Fireside Books: Fireside Books in Parksville and The BookWyrm in Port Alberni offer used books at just $5 or less. Both locations make growing your personal library easier than ever. New and used books and so much more. Order online at firesidebooks.ca and pick up at either location. Details available online. Ask about returning books for a book credit. Two locations, one amazing adventure in browsing 

Eddie Van Haddock & The Rockfish: In a little town by the sea where the stories never end, lived Captain Dave and his crew, every child's favourite friend. With a smile as wide as the ocean and a heart that's full of dreams, he sails a mellow submarine where magic gleams and beams. Every morning at sunrise, when the world awakes anew, Captain Dave and his crew set sail in waters deep and blue. Through the ticking clock of time, where adventures come alive, they laugh and learn and play each day in their underwater dive.

Dave Graham: Captain Dave stood on the deck of the mellow submarine, watching the early sun spread gold across the water near Rath Trevor Beach. The tide was low, and long stretches of wet sand glittered all the way to the tree line.

"Larry," called Captain Dave, "come up and see this morning. It's a beauty." Larry the lobster climbed up from below deck, clipboard tucked under one claw and a pencil in the other. "Morning, Captain. I was just finishing our patrol notes: water temperature, tide height, and a full count of the gulls on the sandbar."

"How many gulls today?" "Forty-one," said Larry proudly, "though a few of them wouldn't hold still. It's possible it was forty-two." Captain Dave chuckled and lifted his binoculars to scan the shoreline the way he did every morning before breakfast. Suddenly, he went very quiet. "Larry, hand me the binoculars a moment.

No, wait, I'm already holding them. Just look down there, past the log near the dune grass." Larry squinted with his small, dark eyes. "I don't see anything, Captain." "There, a little gray shape. It isn't moving much." Larry gasped and dropped his pencil, which rolled straight off the deck and into the water with a tiny plop.

"Captain, is that a seal pup all alone on the beach?" "It looks like one," said Captain Dave carefully, "and it looks like it's crying." Harbor seal pups did make a sound almost like a human baby, a soft, wailing cry that could tug at anyone's heart. Larry's claws trembled. "We have to go help it, Captain, right now.

I'll carry it back to the water myself." "Hold on, Larry." Captain Dave put a steady hand on the little navigation wheel to keep it from spinning as Larry bumped past it. "That's exactly the kind of thing we must never do." Larry stopped mid-scuttle. "Never do? But it's, it's alone, and it's crying." "A pup alone on the sand isn't always in trouble," Captain Dave explained.

"Harbor seal mothers often leave their pups resting on the beach while they go fishing offshore. It looks lonely to us, but the mother's usually watching from the water, and she comes back when it's safe. If we go running over and pick the pup up, we might frighten the mother away for good, and then the pup would really be alone."

Larry's claws sagged. "Oh, I didn't know that." "Most people don't," said Captain Dave. "That's why the golden rule along any beach on Vancouver Island is to stay back at least the length of a school bus and never touch a seal pup, even if it looks like it needs a hug." "So what do we do?" "We watch carefully from a distance, and we look for real signs of trouble," said Captain Dave.

"Let's bring the Mellow Submarine a little closer, quietly, and take a proper look through the binoculars before we decide anything." Larry retrieved a spare pencil from the supply drawer, muttering about how he really ought to tie the other one to a string one day, and followed Captain Dave to the bow.

The Mellow Submarine glided silently toward the shallows off Rath Trevor Beach, her electric motors barely humming. Captain Dave raised the binoculars again and studied the little seal pup for a long, quiet minute. "There," he said finally. "Look at its back flipper, Larry. Do you see that thin dark line wrapped around it?"

Larry squinted through his own binoculars, the ones with a claw-shaped grip that Captain Dave had specially built for him. "It looks like fishing line, Captain. Oh, it's caught." "That's not a mother leaving her pup to rest. That pup is hurt, and it's tangled in something that shouldn't be there," said Captain Dave, his voice turning serious.

