Category Archives: Ships

Groceries and Mail on a Lighthouse

Groceries being loaded at Coast Guard Base - photo John Coldwell

Some of you may wonder why the number of stories about re-supplying the lighthouses exceeds the others on this site by a large margin (lots more coming!). Next to the family and job, the arrival of the mail and groceries was the most important event in the life of the lightkeeping family. 

Imagine no telephone, no television, no two-way radio, possibly no AM radio, and no contact with the outside world except what you saw going by your window. The post was and still is the most important contact to the real world.  Continue reading Groceries and Mail on a Lighthouse

Day of Departure – Going on Leave c.1970s

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

Humour – Government Policy

I received the following in an email today. Based on yesterdays’s MCTS announcement, I think this applies. Government thinking sometimes is so adverse to public wishes that I think government ministers must live in another universe.

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The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that; “When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

However, those in government  will apply a more advanced strategy to solve the same problem.

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.

5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.

9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse’s performance.

10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s performance.

11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more
to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.

12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.

And of course….

13. Promoting the dead horse to a Civil  Service supervisory position.


 
 

MCTS To Lose Staff To Save Money

For those of you that do not know, MCTS (Marine Communications and Traffic Services)  is “the Branch of the Canadian Coast Guard that provides communications and vessel traffic services to the sea-going public”. 

“MCTS monitors for distress radio signals; provides the communications link between vessels in distress and the JRCC/MRSC; sends safety information; handles public communication; and, regulates the flow of vessel traffic in some areas. MCTS is an important link in the SAR system”.

The above is a quote from the official Canadian government website on Maritime Search and Rescue. (about half-way down the page)

Continue reading MCTS To Lose Staff To Save Money

Travel – Australian Lighthouses

Shine a Light on Australia's lighthouses.

 

I came across this article that shows the life on an Australian lighthouse starting in 1971. A wee bit different than Canada I must say.

 

 

What got my attention were the requirements for a lighthouse keeper:

The job requirements of a lighthouse keeper were a car licence, an ability to climb to heights and an ability to get along with the other lighthouse keeper . . .

 The article is worth reading to illustrate the differences between Canadian and Australian lights (wildlife, for one), plus, on the page is a reference and a link to an ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) website which is exploring some of Australia’s iconic lighthouses.

This new site is called Shining a Light and is an excellent documentary on some of Australia’s lighthouses. The map above shows the lighthouses mentioned.

There you go – two stories for one price. Enjoy!

Did You Gain Weight Over Christmas?

Washington State Ferry - photo Steven J. Brown

 

The following story from the Victoria Times-Colonist caught my attention yesterday:

Heavier Riders Force Capacity Cut on Washington State Ferries

 

A takeout from the page reads:

British Columbia had the fast ferries.

Now, Washington state has the fat ferries.

 

On Dec. 1, U.S. Coast Guard vessel stability rules raised the estimated weight of the average adult passenger to 185 pounds from 160 pounds. This was based in part on population information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a coast guard report on the changes.

 

To comply with the new rules, the state-run ferry system has reduced the number of passengers on a number of routes, Marta Coursey, director of communications for Washington State Ferries, said Thursday. Continue reading Did You Gain Weight Over Christmas?

A Language Problem

– story from Candy-Lea Chickite

My grandmother loved to tell this one to me. I think she may have had the wrong name of the lighthouse keeper. She said it was her father, or maybe she said her father told her the story – I was young when I heard it but I think it may have been a Mr. Grafton who was the fellow involved. I believe the story is true . . .  (a Thomas Grafton was on Point Atkinson lighthouse from 1889 – 1910 and his dates are right for this story – JC)

Back before the days of radios, when a ship entered the Vancouver Harbour they would use a megaphone and call in the name of their ship to the lighthouse at Point Atkinson

One pitch black evening a horn sounded, the keeper hailed his welcome and asked the vessel to identify itself. 

“Wat-a-matta Maru” was the echoed reply in a heavily accented Oriental voice. 

“I say again, what is the name of your vessel?” hollered the keeper enunciating each work emphatically. 

“Wat-a-matta Maru!” 

“This is the Point Atkinson lighthouse, and I DEMAND you identify your vessel before entering the harbour!” replied the keeper of the light. 

Again, “Wat-a-matta Maru!” was the return call. 

Incensed now, the lighthouse keeper yelled back, “There’s NOTHING the matter with me, WHAT the HELL’s the matter with YOU!” 


Why We Need MORE Lighthouses in British Columbia

One of the arguments for destaffing the lighthouses in British Columbia (BC), Canada is that they are no longer needed because all vessels have the Global Positioning System (GPS). Canadian mariners must move into the 21st Century they say!

Have you ever looked at British Columbia? The size of British Columbia?

Note the three roads to Vancouver, Bella Bella, and Prince Rupert

British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, bordered by the Pacific Ocean. With an area of 944,735 square kilometers (364,764 sq mi) it is Canada’s third-largest province. The province itself is eleven times the size of Austria, where I live; nearly four times the size of Great Britain, two and one-half times larger than Japan and larger than every U.S. state except Alaska. 1 Continue reading Why We Need MORE Lighthouses in British Columbia

Photos – McInnes Island Lighthouse 2008

Click the thumbnail photos below to see a full-sized picture at the Picasa Web Album of Paul Kurbis. He is a sports fishing guide in British Columbia, Canada. These were taken on a visit to McInnes Island lighthouse in 2008.

   Continue reading Photos – McInnes Island Lighthouse 2008

Building a Lighthouse – McInnes Island c. 1953

McInnes Island (marker with "A" - left) & Shearwater (far lower right)

McInnes Island had a light since 1921. There still are the remains of a wood post and a cement footing high on the SW corner of the island. But then in the early 1950s the Canadian government let a contract to build a lighthouse on the island. This was awarded to Stewart & Slade Construction who worked through 1953 and 1954 to complete the construction.

Ken Stewart 1953

In August of 1953,1 a young man, aged 19 years old at the time, was in the work crew hired by Stewart and Slade Construction. He was actually a relative of the boss as his Dad owned the company! His name was Ken Stewart and he worked with a group of other young men to build the lighthouse. Continue reading Building a Lighthouse – McInnes Island c. 1953