In the winter time when it became very cold on the British Columbia coast we almost always had fly-in visitors from the far north land on Mcinnes Island. These were the large Snowy Owls from the Arctic.
When the cold weather hit with lots of snow then the owls had no food available in the northern parts of Canada and Yukon and they then migrated south for the winter. We did not see them every year, but that could have been because we lived on an island. I know they have been recorded as far south as Vancouver, BC, so it is not an unusual event.
On the island we had the usual collection of Bald Eagles that used to sit in the trees. The eagles did not bother our four Siamese cats at all, but the Snowy Owls were a different thing. Anything that moved and was brown in colour was fair game! We did have mink and otters too, but when a cat is available, why go for something harder. Continue reading Winter Visitors Come Flying In→
On our lighthouse at McInnes Island we got to see many submarine races. It was usually a random event, and if the weather was good we would sit up at the front of the lighthouse beside the foghorns with our binoculars and radio and notepad waiting for the races to begin.
Weather like this was not good - photo Colin Toner
We were notified by radio beforehand and noted the times on our notepad. Good weather was always a necessity, as if it was too rough you would see nothing. The children loved the event as it could occur at any time of the day and so sometimes they could stay up late at night to watch and cheer, or even miss school.
If the weather was bad we went back and waited impatiently for the next announcement on the radio. They were mostly US submarines as Canada has not too many serviceable ones. Plus, the American ones were faster and provided more fun.
If you ever get a chance when near the ocean, try and take in this rare event. See the video below for a touch of the excitement!
Back side of Triangle Island - Jack Bowerman photo from http://www.roughradio.ca
On the morning of October 30, 1918 in the vicinity of Triangle Island lighthouse, the HMCS Galiano foundered and sank.
Not much is known about the sinking, but the story is associated with the Triangle Island lighthouse because that was their last port of call. Triangle Island is remembered as the most remote, isolated, lonely and wind-swept piece of rock in which the government placed a lighthouse.
A friend of mine, John MacFarlane, created a website about all things nautical. In an email notification I learned about an excellent historical record of the HMCS Galiano written by Stephen Rybak.
Here is a taste from the article:
Miss Emily Brunton had been hired by the six bachelors staffing the radio station as a housekeeper. The 35 year–old Miss Brunton arrived on Triangle Island in 1916 and had introduced a little civility and good cooking to the station. It was to be her first trip off the wind-swept and treeless rock in 18 months.
Rybak, Stephen (2012) The Wreck of HMCS Galiano 1918. Nauticapedia.ca2012.
Continue reading by clicking on the Nauticapedia link in blue just above.
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Triangle Island lighthouse was discontinued only a few years later, but an interesting sidelight to the story is that the main light is now on display at the Sooke Regional Museum just outside Victoria, BC. See the photo below:
Established: October 01, 1888 Automated: January 1926
Three nautical miles east of Point Atkinson, situated at the base of a cliff, stands the lonely and short-lived lighthouse called Prospect Point.
The light was first manned in October 1888 and was overshadowed by the importance of the Signal Station on the cliff above. This signal station operated in conjunction with Brockton Point to signal when ships were coming into or out of Vancouver Harbour.
In January 1926 the poor lightkeeper was informed by the Department of Marine and Fisheries that the lighthouse would be electrified and would then be operated by the Prospect Point Signal Station. He was out of a job after years keeping both systems working.
Prospect Point Lighthouse keeper’s house 1920 – 1930 Photo by Cyril R. Littlebury from Dudley Booth Collection
Prospect Point Lighthouse (bottom) Signal Station (top) Photo by Cyril R. Littlebury from Dudley Booth Collection
Princess Victoria passing Prospect inbound 1920 – 1930 Photo by Cyril R. Littlebury from Dudley Booth Collection
Princess Patricia Passing Prospect 1920 – 1930 Photo by Cyril R. Littlebury from Dudley Booth Collection
SS Prince Rupert Passing Prospect 1920 – 1930 Photo by Cyril R. Littlebury from Dudley Booth Collection
Prospect Point Signal Station 1920 – 1930 Photo by Cyril R. Littlebury from Dudley Booth Collection
The photo below shows what replaced the lighthouse – a concrete block structure with a light on top and several small electric foghorns.
Prospect Point 2006 Modern light, modern ship Photo from pwhsu48 Webshots page.
As mentioned above, the Prospect Point and Brockton Point signal stations monitored ship traffic in and out of Vancouver harbour.
Just across the harbour from Prospect Point, at the mouth of the Capilano river, was the tiny little-known Capilano lighthouse (aka First Narrows). (see Capilano webpage here.)
Below is a photo taken from the mouth of the Capilano River showing Prospect Point today and the the probable view from the Capilano lighthouse. Beside it is a Google Earth map showing the exact location of the three lighthouses.
