The busy port of Vancouver loads/unloads over 3000 vessels per year. This usually requires freighters to anchor in English bay to await their turn at the docks. It is not unknown to see well over a dozen ships so anchored.
Vancouver is often chided for a lack of sandy beaches, but according to the Vancouver Tourist Beaurau, there are 18 kilometer of sandy beaches in Vancouver. Spanish Banks is favored with a gentle slopping beach the sand of which warms up in the sun and in turn warms the water when the tide comes in.
Spanish Banks is located toward the western end of the Point Grey Peninsula overlooking English Bay. During the summer months, lifeguards are on duty along these beaches including, Wreck Beach, Pt Grey Beach, Spanish Banks, Jericho Beach, Lacarno Beach and Kits Beach.
