The Vancouver Branch of the World Ship Society (otherwise known as The World Ship Society of British Columbia) welcomes any World Ship Society member, as well as visitors, to its monthly meetings.  If you think you might be interested in finding out what we do, please attend one of our monthly meetings as our guest.  All visitors are warmly welcomed.

Upcoming Programs and Activities

► FEBRUARY MEETING — Wednesday February 8, 2012 — Our guest speaker for this month's program will be Anthony Dalton, with a presentation on the shipwrecks of the Hudson's Bay Company.

► MARCH MEETING — Wednesday March 14, 2012 — We have tentatively slotted our President into this program with a showing of images he took on his recent trip to Alaska.

► APRIL MEETING — Wednesday April 11, 2012 — Neil England will be showing images from his recent trip through the Panama Canal.

Recent Meeting Notes

► JANUARY MEETING — Wednesday January 10, 2012 — Prior to writing about our January programme, I would like to thank John Williams, membership secretary for the WSS, for his communication via Glenn Smith, to correct the October Meeting Report on the DVD The Liners of Liverpool (2010). John writes that the port of Liverpool had the world’s first commercial enclosed dock in 1715, the world’s first graving (dry) docks in 1765 and by the 1730s Liverpool merchants were making huge profits from the slave trade (although slaves were not generally brought to Liverpool for sale). By 1850 Liverpool was second only to London in size and its population was almost 400,000, and Cunard started the first transatlantic liner service in 1840. Many thanks for the correction John and it is an honour to have feedback from such an astute and knowledgeable reader in Warrington, England!

Our January meeting opened to the sound of Ray Parkinson’s mechanical musical boxes and it should be mentioned here that member Daniel von Richthofen visited us for the second time from Kemptville, Ontario. Welcome back Dan. Joan Thornley gave an update on the January 4th executive meeting including the news that our rental fee will increase $200 per year, and that Anthony Dalton has confirmed that he will speak to us in February on the Hudson’s Bay Company shipwrecks. Ray Warren announced that the executive wished to spend some of the recent donation money on a new laptop to improve the quality of our public presentations. As there were no dissenting voices on the issue from the members present, it was decided to go ahead with the purchase.

Under recent news and events, Bill Etchell showed us the souvenir plate picturing five BC ferries which he inherited from WSS member Ron Mitchell and informed us he had dated the plate to approximately 1963/4. Robert Etchell spoke about the decision of Parks Canada to preserve some former lighthouses as historic sites – news that will be welcomed by many members. Ray Parkinson spoke about the work of recently deceased businessman and philanthropist Milton Wong who was an instigator of the annual dragon boat festival.

Our evening presenter was Colin Preston, Archivist for CBC Television. Colin very kindly located two films of interest to the society. The first, a black and white and silent film dating from 1928/9, was entitled Port of Vancouver: Canada’s Pacific Port. This 45-minute promotional film was produced for the Vancouver Harbour Commissioners. In addition to many unique scenes of the working harbour, including rare shots of MONARCH, HMS HOOD, CHEEMO and AORANGI, we saw detailed footage of the Ballantyne Pier (1923) with its 13 electric cranes, and the new Numbers 1,2, and 3 elevators which had been built to accommodate the shipment of prairie grain. Each elevator could move 53 million bushels of grain per year. Modern cleaning and conveying machines had been introduced as well as a new floating elevator to accommodate the increased volume of trade.

The Port of Vancouver was also a reminder that Vancouver used to be home to many manufactured goods exported through the dock. Wire rope, mattresses and clothing were amongst the goods being made locally in 1928/9. The movie promoted Vancouver as a port of choice for exports to Asia and Europe (via the Panama Canal), providing safe passage for ships in winter when the eastern seaboard of Canada was grid locked in ice for four months.

The second film, Portrait of a Harbour, (1958), was produced by the CBC and showed extensive footage of the operations of SILVER BOUNTY, PACIFIC UNITY and ASOHARA MARU, in addition to the work of the CATES tugs. We learned that 1,500 deep-sea vessels came into Vancouver harbour in 1958 (for comparison, Neil England informs me that during 2011 there were just short of 3,000 ships in Vancouver harbour. Thanks Neil!), that there were 1,200 stevedores, and we learned a bit about the selection, training and pay of the pilots. Allan King was producer of this CBC film and Bob Reid was the cameraman.

The evening’s presentation was thoroughly enjoyed by those present and we express our gratitude to Colin Preston for the donation of his time and expertise in selecting two excellent films for us. This was a rare opportunity to glimpse the port of Vancouver in times past.

