You pull your boat onto Chatham Island beach, ignore the No Trespassing signs and light a fire — temporarily forgetting the ban on burning — open a beer and get the music going.
No sign of irate members of Songhees First Nation, bylaw enforcement officers or police.
But be warned, you are being watched.
“We have surveillance technology. We can see them even if they can’t see us,” said Songhees bylaw enforcement officer Trevor Absolon.
Photographs piled on Absolon’s desk show flagrant disregard for signs saying Chatham Island and part of Discovery Island are in the Songhees Reserve and off limits to members of the public.
As boating season gets underway, Songhees are warning they will toughen up enforcement this year because the message that the islands are private property is not getting through to the public.
“Last year, we really pushed for education. We ticketed a few people, but most of them just got warnings,” Absolon said.
“This year, we are going to be aggressive about ticket-writing. We have to set some precedents.”
Tickets have to go through the court system, which is expensive but worth it because it shows the First Nation won’t tolerate boaters lighting fires or leaving behind garbage and human waste, Absolon said.
Boaters can use the part of Discovery Island that is a provincial park. That area has campsites, picnic tables and washrooms.
Last year, armed with high-resolution photos showing boat names, Absolon visited transgressors at home — to their surprise.
Most were apologetic as they saw pictures of their campfires and barbecues, he said.
“We have been tolerant, but the fines for trespassing can be up to $1,000.”
One aim this year is to prevent the Chatham Island rave, which some years has attracted 200 people, up to 10 music bands and copious amounts of alcohol and illegal drugs to the island, Absolon said.
“They got away with it last year, but we will be there this time,” he said.
“It’s not environmentally friendly.”
Meanwhile, Songhees is also struggling with another type of incursion on reserve land.
Band residents put garbage on the side of the road at certain times of the year as part of a community cleanup. However, last year, the band paid more than $8,000 to remove garbage that had been dumped in the area by non-residents.
“In the middle of the night all these vehicles come driving through,” said Absolon, showing photos of a pickup truck entering the reserve with a load and leaving empty, as an example of what happens.
“We are going to be cracking down,” said Absolon, who is at a loss to explain why people believe it’s acceptable to dump their garbage on reserve land.
