"Due north of the town of Tofino is the horseshoe shaped Meares Island with its centre channel known as Lemmens Inlet. The scene depicted in this painting is very familiar to me as I travel the 9 km route to my floathouse studio from Tofino to the head of the inlet every week in the winter months. The old seiner, the Lions Gate, was built in the 1930s and was a sister ship to the one that graced the Canadian five dollar bill for many years. She has had some close calls, including sinking in Lemmens Inlet in February of 2009."    Mark Hobson