"That is exactly the kind of trouble we're trained to spot, and exactly the kind of moment when we call for real help." "The Wildlife Recovery Center?" asked Larry, already flipping to a fresh page on his clipboard. "The Recovery Center has trained rescuers who know exactly how to help an animal like this safely without causing more harm," said Captain Dave with a nod.

"Radio them for me, would you, Larry? Tell them what we've seen and exactly where we are." Larry hurried to the radio station, cleared his throat importantly, and pressed the call button. "This is First Mate Larry the Lobster of the Mellow Submarine calling the Wildlife Recovery Center. We have a harbor seal pup on the sand near Rathdrevor Beach, entangled in fishing line, and appearing to be alone and in distress.

Requesting rescue assistance. Over." A calm voice crackled back through the speaker, thanking them for the report and asking them to stay a safe distance away and keep an eye on the pup until help arrived. "Understood," said Larry, sitting a little taller in his seat. "Standing by." "Good work, Larry," said Captain Dave.

"That call might just save its life." They didn't have to wait long. Within the hour, a small white truck pulled up near the parking lot above the beach, and two rescuers climbed out. They were wearing gloves and carrying a soft carrier crate, along with a blanket and a special net. "Watch closely," said Captain Dave.

"This is how it's done properly." The rescuers moved slowly and quietly, speaking in low voices so they wouldn't frighten the pup any more than necessary. One of them gently placed the blanket over the little seal to help it feel calm and safe, while the other carefully worked at the tangled fishing line with small scissors, being ever so careful not to hurt the tender skin underneath.

"They're so gentle," whispered Larry. "Rescuers always are," said Captain Dave. "Rushing in, even with good intentions, can hurt an animal that's already scared and weak. Slow and careful wins the day." Once the fishing line was fully removed, the rescuers lifted the pup, wrapped snugly in its blanket, and placed it into the carrier crate.

Before they drove away, one of the rescuers looked out toward the water, spotted the Mellow Submarine's yellow hull bobbing in the shallows, and gave a friendly wave and a thumbs up. "They're taking it to the recovery center now," said Captain Dave, waving back. "They'll check for injuries, keep it warm, and if all goes well, they'll help it grow strong enough to go back to the ocean where it belongs."

Larry wrote furiously in his clipboard, "Should we go visit, Captain, to see how the pup is doing?" "I don't see why not," said Captain Dave with a smile. "Wildlife centers love showing families and curious lobsters how their rescue work happens, as long as we're respectful visitors and keep our voices down."

Three weeks later, Captain Dave and Larry docked the Mellow Submarine near French Creek and walked, or in Larry's case, scuttled, up the path to the Wildlife Recovery Center. A kind staff member named Priya met them at the gate. "You must be the submarine crew who called in that seal pup," she said, smiling.

"Come on through. She's doing wonderfully." "She?" asked Larry. "We named her Rath Trevor after the beach where you found her," said Priya, leading them along a quiet path lined with pools and enclosures. "When she first arrived, she was underweight, and her flipper needed time to heal from that fishing line. We tube-fed her a special fish formula at first, and once she was strong enough, we moved her onto whole herring."

Along the way, they passed enclosures holding other patients: a bald eagle with a bandaged wing resting on a low perch, a raccoon kit curled up asleep in a nest of towels, and a great blue heron standing quietly on one leg in a shallow pool. "We help all sorts of wild neighbors here," said Priya, "not just seals.

Anything sick, injured, or orphaned on this part of Vancouver Island might end up in our care for a little while until it's ready to go back to living wild and free." "That seems like an awful lot of clipboards to manage," Larry said, glancing at the busy staff bulletin board. Priya laughed. "You'd fit right in around here."

They arrived at a large pool where a plump, sleek harbor seal pup lay resting on a platform, her big, dark eyes blinking curiously at the visitors. "Oh, she's grown so much," Larry whispered. "Harbor seals grow fast when they're healthy," said Priya. "In the wild, a mother nurses her pup for about four to six weeks on very rich milk, and the pup can nearly double its weight in that time.

