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Blogs

What Do They Do With an Old Coast Guard Boat?

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) has had many ships since it began – the old and the new. CCG is constantly replacing old ships with a newer version as is mentioned below: Newest Canadian Coast Guard ship named for fallen soldier Jun 09, 2014  but what does the CCG do with the old ships? Many are […]

Mise Tales Thirty-Six

  For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One. ***************************** [youtube url=”http://youtu.be/b3e7CDg8a3g”] Here is a great video taken on board the Coast Guard ship CCGS Sir Wilfred Laurier as it services the mountain-top radio sites using the onboard helicopter. Great shots of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwai) and the old lighthouse […]

Reprint – A Sailor’s Journal

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) carries lighthouse keepers and their supplies (groceries, mail, household goods, etc) usually by ship or helicopter. This story describes the inner workings of the Canadian Coast Guard light icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier as told by my friend Abe Van Oeveren. I have been on several ships and they are indeed […]

In Memorium – Reg Gunn (1929 – 2013)

Captain Reginald (Reg) Gunn. It is with great heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of our loved one on April 27, 2013. Reg was born on June 22, 1929 in the County of Durham, England. He came to Canada in 1951, where he joined the Canadian Coast Guard. In 1961, he earned his Master […]

Weather Observing – a Large Part of the Job

Note:- How to obtain an up-to-date weather report from a BC lighthouse One of the duties on most of the lighthouse stations, and especially on McInnes Island, up to 2003, was the reporting of local weather (weather visible in the immediate area of the station) to Environment Canada (EC) – earlier called the Atmospheric Environment Service […]

Highline Operation at McInnes Island c. 2004

The highline (aka aerial line, or aerial) was literally the lifeline of the lighthouse in the days before helicopters. It was used and still is used to raise and lower heavy supplies to and from the lighthouse. They were not installed at all lighthouse locations – only the ones with no other access to the […]

New Threat to Lighthouses Illuminated

Reprinted with permission from Jack Knox, Times Colonist *************************** New threat to lighthouses illuminated By Jack Knox, Times Colonist April 3, 2012 Imagine the fuss if the owner of a 152-year-old downtown heritage building just walked away from the structure, allowed it to crumble. But the Race Rocks lighthouse isn’t downtown. It’s plunked in the waters […]

Development of the Canadian Icebreaker

I was writing an article that contained a reference to the CCGS Camsell, a Coast Guard icebreaker, and I got to wondering how many people knew about the history of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) ice breakers. Thanks to the generosity of the CCG website I have been given permission to reproduce their material here. It is […]

Of Ice and Men

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. **************************** Of Ice and […]