Prospect Point 2006 From mouth of Capilano river Notice – no signal station Photo from Glamorous_Life Flickr page.
Google Earth map Showing Vancouver harbour lights Photo from Google Earth printout.
In this 360° view you can see Prospect Point off the right-hand side of the bridge. As the scene sweeps across the harbour, The sandbanks of the Capilano River come into view with the dolphin visible in deeper water. (Zoom in using Shift, and out with Ctrl key; Pause by clicking on photo).
The landing under the hook (aka highline) at Kains Island was a large basin at the back side. It looked like a very large boulder had been washed out from the hole. It was a bit tricky if the swell was running to bring the station inflatable in safely but we never had a accident in my three years on station.
Ocean Sea foam - photo unknown photographer
After a SE winter storm the hole would fill up with kelp stems broken off the surrounding reefs by the large swells. The swells then pounded this kelp into a tan-coloured foam which drifted all over the ocean and blew up into the trees and hung there like lichen. It was quite light but sticky to the touch.
One winter day we were expecting the supply ship with groceries, mail, etc. One of the Coast Guard buoy tenders arrived rocking and rolling in the swells in Quatsino Sound. Over the side went the workboat and then began the process of off-loading the supplies into her. We could see the orange-suited crew members on deck and in the boat but could not recognize anyone.
Lowering station boat into the hole - note the foam - photo retlkpr
As we watched the workboat pull away from the shelter of the ship we were called on the radio by an unknown voice that the boat was on its way in. We acknowledged and commented that this appeared to be a new mate. Always fun to see how much experience they had unloading under a highline.
The boat rolled across the half kilometer distance between us and the ship, sometimes disappearing completely in the swells. The mate brought the boat closer to shore and lined up with the small bay, all the while ploughing a path through the foam which was pushed aside by the bow. As the boat neared the gap the mate rode a swell in under the hook and all but completely disappeared!
We could see well from the winch shed and the highline deck but only heads were showing in the workboat – the rest had completely disappeared! During the night the storms had lashed the kelp to pulp and filled the gap with sea foam to almost a metre deep! The workboat rode in on the swell and right under the foam.
The gap from seaward at low tide - photo retlkpr
Pushing the foam aside, the crew grabbed the lowered hook, slipped on a set of slings and signalled Haul Away. As the bonnet sling left the well of the workboat it also left a nice clean spot in the boat. On landing on the highline deck above, it was discovered that everything was covered with the sea foam, but, all was OK on the inside of the cartons of groceries and bags of mail although a bit sticky on the outside. The foam, although appearing quite dense, was actually quite dry and no harm was done.
The mate was a little more cautious when he came in with the second load.
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More information about the sea foam. Below is the content of an email I received in March 17, 2008.
HERE’S SOMETHING WE’LL NEVER SEE………WHIPPED OCEAN……..AMAZING!
Suddenly the shoreline north of Sydney was transformed into the Cappuccino Coast . Foam swallowed an entire beach and half the nearby buildings, including the local lifeguards’ centre, in a freak display of nature at Yamba in New South Wales .
One minute a group of teenage surfers were waiting to catch a wave, the next they were swallowed up in a giant bubble bath. The foam was so light that they could puff it out of their hands and watch it float away.
Boy in the bubble bath: Tom Woods, 12, emerges from the clouds of foam after deciding that surfing was not an option
It stretched for 30 miles out into the Pacific in a phenomenon not seen at the beach for more than three decades. Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.
The foam ‘surfs’ towards shore until the wave ‘crashes’, tossing the foam into the air.
Whitewash: The foam was so thick it came all the way up to the surf club
‘It’s the same effect you get when you whip up a milk shake in a blender,’ explains a marine expert. ‘The more powerful the swirl, the more foam you create on the surface and the lighter it becomes.’ In this case, storms off the New South Wales Coast and further north off Queensland had created a huge disturbance in the ocean, hitting a stretch of water where there was a particularly high amount of the substances which form into bubbles. As for 12-year-old beach goer Tom Woods, who has been surfing since he was two, riding a wave was out of the question ‘Me and my mates just spent the afternoon leaping about in that stuff,’ he said.
‘It was quite cool to touch and it was really weird. It was like clouds of air – you could hardly feel it.’
Children play among all the foam which was been whipped up by cyclonic conditions.
Donna Marie (Sheppard) Viereck (January 8th, 1947 Whitney Pier, NS – February 26, 2012 Prince Rupert, BC) – friend of the lightkeepers.
I met Donna for the first time in 1976 when I moved to Green Island lighthouse as Principal Keeper. The ship overnighted at the Prince Rupert Coast Guard Base, and such a reception from CG personnel I had never before experienced. The welcome and help was outside their normal duty.
One of the memorable people was Donna Sheppard, the boss of the Personnel office and a nicer person one could not ever meet. She had almost ten (10) years experience there before me.
