrr of 79A Avenue and 133A Street, in someone's carrrport.

Advance Scouting Report

Robyn passed abeam her on the way home from work, in most unpiratey garb that included epaulets and a tie. The geohash be in or just in front of an open carrrport set back between two houses. One house might be vacant, with a pile of newspapers on the front step and the other one looks like a party house, unkempt with a pile of beer bottles on the back stoop. The geohash be accessible by just walking up the driveway, and I expect that being a Friday night the owners of the beer bottles might be there and willing to join in the piratey fun.

A 24 hour geosquishy vendor be located at the corner of King George and 80th, less than 400 m from the geohash. The King George Skytrain station be 4 km north. Yarrrr!

Expeditions

wmcduff

Yarr! Wmcduff dragged shipmates, one from the fair port of Abbotsford, the other from Surrey who sailed to Abbotsford only to be forced to return back to his home port, to this here geohash at a time about 6 bells during the afternoon. He might not have been precisely on the X, but an expedition was launched, arr. More words and pictures tomorrow, I swear by the Jolly Roger.

Apparently pirates lie, big surprise. However, my friend should have pictures on his cel phone...I may get them one day.

(Ten months later...)

Yarr! So lads, did we hit the point?

No Cap'n! We were west of the X on the map by a good ten yarrrrds from the evidence.

Blast! But we must have passed through the hash. A drunken success at the least. Still, I'm a yellowbellied blackbeard, s'truth. Why, you can see the landowners behind me. I could have had a mug of ale from them!

I think you've had enough ale, Cap'n. You took ten months to sober up.

Perhaps, matey. Perhaps.

Robyn & Wade

Robyn asked Wade if he would like to come on a "midnight pirate geohash" and Wade agreed, which meant that we went on his motorcycle, with Robyn giving directions. "Harrrd a starrrboarrrd!" We parked around the corner, donned our pirate garb, and approached the geohash on foot, stopping at the entrance to the driveway. While we were standing there, softly saying "yarrr!" to one another, we noticed someone walking in the characteristic geohashing posture, GPS in hand. I was kind of surprised that he did not at once cry out in pirately greeting, but instead strolled up and asked "Are you here for the same reason I am?"

"Yarrr we be!"

It was thepiguy who provided the promised ten seconds of entertainment by explaining his nickname. We then attempted to take pictures of ourselves in the dark, photographed our GPSes at the stroke of midnight, discussed our great future geohash plans, and parted ways.

The midnight hash is several metres back from the coordinates, but they were reached in the afternoon reconnaissance mission, as it's more acceptable to walk down a stranger's driveway at four-thirty in the afternoon than at midnight.

It was my first ever time meeting another geohasher at a geohash!

Thepiguy

Thepiguy had planned on bringing along a van load of friends for some midnight pirate fun. However, all 5 people ended up not being able to go, so he made the trek out to Surrey solo.

I had a few errands to run, which justified me borrowing the van, so I figured a small detour wasn't out of the question. I made it within a few blocks of the location, and parked my car around 23:30. I then wandered around the block for the next half hour trying not to look like I was wandering around the block for a half hour. I actually passed my fellow geohashers Robyn and Wade while they were getting of their motorcycle but I was so busy pretending to text message people on my GPS that I didn't realize who they were.

When I finally wandered back to the hash, I was horrified to see that there were some no-good thugs hanging around the location.

"How am I supposed to take a pictures in a pirate costume with other people around?"

A few steps closer,

"For all I know they might try and mug me! Maybe they'll leave when they see me coming."

A few steps closer,

"Darnit! They're standing almost exactly at the hash point too! Can't they go stand somewhere else?"

Even closer,

"And what is that strange hat that persons wearing?"

Almost there now,

"Wait! ZOMFG, it's a pirate hat! Holy crap, they're geohashers!!!!11"

Photographs

• 

  Proof of reaching geohash, within the precision of the GPS.

• 

  The carport by day.

• 

  Why you should not try to take a picture of yourself.

• 

  The fourth geohasher.

• 

  Proof of midnight.

• 

  Arrr!

• 

  Midnight geohash!

• 

  There be hastily made pirate gear afoot!

• 

  Yar, I need to be three points to starboard...

• 

  But I be fairly close...