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PorkRenegade
Total Likes: 121 likes
| | | Memorial thread Hypnotoad/Steampunk; Daniel Borthwick < on 12/1/2017 7:45 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | So brutal, I hate that I have to do this again, we just lost another original member of the au/mc. Dan "Toad" Borthwick was discovered drowned, from what I gather it looks to be accidental drowning, his body was discovered near his overturned zodiac. Dan and go back a good number of years, like any friendship we had our up and downs, but in the last few years we had grown pretty close again. I talked to him on the phone every couple of months. I loved Dan for his ridiculous quirky sense of humor and his easy going good nature. Way back in 2004 when we started the au/mc our urban exploration group, we together had a dream for a group that was all inclusive and welcoming. We thought if we could just get people out from behind their computer terminals and meet in person they would be a lot nicer to each other. So together we came up with the au/mc meet and greet gear swap. The event ran for a number of years with pretty great success. In those days Woodlands was still standing and it was the perfect proving ground to bring new people for a fun time, and many fun times were had. The silly thing about that first meet and greet was that the only people that showed up were Dan and myself. We had a good chuckle and still had fun, but together we conspired to make it out like it had been a hugely successful event with many people in attendance, and in fact our ruse worked. There was a buzz and some interest and the event was wildly popular for a period of time. In recent years Dan had been living on the water he was really happy. I had wanted to road trip out there to see him this spring summer. Tragic as the accident was I do take a little relief from line in the story " Borthwick was last seen on Nov. 21 in Cowichan Bay taking pictures of seals." He was out there to end enjoying his life living it exactly how he wanted to. I don't have any photo's handy at the moment so please feel free to post some in the thread in you do. In the next day or two I will schedule an urbex memorial for Dan. Maybe meet at the toilet bowl one of Dan's favorite train hopping spots near braid station. A mellow event to just meet and do some photo's in memory of our friend Dan. Tentatively I will say for the 15/Dec maybe 16/Dec. Rest in peace Toad au/mc. https://www.pqbnew...-daniel-borthwick/
[last edit 12/1/2017 4:19 PM by PorkRenegade - edited 3 times]
| god created the au/mc to test the faithful. |
| Mowgli-dog
Location: Vancouver, B.C. Gender: Male Total Likes: 31 likes
| | | | Re: Memorial thread Hypnotoad/Steampunk; Daniel Borthwick < Reply # 5 on 12/2/2017 4:43 AM > | Reply with Quote
| | | That's a nice tribute - thank you for posting it up. What a shock when I heard of this news. I have never met Dan in person, I've only spoken to him on various threads on this site and several times by private message. We came onto this site at about the same time some 13 years ago (wow - where did all that go?) I always enjoyed reading his posts and I watched him become a better and better photographer. He and I are from total different walks of life and would likely not have ever conversed if not for this site. Dan definitely had his issues, but really, so does everybody. He was brought up in Government care for the most part, but found his way and blazed his own path. Dan was an expert with all things 'radio' and installed & troubleshot radios on the transit system. Dan was also a HAM operator, and likely spoke with people all over the world. In living my 'conventional' life, I can admit to feeling jealous of Dan on more than one occasion while looking at his photos and reading his posts of jumping on freight trains or sailing around coastal B.C. - a solitary lifestyle that many could long after. Dan spent many months working on a remote coastal fish farm. He was living an adventure all the time - many only talk about doing these things. He lived it. When I last messaged with Dan, he told me of finally buying the boat of his dreams and living on board. He also told me he was making a concerted effort to work on issues that had always caused him trouble. I salute him for his efforts. Dan was last seen heading out on his small zodiac inflatable, taking pictures of wildlife, exploring. If circumstances were different, we may have seen some of those pictures in his posts. The weather was windy & the sea was reported rough. The only comfort I take is that he died while living his life the way he was happy to live it. We should be so lucky. In 13 years, Dan made 2293 forum posts on here. I encourage everyone to take the time - read those posts and get to know Dan. He was an expert at living life, a true adventurer.
| "We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." -George Orwell Rest in peace, my pal Mowgli - the best dog there ever was. |
| dogyeaars
Total Likes: 3 likes
| | | Re: Memorial thread Hypnotoad/Steampunk; Daniel Borthwick < Reply # 7 on 12/3/2017 12:09 PM > | Reply with Quote
| | | Dan and I have known each other for 12 years, though we've lost touch over the last 6. There a small window of time, though, where Dan and I hung out a quite a bit. We both loved long exposure photography, and Dan had even bought a DSLR and was itching to use it. We had quite a few adventures at that time. Some trips were big grand expeditions with the whole AU/MC crew. Some were smaller. I remember many trips driving up to Brittanica bay with Toad and TL to see the ferries and the mines. Dan never seemed to run out of things to talk about, he was an endless fountainhead of facts --- he'd tell stories about mudslides on the highway and houses on the hill run entirely by solar power. Entrances to logging roads that snaked up to the tops of mountains. He knew so much about BC. He'd talk about secret cabins in the woods that were impeccabily maintained, and forgotten mines on mountains you had no idea existed. Every adventure seemed to beckon more. I wonder how much of this will be forgotten forever with his passing. My most vidid memory with Dan was train hopping with him. Our plan was to take some long exposure shots from the moving carriage. I remember Dan talking about a new tripod he bought that would "grip" the train, making for some possibly awesome shots. It would be my first and would be my only time hopping a train, and we stationed ourselves at a bend in the tracks, waiting for a freight to pass. Dan gave me a swig of some moonshine i think his buddy made, for courage, (he always seemed to have a beer or some alcohol on him that he wouldn't hesitate to share), and we waited for an an hour. And just as we were about to give up waiting, a train came. I don't know what about the night had stuck with me. Was it the leap of faith it took to embark? Was it the paranoia when the train stopped, fearing an inspection from the conductor? I don't know. But we were soon crossing the second narrows. I don't think I've ever seen the bridge that way before. It was majestic, up close, all steel and concrete, lit up by tungsten, rising to a terrifying height. I dont think my camera could ever do this jutice, and I ended up too taken in by the sights to take a single good, non blurry photo. Dan however was taking loads. The train then ducked into the thornton tunnel. It was pitch black. My only sensory input was the rumbling thunder of the engine in the distance. Until Dan pointed out the bioluminescent algae that glew faintly on the ceiling. I think we sat for a few minutes in silence just admiring the roof of the tunnel (at any rate, the train's engines were too defaening to talk). We arrived in Vancouver by the first light of dawn, just in time for me to catch the nightbus home. For me adventure was a hobby, for Dan it was a lifestyle. Dan never dwelled too much past glories, but I've always felt he had many more stories to tell. When probed he'd sometimes talk about his time on the streets, stories about bouncing radio waves across oceans and hopping trains across the country. Dan had lived the "life of adventure" - a cliche, sure, but Dan was the genuine article. The real deal. No, he was not a perfect by any means. But in the broadest strokes he was gregarious and good spirited, and generous enough to share some of that adventure with me. Thank you Dan (Toad, Hypnotoad, Steampunk) Borthwick. RIP.
[last edit 12/3/2017 12:15 PM by dogyeaars - edited 5 times]
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