Flotillas from islands on either side of the Canada-U.S. border will meet half way today as part of a celebration of the friendship between the two countries amid ongoing political tensions.

A group of up to 100 boats is expected to head north from Orcas Island, a San Juan islands in Washington state, about 60 kilometres south of Vancouver, B.C., while another group sails south from Salt Spring Island, meeting near the international border.

It's part of an inaugural gathering called Hands Across the Water, which is described by organizers as a recognition of islander spirit and late-season local vitality.

Hands Across the Water came about when Lyle MacWilliam, former MLA and author, was visiting a couple of friends on Orcas Island. The conversation quickly turned to the relationship bet

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