The grounding of “March Wind” in January prompted Roy Hales to write a story about boats adrift. I’d like to dig (or dive?) a little deeper under that story and consider some of the factors that have led to the increasing number of derelict and dilapidated boats on the BC Coast.
Continue reading Vessels of Concern: Signs of the Times
The boats stored along the shoreline in Mansons Landing Provincial Park have been given a reprieve.
For the 15 most derelict vessels, this means another 30 days before they are removed by BC Parks. Cortes Currents followed three Park Rangers down the beach to watch them tag their first vessel, a fibreglass dinghy with holes torn out of its bottom. Another derelict vessel was being used as the roof of a crude shelter in the trees.
There were a total of 57 boats in the park when the rangers arrived last month. Some have since been removed, but there are still a considerable number on the beach. Most of them look seaworthy. At some point in the near future, albeit measured in years rather than days, they must all be removed.
Continue reading Boats at Mansons Landing given a reprieve
According to Lisa Ferentinos, people were leaving their small boats along the beach in Mansons Landing Provincial Park before there was a park.
“I can’t imagine there’s ever been a time when people weren’t putting their boats on that beach. It’s been generations, and I can only assume pre-European contact there were many boats on that beach. I know, since the settlers have been here, it’s been a very popular beach for many people,” she said.
Suddenly on Monday, October 17, a red sticker was put on every boat along the beach.
Continue reading BC Parks flags boats on the beach at Mansons Landing
Last month Cortes Currents published a story about a local initiative to use some of the abandoned boats around Cortes Island for housing. There were more than a dozen boats at that time. Dominic dos Santos said he had found a Victoria based firm that will tow them away. Some would undergo any needed repairs and be sold. The remainder will be scrapped. dos Santos said he has fixed up a number of abandoned boats himself and sold them to Cortes residents who needed housing. Since then a person identifying himself as ‘Storm’ emailed Cortes Currents that putting people who cannot find housing onto boats ‘is a disaster waiting to happen.’
Continue reading What can Cortes Island do with its abandoned boats?
The Union Steamship Company served communities along the West Coast up until they were supplanted by airplanes and small motor boats in 1956. Few would have guessed that as little as a generation earlier, when they were still the main way of transporting people and supplies. In the conclusion of her segment about the Union Steamship company, Lynne Jordan talks about the company’s twilight years.
Continue reading Twilight of the Union Steamships