Rath Trevor missed some of that nursing time because of her injury, so our job has been to help her catch up safely." Captain Dave leaned toward the pool, careful to stay behind the rope. "What happens once she's strong enough?" "We watch for a few important signs," said Priya. She needs to be at a healthy weight, swimming well, and most importantly, catching live fish entirely on her own with no help from us.

Wild seals can never learn to depend on people. Once she passes all of those tests, she earns her ticket home. Back to Rath Trevor Beach? asked Larry. Somewhere along that stretch of coast, yes, said Priya. Right where she belongs. Larry scribbled something on his clipboard, then paused, clicking his claws thoughtfully.

Priya, what should someone do if they ever find a seal pup alone on the beach again? I was ready to rush over myself before Captain Dave stopped me. That's exactly the right question, said Priya. Stay back at least as far as a school bus is long, keep dogs leashed and away, and never touch or move the pup.

Most pups on the beach are perfectly fine, just resting while their mother fishes nearby. But if you see something that worries you, like fishing line, a wound, or a pup crying for many hours without its mother returning, call us right away. Let the trained rescuers make the decision. That's the very best way to help.

We can do that, said Captain Dave. In fact, I think that's a lesson every family along this coast should know. A few more weeks passed, and one bright morning, the mellow submarine received a special radio message. Rath Trevor, the seal pup, was ready for release, and Priya had invited Captain Dave and Larry to watch from the water.

They arrived early and anchored a respectful distance from the beach, watching through their binoculars as the rescue team carried the crate down to the sand. A small crowd of local families had gathered, too, all keeping their distance and speaking in whispers of excitement. The crate door opened, and for a moment, Rath Trevor simply sat still, sniffing the salty air.

Then, with a joyful wriggle, she pushed forward across the sand, flippers working hard, until the first cool wave washed over her. She paused, looked back once toward the people who had helped her, and then slipped beneath the surface and was gone, swimming strong and free into the Strait of Georgia.

Everyone on the beach cheered quietly, careful not to startle any other wildlife nearby. "There she goes," Larry said, a little misty-eyed. "Look at her go, Captain." "That's what a happy ending looks like," said Captain Dave, watching the ripples spread across the water. "She got a second chance because someone noticed and called for help, and trained hands did the rest with patience and care."

"I'm glad we didn't rush over that first day," said Larry, "even though it was awfully hard to wait." "The hardest part of helping is sometimes knowing when not to help," said Captain Dave, "and knowing exactly who to call instead." Larry closed his clipboard with a satisfied click of his claws. "Should I add a new rule to our ship's log, Captain?

Something like, 'When in doubt, watch, don't touch, and call the experts.'" "Perfect," said Captain Dave. "Write it down before you lose another pencil." Larry laughed and reached for his pencil, which, as always, was nowhere to be found. As the Mellow Submarine slipped back beneath the waves and turned toward home, Captain Dave looked out at the wide, glimmering waters of the Strait of Georgia, full of seals, fish, and countless creatures great and small.

"Somewhere out there," he said softly, "a healthy young seal is out exploring her ocean home, and she'll grow up, and one day she might even raise a pup of her own on this very same beach." Larry settled in beside him at the porthole, watching the sunlight dance across the water. "That's a pretty good ending, Captain."

"It's not an ending at all, Larry," said Captain Dave, smiling as the Mellow Submarine cruised gently toward Nanoose Bay. "It's just the beginning of her story." 

Eddie Van Haddock & The Rockfish: When the night falls softly, and stars light up the sky, Captain Dave tucks his crew in with a gentle lullaby. Dreams of whales and mermaids, of treasures lush and green, await each little sailor aboard the mellow submarine.

Fireside Books: Fireside Books in Parksville and The BookWyrm in Port Alberni offer used books at just five dollars or less. Both locations make growing your personal library easier than ever. New and used books and so much more. Order online at firesidebooks.ca and pick up at either location. Details available online. Ask about returning books for a book credit. Two locations, one amazing adventure in browsing.