Tag Archives: storm

Mise Tales Thirty-Five

Coast Guard, Communication, Government, Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, Humour, Incidents, Information, Lighthouses, Medical Emergency, On The Job, Reprint, Search & Rescue, Videos, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

Britain StormsJanuary 07, 2014 – People watch and photograph enormous waves as they break, on Porthcawl harbour, South Wales, Monday Jan. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/PA, Ben Birchall) . . . more

[private]

LONDON — What used to be Winter Storm Hercules has moved across the Atlantic and is now hammering the United Kingdom with high winds and winter weather.. Britain’s western coast is being lashed by high winds and strong rains following a month of unusually frequent winter storms.

A steady procession of storms has battered the island nation over the past few weeks, making December the windiest since 1969. Monster waves up to 27 feet (8.3 meters) high washed across the British coast on Monday, prompting evacuations and rescues.

“This latest storm actually originated as Winter Storm Hercules in the U.S. just after the New Year’s holiday,” said weather.com Senior Meteorologist Jon Erdman.

(MORE: Dangerously Cold Temperatures Hit U.S.)

The nearly non-stop storms have crumbled long-standing sea cliffs and damaged waterfronts.

“It’s been one after the other with no break,” Nicola Maxey, a spokeswoman for Britain’s Meteorological Office, said Tuesday.

More than 100 flood warnings remain across England and Wales.

“This latest Atlantic storm will slowly wind down and weaken over the Norwegian Sea off Scandinavia through Tuesday, giving way to a well-deserve reprieve from the stormy barrage the rest of the work week,” said Erdman.

Heavy winds and rain have also battered the French coast, driving large waves into southwestern town of Biarritz on Tuesday. [/private]

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Mise Tales Thirty-One

Adult Memories, Art, Coins, Denmark, Europe, Faroe Islands, Foreign, Lighthouses, Photos, Photos, Souvenirs, Travel, , , , , , , , , ,

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

960Waves crash against a lighthouse during a storm named Christian that battered France at Boulogne sur Mer
Source: Reuters – Mon, 28 Oct 2013 12:34 PM
Author: Reuters

 

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The Faroe Islands Are Our Travel Tuesday

A serene haven of tranquil waters, green grass and colorful houses, the Faroe Islands are located halfway between Norway and Iceland. 

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Another Lighthouse Destroyed by the Sea! 1967

Adult Memories, British Columbia, Canada, Coast Guard, Communication, Construction, Equipment, Incidents, Information, Keepers, Light, Lighthouses, Medical Emergency, News, Old Website, On The Job, Storms, Weather, , , , , , , , , ,

 

Pine Island lighthouse after the storm

On February 18, 1967 at 00:30 hours, a giant wall of water slammed into Pine Island, destroying buildings and washing away equipment and personal possessions. [B&W photo left] The following article describes it well.
(If anyone knows the author, or or where this article came from, please let me know so I can give credit. It appeared with the photo on the left of the page and the page was numbered 13. Thanks.- JAC)

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Fury . . . and British Columbia

Pine Island, B.C. – The worst damage in the history of British Columbia’s coastal lighthouses was inflicted here ­recently when a 50 foot wall of water slammed into this tiny island during a raging storm. Continue reading Another Lighthouse Destroyed by the Sea! 1967 →

The True Story of Egg Island November 2, 1948

British Columbia, Childhood Memories, Coast Guard, Communication, Construction, Equipment, Government, History, Incidents, Keepers, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Storms, Weather, , , , , ,
The author, Dennis Wilkins, Green Island 1947

There have been many reports, newspaper articles, books, etc. written about the disaster that occurred at Egg Island Lighthouse station November 2nd, 1948 – none of which tell the true story. A few of the newspaper reporters of that time interviewed my father, many more got their stories second, third and fourth hand. None of the authors of the books written since have ever interviewed or talked directly to my father, Robert Laurence Wilkins, my mother, Ada Marie Wilkins or myself, Dennis Edward Wilkins. I mention the names in full to finally get the characters of the story straight.

