Global Courant 2023-05-21 03:30:00
David Gibney of Port Alberni has had stars in his eyes for decades and is about to achieve his life’s ambition: to create what he claims to be the world’s largest pair of binoculars.
“I’ve been an astronomer for 50 years and this will be really impressive, like seeing great cosmic views,” says Gibney.
His love of astronomy began when he attempted to capture a solar eclipse in 1979. A photo shop put him in touch with a Catholic priest who also enjoyed stargazing.
“I owe this project to my mentor Father Lucian Campbell, he was a Franciscan monk here in Port Alberni. He had a telescope and a place to observe at the Paper Mill Dam and after looking through the telescope the first night, oh yes, I was amazed and interested,” he says.
Gibney, who calls himself “The Star Dude,” has put 19 years of planning and an estimated $400,000 into the binoculars. He made them in the hope that others can use them for sightseeing by day and stargazing at night.
“The first paragraph of the plan was to give the general public access to high-quality optical and imaging systems for a nominal fee, such as making it accessible and indeed, in high traffic tourist locations I can set it up and implement it. , share the experience with others,” says Gibney.
The astronomer hopes to share his creation on Port Alberni’s Harbor Quay, but says he’s met with some resistance from the city because they don’t know how to give him a permit.
“You’re not a food truck. You’re not like brick and mortar. You’re mobile. It’s kind of like where do we fit you in?” he says.
MOTIVATION TO FINISH
Gibney first came up with the concept years ago, but says life kept getting in the way of his project. A near-death experience motivated him to get back on track.
“I was a musician living in the recording studio in Edmonton, and someone passed out with a cigarette. The place was on fire and I barely got out of the burning building, and I thought if I survive this I won’t waste any more time. I go to a lawyer, I go to a patent attorney, engineer. I built a scale model and they loved it.”
Because the 70×600 binoculars are placed on a mobile platform, he says he can take them anywhere and hopes they can also be taken to local schools.
“I want to get a business license and maybe share this with people in different locations all over Western Canada. You know it’s on a trailer, I can take it anywhere,” he says.
To complete his project, Gibney finds some GoFundMe funding or investors to help it with the final rollout phase. He firmly believes he has something that will be an instant tourist attraction wherever his Binocular Observatory Project goes.