► DECEMBER MEETING — Wednesday December 14, 2011 — Our December festive meeting was called to order by Ray Warren when members Joan Thornley and Len McCann arrived (right on time) at 8 pm. Joan wears many hats for the society, setting up the refreshments table for us early in the evening, fetching Len in her car, documenting the AGM in her capacity as recording secretary, and announcing future speakers as programme coordinator. Thanks Joan for a job well done and for serving the WSS in so many different capacities.

There were seventeen members present for the AGM on an evening marked by very inclement weather. Snow had been predicted for the evening, but we were fortunate just to experience some rain and wind. Festive lights greeted members in the museum parking lot and tunes from Ray Parkinson’s music box greeted members at the doors of the J. Torben Karlshoej Gallery. Thanks to Ray for the addition of the antique musical boxes once again. They have become a hallmark of the December meeting.

The AGM progressed smoothly. We are in solid shape thanks to the work of our president, Ray Warren, our Membership Secretary and Treasurer, Glenn Smith, and a good executive team. Board members remain unchanged except for the exchange of positions between Syd Heal and Neil England. After many years of dedicated service to the society, Syd has decided to retire from his role as vice-president and will become a director-at-large. Neil England will then step into Syd’s shoes as vice-president. Our membership remains virtually the same with new people filling the place of retiring members. Thanks go to Cecil Woods for his dedicated work as editor of the Ship’s Log and to Neil England for his excellent contribution (Metro Vancouver Scene) to the same publication.

One newsworthy item was mentioned under “other business.” The ST. ROCH and the Maritime Museum are to undergo repairs with city money ($1.3 million) in the year ahead. Unfortunately a recent newspaper report on the work incorrectly stated that the museum would be closed during this time. Members will be pleased to learn that the museum will remain OPEN during the repair process.

December is our members’ night and this year we were treated to digital photographs by Ray Warren and Ted Karanka. Ray began the public programme with pictures of his trip aboard STEVESTON LIFEBOAT with fellow artist John Horton. This beautiful vessel was built in Pearl Harbour in 1944, launched as ADMIRAL’S LAUNCH, became ARTISTS’ LIFE and then STEVESTON LIFEBOAT under the care of John Horton. The ship’s number (2B 02) is a reference to its registration with the Canadian Lifeboat Institute.

Ray, John and two other men traveled up the west coast in mid June 2011. It was a trip of a lifetime. Ray showed photographs of ferries, tugs, cruise ships, fishing vessels, and other working vessels including POWELL RIVER QUEEN, YUCATA, SEASPAN ROYAL, INLET TRANSPORTER II, SEASPAN PACER, QUADRA QUEEN II, COASTAL DESTINATION, NORTHERN EXPEDITION, NORTHERN ARM DILIGENT, OUTLOOK, SARAH DAWN and the ZEIDERDAM. His prize photographs, however, have to be his shots of the HMCS BRANDON in front of a glacier and the HMCS BRANDON floating beside a small iceberg. Ray’s creative skills can be seen in his photography.

Next in order of presentation, Ted Karanka showed his photographs of ships along the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories. He showed tugs, ferries, coastguard, and other working ships along the Mackenzie River during the very short shipping season (June to October). Excellent photos by Ted included those of LAFFERTY (a ferry which crosses the Mackenzie), NORWETA (the one and only cruise ship on the Mackenzie), DUMIT (a coast guard ship), VIC INGRAHAM (a tug), MARJORY (a tug), LOUIS CARDINAL (a ferry which crosses the Mackenzie), NAHIDIK (a coast guard ship), and the MERV HARDIE which used to cross the Mackenzie but has been replaced by a bridge linking the capital (Yellowknife) to the rest of the highway system.

Ted’s photos included sights near Fort Providence, the Hay River, Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Nunikput, Fort Simpson, and Iqualuit. They provided a rare and valued glimpse of maritime life in our far North. One member noted how calm the Mackenzie River looked in all of the photos and we learned that the river’s peak discharge occurs in June but because of the geography of the region (flat lands) and the many lakes in the region, the flow of the river is generally smooth. Many thanks go to Ted for his contribution to members’ night.

Season’s greetings to members of the WSS. It may interest members to note that the winter solstice occurs on December 22, and we may look forward to more daylight thereafter. Just think of all the happy sailing to come!

