In memory of Barry Rimmer - Happy Trails!

This week’s blog is dedicated to the memory of our dear friend, Barry Rimmer who died suddenly on Sunday in Vancouver from a heart attack.

In tribute to Barry:
We have been family friends with the Rimmers for over 20 years. We have spent many memorable weekends with them at SunDance Guest Ranch. Words cannot express how very sad we are. Barry was a legend and he touched the lives of everyone who knew and loved him. It is really remarkable that both our son Danny and Peter - two different generations - thought of him as such a close friend (as did our daughter Kylie and I). He was bigger than life and a man of real integrity and heart. He will live on in our memories as well as the four organ donor recipients that he saved the lives of. (Generous in life – generous in death – no surprise there). We now have a new angel in heaven watching over us...and you can bet he'll be kicking our ass if we don't live every day with love, humour and boundless enthusiasm as he did. He leaves behind a loving wife, Lynn and an amazing daughter Megan (Kylie's age - 23) and a huge number of friends. R.I.P. dear friend. We will miss you.
Peter & Barry spend many, many wonderful Friday nights together around “Pokey’s Post”. They were the dynamic duo and best of buddies. Sadly this was the last Friday night they shared at SunDance a few months ago in May 2011.



Needless to say, Barry’s sudden death overshadowed everything this week. Prior to this terrible news, we had a wonderful continuing visit in Jack’s Bay. We had gone out for dives again Friday and Saturday and I’m thrilled that I seem to have my buoyancy issues figured out (thanks to Scott, who is a certified dive instructor).

In between dives with Scott on Beachhouse



On Monday night, (which is Canada’s Sunday, we went out diving again with Scott in the morning. The dives were amazing – going through swim through caves, swimming with turtles, admiring the amazing White Wall, etc. I am so glad that the diving went so well. Things change in just a moment though, as we all know (but sometimes fail to appreciate).

The island church



After Danny called to say that Barry was in the hospital, I organized for some gals from the other boats in the bay to go in to church on Sunday – first time I’ve actually gone to a church and really prayed. I arranged to meet a local family who walked us to their church. It was a lovely service – all in Fijian. We had a chance to visit the local schoolhouse and to talk to many locals as we passed their homes walking to and from the church. The local family invited us in for tea and cookies, so we ended up with a wonderful day-long experience.

Adorable little 3-year old Stephanie, who came to church with us.



When we got back to the boat, Danny called with the terrible news. I had already organized with Jack to have the village put on a local dinner for the yachties that night. This is one way they can make some money off the boats coming through. We didn’t think we could still go as we were both inconsolable, but we felt committed to following through on the dinner that I set in motion.



Peter & Di with our host Chief Jack, after presenting the traditional Sevu Sevu which is given by the Captain to the Chief (shown above) This is a required custom to be welcomed on land. Upon acceptance of the gift (Kava) this is followed by a blessing for our boat and people aboard by the Chief on behalf of all the villagers. A sacred ceremony that is required on each island. (check out the rainbow in the rear of the photo shown below)



Our female hostess Eleanor wearing the Canada t-shirt we gave her.



We managed to get through this (as Barry would have wanted us to anyway) and then we decided to head out to sea for a few days of quiet reflection and to mourn Barry in our own way. We set sail before dawn and have been cruising towards the mainland ever since.

What was really bizarre is that we haven’t seen a whale since last year in Tonga. They are very rare here, however, as we were sailing out of the pass, as the sun was coming up, we saw a whale right in front of us, frolicking and breeching. I’m not sure I believe in any of this, but I really felt it was Barry’s spirit paying us a final visit in his wild and crazy way. If nothing else, it made us smile and we said our final farewell to a true friend.

Thinking of you Barry



We should arrive in our final destination tomorrow night close to Nadi airport. On the bright side, Kylie and her fiancé Taylor are arriving on Monday night for 10 days and we can’t wait.

On another bright note, our young friends (and surrogate kids) Dave and Lindsay are getting married this weekend at Silver Star. We wish we could be there to celebrate with them. Danny is in the wedding party and being a typical Bruckmann, he managed to cut his lip wide open yesterday on a screwdriver, so is sporting stitches in his lips. I’m sure Lindsay will really love that for the wedding photos. Wishing you both a life full of love, adventure and abundance in everything.

Until next week…..Consider signing up to donate your organs if you haven’t already. I’ve had two friends this year that have given the gift of life to a total of 8 people. Barry being the most recent, and our friend Cindy, late wife of Scott on Beachouse, who died in March of this year.

Barry – at his wild and craziest best! Thanks for being such a special part of our lives. Happy Trails!