Over the years of working out of the Prince Rupert office I had a lot of contact with Donna. She and I fought like brother and sister over Personnel matters but remained good friends throughout.
I am going to miss you Donna. I only wish that i had been able to say goodbye. RIP.
More information on Donna’s life can be found here on the InMemoriam.ca website.
[private]
Donna Marie (Fraser, Sheppard) Viereck Donna Marie (Fraser, Sheppard) Viereck Born In: Whitney Pier, Nova Scotia, Canada Born: January 8th, 1947 Passed in: Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada Passed on: February 26th, 2012 It is with deep regret and sorrow we announce the passing of Donna Marie Viereck, a dear wife, mother, stepmother, daughter, sister and grandma, on Feb. 26, 2012, after a courageous battle with cancer. Donna was the eldest child of Margaret and the late Donald Fraser and grew up in Whitney Pier, Sydney, N.S. Besides her father, Donna was predeceased by her husband William Sheppard (1990) and her husband Robert Viereck (2008). Donna is survived by her mother, Margaret; daughter, Marni; son, Craig (Shelly); stepdaughter, Karmen; stepson, David; grandchildren, Riley, Brock, Jade, Dustin, Taylor, Miranda, Katie and Haiden; sisters, Peggy (Murray), Laurie, Judy (Butch), Francie (Charlie), Cathy, Gina, Patricia (Darren); brothers, Kenny (Janet), Brian (Lydia), Rod (Donna), Donald (Shauna), Stephen (Karen) and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Donna will be fondly remembered and missed by Uncles John and Buddy (Marjorie) Rodgers, Aunt Rita Burt and the Sheppard family. In 1966, Donna moved to Prince Rupert, enjoyed raising her family and had a long career with the Canadian Coast Guard. Donna was an avid curler and golfer. She also enjoyed her walks with Lola and Lacy, her trips home to Cape Breton and most recently her annual wine tours. The highlight of Donna’s life was any time spent with her children and grandchildren. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Edmunds, the exceptional nursing staff from the palliative care unit that cared for her and the unconditional support of all her friends. No flowers by request but donations in Donna’s name can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or the palliative care unit. Email condolences can be forwarded to jmaclean@syd.eastlink.ca. A celebration of Donna’s life will be held at the Prince Rupert Curling Rink on Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 2-4 p.m. [/private]
– Elizabeth Kate (Stannard) Smithman (Wife of Henry Herbert Smithman who was Senior Keeper at Sisters Island 1927 – 1929)
Light keepers have to take a four-month supply of food when they go on as there’s no way of getting anything otherwise. No stores to run to and no neighbours to borrow from, ha ha. The government boat called the lighthouse tender [probably the CCGS Estevan which was built in 1912] calls around every 4 or 5 months. Light keepers order groceries from wholesalers in Victoria and it is delivered to the government wharf and loaded on the tender and they bring it when they are coming up that way.
Following along with yesterday’s story about travel on a CCGS ice breaker, and with the permission of the author, Pamela Coulston, I am reprinting her article here about life on Canadian Coast Guard ice breakers servicing the north and the lighthouses. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Surprisingly, everyone made it to dinner, they also made it to breakfast and lunch. The
Photo courtesy of Gerald Rohatensky
Coast Guard icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier was taking a whipping from the weather in the middle of the Bering Sea. But not a meal was missed.
While the two cooks dished up three squares, the seas served up a storm that included winds gusting to 90 knots and 10-metre waves that broke over the bow, drenching the bridge four storeys above.
The captain ordered all loose items secured and all outer decks off-limits – any one of these larger waves could wash a person overboard to their death in near freezing waters. Continue reading Of Ice and Men→
I received the following email the other day promoting an article on a friend’s website:
The freighter Vanlene ran up on the rocks on Austin Island in the Broken Group islands on March 14, 1972. She was carrying 300 Dodge Colt automobiles while enroute to Vancouver BC from Japan. The crew was rescued and taken to Port Alberni. How she ended up on the rocks is still a matter of conjecture but it appears that the Master simply did not know where he was at the time of impact (he thought he was off of the coast of Washington) and his navigational aids were inoperable. See the article at Nauticapedia.
One of the duties of a lighthouse keeper on some stations, was to do a daily Sea Water sample. It was started very early on (see the story here), before the advent of Global warming, and the observed data has been beneficial in many ways as you will see at the bottom..
Kains Island (Quatsino) lighthouse
In the above-mentioned story from Kains Island lighthouse, the samples started in 1935, so we have seventy-seven (77) years of ocean data. Also in the story is the fact that in the early years . . .
. . . the small glass bottles of sea water with cork stoppers were stored in wooden boxes with many little squares, one for each bottle1. These boxes would be shipped out when the supply ship re-supplied the station once a year, usually in July.Continue reading Ocean Water Samples→