► NOVEMBER MEETING — Wednesday November 9, 2011 — Our November program began with some interesting contributions from members of the Society.  Ray Warren was pleased to announce a gift from long-time WSS members Roy and Jean Horne, and all members present expressed their appreciation with a round of applause.  Ray reminded members that the two Russian warships at Canada Place were due to leave on Friday November 11th at 1400.  Bill Etchell reported, from an article in the Western Mariner, that the IVANHOE is now at a shipyard at Anacortes.  Ellen Ramsay gave advance notice to members about the June 3, 2012 regatta on the Thames River that will mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  This will be the largest gathering of ships on the Thames since Charles II, three and a half centuries ago, and will be marked by historic vessels, replica ships, 40 narrow boats, 20 Dutch barges, 100 private motor boats, 30 and 40 tugs and barges and 250 rowing boats.  There will be music, dancing, singing and fireworks aboard the ships.

Joan Thornley read the minutes of the last executive meeting, which mostly addressed the speakers’ program.  The next twelve months are shaping up nicely and promise some fine presentations.  Ray Parkinson shared some of his family’s pacifist history with us and brought records, now accessible on-line, of his father’s military service as a medic.  He has a newsletter describing the sports, banquets, music and other social events used to entertain the service men on the front line.  Ray encouraged WSS members to use computer records to explore this avenue of their family history as he has found them most enlightening.

Our presenter for the evening was Bob Hunter, an archivist with the West Coast Rail Association.  He brought with him a selection from his own excellent collection of slides, and slides from the David Wilkie Collection now housed in the Archives of the West Coast Railway Heritage Park.  His presentation was divided into two parts. The first part focused on unusual photos of marine-rail operations on the west coast, and the second part focused on tug boat operations on the coast.  Each part began with historical slides from the David Wilkie Collection and the remaining slides were organized into chronological and thematic order with the most recent pictures dating from the 1980s and 1990s.

The rail-marine photos gave us an important glimpse into an era when the CPR used barges on lakes and coastal waters to transport cargo and rail.  The first slide of the evening, from the Wilkie Collection, showed a CPR barge in 1974 on Slocan Lake, west of Nelson at a location named Rosebery.  Rosebery is located four km northeast of New Denver and was a CPR shipyard and rail barge terminus from 1893. The photograph is unique in that it shows the locomotive and caboose on the barge and, in particular, this photograph shows two trains on the barge. Operation of the Slocan rail barge ended in 1988.

The second slide showed a locomotive going onto a barge at Slocan City, a service centre for the area’s silver-lead mines. Bob explained how the barge operated its rail service with the changing water levels. We then saw various CN barges off Swartz Bay and Victoria Harbour.

After a break for refreshments, Bob showed us slides of Seaspan tugs.  He explained that his interest began with all things rail when he resided in North Vancouver for twenty years. This then developed into a fascination with tug boats and other marine activity.  He set himself the task of photographing every tug he saw over those twenty years and hence his collection of photographs from that period.  He showed us excellent shots of the SEASPAN GREG, GULF FREDA, COMET, RASCAL, SUDBURY II, GULF IVY, and MONARCH II.  Seaspan now operates forty-eight tugs and Bob has a photograph of each one.

Bob concluded the evening with a photo from the Wilkie Collection dating from 1959.  The caption says it is the DELTA QUEEN in the Victoria Upper Harbour, but is actually its sister ship, the DELTA KING. The deck cargo barge with a capacity of 3,600 tons emanates from the Sacramento River and was requisitioned by the US Navy in the Reserve Fleet during World War II. In 1952 the DELTA KING was sold to Kitimat Constructors to house Alcan workers. The vessel was later moved to Stockton, California where she was used as a restaurant, hotel, and museum on the Stockton Channel.

The evening was a great success. It was particularly interesting to see slide projection again in this age of PowerPoint. Some members were taken by the quality of light, shade, and depth in the slide projections. Bob Hunter stayed to answer questions from members and the evening was concluded with expressions of nostalgia and pleasure for the past and present of the marine-rail and tug operations on the west coast of Canada.

► OCTOBER MEETING — Wednesday October 12, 2011 — This month’s scheduled public speaker program was postponed (speedy recovery Syd Heal) and so our October 12th meeting consisted of two excellent DVDs on nautical themes, thanks to James Conwell and Glenn Smith.  The first DVD was entitled T2 Tankers 1942-1945: Wartime History of the Marinship Corporation, and provided us with insight into the shipyard (part of the Bechtel Corporation) at Richardson Bay in Marin Country, California, near San Francisco.  During the height of production, the Marinship operation was able to cut 26 days off the construction record with one tanker completed in a mere 33 days after the keel was laid.

The Marinship Corporation was able to increase the speed of production by creating an instant city for its workers and designing the workplace into a buzzing assembly line based on mass production of parts.  The company provided the workers with schools, hospitals, stores, entertainment, as well as housing for individuals and families.  In the workplace, a hot food station was established to replenish the hungry workers.  This turned the shipyard into a veritable beehive of activity with up to 5,000 workers watching the launch of each ship, the product of their hard labour.  Today some of the buildings at the site still remain and one of them has been turned into a shipping museum.  Thanks go to James Conwell for providing us with the DVD and for bringing maps, as well as answering questions from the audience.

