Category Archives: Radio

Submarine Races at McInnes

Adult Memories, Canada, Children, Communication, Humour, Lighthouses, Radio, Recreation, Stories, Submarines, USA, Videos, Weather, , , , ,

 

Our viewpoint - photo Paul Kurbis

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!

 

Continue reading Submarine Races at McInnes →

Triangle Island Light and the HMCS Galiano

Adult Memories, British Columbia, Communication, Construction, Equipment, Government, History, In Memorium, Incidents, Lighthouses, Military, Operators, Radio, Shipwrecks, Storms, Women, , , , , , ,
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:

Triangle Island light - © Alec Provan

 

 

Manual – 1953 Rules and Instructions for Lighthouse-Keepers

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Published in 1953, this book laid down the rules and regulations for Lighthouse-Keepers. It was the LAW!

Download the complete book here in PDF format (14.5 MBs – right click the link for more options)

If you wish to print the book, the published size was 6.5″ x 9.25″ (16.5 x 23.25 cms.) 

Manual – 1912 Rules and Instructions for Lighthouse-Keepers

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Published in 1912, this book laid down the rules and regulations for Lighthouse-Keepers. It was the LAW!

 

Download the complete book here in PDF format (4.25 MBs – right click the link for more options)

If you wish to print the book, the published size was 6.5″ x 9.25″ (16.5 x 23.25 cms.) 

Triple Island – Inside the Lighthouse – 2012

Automation, Coast Guard, Communication, Construction, Equipment, Government, Groceries & Mail, Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, Light, Lighthouses, On The Job, Radio, Ships & Shipping, , , , , , , , ,
Triple Island

 

In June 22, 2011 I published an article about the Triple Island 3rd order lens which has now been replaced with a flashlight (see the article).

I have never spent any work time on Triple Island, but I have landed there once or twice with the Coast Guard helicopters as a passenger. I never did have any time to explore.

Triple Island - distant from Prince Rupert

There are two lighthouse keepers on Triple Island who rotate every twenty-eight (28) days with two other keepers. I always wondered what it would be like to live there in this day and age.

One of the keepers, my friend Glenn Borgens, has sent me some wonderful photos of the inside of the Triple Island lighthouse that I am going to share with you. For twenty-eight days, it looks like a comfortable place to live and work. Continue reading Triple Island – Inside the Lighthouse – 2012 →

Day of Departure – Going on Leave c.1970s

Adult Memories, Childhood Memories, Children, Coast Guard, Communication, Helicopters, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Radio, Ships, Transportation, Travel, Weather, , , , ,
MBB-105 - photo J. Coldwell

In the days before portable radios and instant communications, we were always apprehensive about the day we headed out for holidays. 

First there was the weather which as everone knows on the West Coast of Canada is always unpredictable even with modern weather forecasting. We observed the weather but rarely got any weather forecasts. 

Next came the Coast Guard. Our long-awaited flight could be diverted for search and rescue, maintenance, or any of a hundred other reasons.  Continue reading Day of Departure – Going on Leave c.1970s →

Manual – 1875 Rules and Instructions for Lighthouse-Keepers

Books, Coast Guard, Government, Information, Lighthouses, Old Website, Radio, , , , , , , ,

Published in 1875, this book laid down the rules and regulations for Lighthouse-Keepers. It was the LAW!

Download the complete book here in PDF format (13.3 MBs – right click the link for more options)

If you wish to print the book, the published size was 6.5″ x 9.25″ (16.5 x 23.25 cms.) 

The Wind Speed Indicator Episode c.1935

Childhood Memories, Equipment, Government, Keepers, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Operators, Radio, Ships & Shipping, Weather, , , , , , , , ,

– Roy Carver (son of C. E. Carver on Kains Island 1933 – 1944) 

One of the daily duties of a light house keeper was to estimate the wind speed during each day and record it, along with other meteorological observations and measurements, which also included sea water temperature, and a sample of sea water which was taken at a depth bellow the surface, weather permitting of course.1

Average Seawater Temperature Kains Island 1935 - 2011 - Fisheries & Oceans

The small glass bottles with cork stoppers of sea water were stored in wooden boxes with many little squares, one for each bottle. These boxes would be shipped out when the supply ship re-supplied the station once a year, usually in July. As far as I know Father never did find out what happened to the bottles of sea water after they left the station.2

For an individual to estimate wind speed is a pretty tall order, especially on the edge of an island. If the wind is blowing in your face one would judge the wind speed higher than if it was blowing from behind you (behind the island), so wind speed estimating was not very accurate, even with the crude wind speed indicating instruments supplied at the station. Continue reading The Wind Speed Indicator Episode c.1935 →

Before the Manuals – Applying for the Job c.1930s

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– Roy Carver (son of C. E. Carver on Kains Island 1933 – 1944)

Qualifications for 2nd Class Fog Alarm Engineer - scan Sandra Vigna & Roy Carver

 

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) of Canada was a very imposing body of bureaucrats who controlled the hiring and firing of government employees. It was a bit intimidating when I applied in 1969, and from the evidence on the documents that have been given to me, it was equally, if not more so, in 1933. 

 

Clarence Edgar Carver applied for temporary employment as a lighthouse keeper on Quatsino  lighthouse (aka Kains Island) and was accepted.  

Continue reading Before the Manuals – Applying for the Job c.1930s →

Killer Whale Attack at McInnes Island Lighthouse!

Adult Memories, Boats, Communication, Equipment, Fishing, Lighthouses, Old Website, Radio, Recreation, Wildlife, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
2 HP Evinrude electric trolling motor

One early morning I was out on the water trolling for salmon from my 12 foot (4 metre) aluminum boat. The sun was just rising and I had just completed and transmitted my first weather of the morning. By the time I had a coffee ready, loaded rods and lures into the boat and lowered the boat into the water via the highline it was probably about 04:30.

At the time I did not have the money for a gas outboard so was using 12 volt Evinrude 2HP electric motor for trolling. Becauseof winds and tide this was only good on a a flat calm day which this was. As the sun rose it became warmer and I could see better. Behind me in Catala Passage the water began to boil and the herring gulls started to appear from nowhere. It was a herring ball!1 (a.k.a. bait ball as there are many types of small fish that ball up when attacked) Continue reading Killer Whale Attack at McInnes Island Lighthouse! →