Many of the stories in print are, in themselves, very interesting and intriguing – lacking only in the fact that that is not what or how it all happened. The fault may not lie with the various authors; the Government of Canada did much to avoid the truth from being heard then and later. Now that both my mother and father are dead, and most of the other players in the story are long since past, I feel reasonably safe in documenting the story.
The purpose of this record is primarily for my family and friends, who have always shown a greater fascination for the story than myself (perhaps since I was there). Secondly, there may be the odd other person who has heard the story before and would appreciate knowing just what really happened that day.

To start the story, some background is required to set the scene. I will start just before the move to Egg Island early in 1948. Continue reading The True Story of Egg Island November 2, 1948 →

Recent Storm on Cape Scott 2012

Adult Memories, British Columbia, Canada, Keepers, Lighthouses, On The Job, Photos, Stories, Storms, Weather, , , , , , ,
Cape Scott on a good day - photo Harvey Humchitt, Jr.

Every winter the West coast of Canada is pounded by storms with Hurricane Force winds (scale 12 on the Beaufort Scale).

Below you can read what the lightkeeper at Cape Scott lighthouse posted for this April 02, 2012 storm. The keeper, Harvey Humchitt, Jr. posted this information on his Facebook page.

02:05 PST MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012 HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING FOR CAPE SCOTT.
Wind southwest 10 to 20 knots (18 to 37km/hr) increasing to southeast 20 to 30 knots (37 to 55km/hr) this afternoon and to 30 to gales 40 knots (55 to 74km/hr) early this evening. Wind increasing to southeast storm force 50 to 60 knots (92 to 111km/hr) near midnight except HURRICANE FORCE 65 knots (120km/hr) near the headlands Monday morning. Wind diminishing to southwest 25 to gales 35 (46 to 64km/hr) near noon Monday.

04:43 PST MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012 Hurricane is here full force hittin us hard at 80 knots 150km/hr, and a ton of rain

07:34 PST MONDAY APRIL 2, 2012 We were hit by almost 200km/hr winds that took out two storm doors, the crown on a spare house, the siding on a spare house and flooded our engine room. Winds are still gusting to 180km/hr, and horizontal rain.

11:38 PST Final Hurricane status report, winds hit 230 km/hr, lots of heavy rain that dumped 40mm of rain and the seas hit near 30ft. Damage done, two screen doors lost, siding on one house gone, crown on roof…gone, flashing for roofing…..gone, 3 trees fell, bassement in spare house flooded, engine room flooded and a stick punctured a hole in our sat dish for the tv but still works. In all….a typical British Columbia North Coast Hurricane. This is probably the last Hurricane force wind we will see now until the fall.

I do not think I have ever seen a storm like this when I was on the lighthouses – at least one  quite as strong in intensity. Climate change? 

Below are some photos Harvey made after the storm had gone through. Note the stormy seas and ragged clouds. Remember, these were made after the storm passed over. During the storm you cannot even get outside the house sometimes.  (All photos credited to Harvey Humchitt, Jr.

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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

 

 

Hurricane on Langara Island – 1962

Childhood Memories, Lighthouses, Old Website, On The Job, Stories, Storms, Weather, , , , , , ,

– Jeannie (Hartt) Nielsen (daughter of Ed Hartt, Senior Keeper on Langara 1957 – 1963) 

Langara Point - photo Jeannie Nielsen

I had gone by myself to the cabin for a weekend, and in the evening of the second day I was sitting in front of an open campfire watching the sun set. As the sun sank in the sky, a fast moving band of black cloud moved in. 

By midnight that night, the wind was screaming, and the sound of the ocean was ferocious. I could see nothing in the black night, and shone my flashlight toward the bay. All I could see was spray and white water. I watched anxiously for any sign of water coming in under the cabin walls, as the cabin was not far from high tide mark. And from the sound of the ocean, it was wild out there. I was scared. I laid awake all night listening to the sounds of crashing branches, and just hoped that one of the giant trees around the cabin wouldn’t come down. It would have been foolhardy to try to go home in the dark, so all I could do was wait it out.  Continue reading Hurricane on Langara Island – 1962 →