- bringing a little life into your lights
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, […]
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 […]
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. ***************************** The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that; “When you discover […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
– story from Candy-Lea ChickiteMy 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 […]
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? British Columbia is the westernmost province of […]
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.
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 […]