The second DVD, The Liners of Liverpool (2010), provided us with a glimpse of the Cunard Liners and the shipyard legacy of the city of Liverpool.  We learned that up until the 1870s Liverpool was a fishing village that then transformed into a major world port for transatlantic cruise liners until 1945.  While the port now services major cruise ships, traces of the historic shipyard can still be seen in the interior design of some of the older buildings in Liverpool.  The same people who designed the interior of the ships designed the older hotels, entertainment halls, and liner booking halls.  The materials and fittings, as well as the design, replicates those of the original ships. In 1972 the last liner left the Liverpool docks.

The evening was a success and we may still look forward to hearing Syd Heal’s talk in 2012.

► SEPTEMBER MEETING — Wednesday September 14, 2011 — Our new season of meetings was opened by President Ray Warren and with newsworthy contributions from members.  Bill Etchell informed us of the book launched by Rick James of West Coast Wrecks & Other Maritime Tales to be held Saturday October 15 at 2pm at the Maritime Museum.  Ray Parkinson drew our attention to his clippings on Arctic airships at the back of the J. Torben Karlshoej Gallery.  Ray brings some aspect of his personal maritime collection to each meeting for the enjoyment of members.  He also informed us of the good news that salmon have returned to Britannia Beach after the conservation work done there to repair the damage done by the long disused copper mine.  James Conwell updated us on the restoration of the SS MASTER which will be wintered in Steveston following her appearance at several wooden boat shows.  The vessel has had $60,000 worth of deck work completed but still requires more work,

Our September evening speaker was Auxiliary R.C.M.P. Constable Steve Ilott, the Coastal Watch Program trainer based in Richmond.  Steve has been with the R.C.M.P. for ten years and brings a wealth of experience to his topic.  His presentation was accompanied by relevant PowerPoint slides and he brought a collection of leaflets about the Coastal Watch Program with him.

The Coastal Watch Program is a combination of a Crime Stoppers and Block Watch program.  The marine public is encouraged to become involved in the project by reporting any unusual marine activity to the toll free number 1-888-855-6655.  This number connects the caller to the Federal Operations Center where the information will be rerouted to the correct agency.  B.C. has 17,000 miles of coastline and only four R.C.M.P. vessels to patrol the area and so the agency relies on information from the public to assist its work.

 The priorities of the Coastal Watch Program include countering drug smuggling, migrant smuggling, terrorism, customs infractions, environmental crime, homeland industry (including log theft), criminal code offences and vessels in distress.  It is important that before reporting any unusual ship activity that as much information about the vessel of concern is garnered for identification purposes.  It was noted that many of the small smuggling boats off our coast are painted black with windows and lights also blacked out for night work.  All legitimate pleasure craft over 9.9 horsepower must be licensed and clearly marked at the front on either side of the hull, and commercial craft must be registered and displayed on the stern.

Auxiliary Constable Ilott’s talk was punctuated with examples of the successful operations of the Coastal Watch Program and questions from those present were answered with great attention and concern.  It was of particular note that we learned of the division of work between the local police, the R.C.M.P., and the armed forces, and of the co-ordination of international agencies when working across national jurisdictions.

The evening was concluded with refreshments and exchanging summer news. We can look  forward to an  interesting and entertaining season of speakers ahead.ǂ

► MAY MEETING — Wednesday May 11, 2011 — The May meeting of the Vancouver Branch of the WSS departed from the usual scheduled speaker program in order to provide members with an evening of entertainment and socializing in the last meeting of the season before the breakup for the summer. The evening was filled with much conviviality and laughter, and some of us were left with teary eyes at the thought of not seeing each other until September.

The evening began with a greeting to two guests, Ted and Daniel, both from Ottawa. This was followed by an update on the LADY ROSE by Bill Etchell. Joan Thornley then read a copy of the minutes for the last executive meeting. (The directors will be meeting again on September 7, 2011.) Then our evening entertainment began.

Many thanks must go to Glenn Smith, who in addition to his many executive duties, has run the audiovisual side of our public program. Our presentations often require the most sophisticated power point projections, and Glenn is able to manage these as well as showing DVD films. The May meeting’s entertainment started with three short slide shows of exceptional photos of ships. The first showed a large ship that was capable of carrying and raising other large ships. The enormous strength and stability of this craft was remarkable. The second slide series consisted of a showing of orange and lemon sculptures at a seaside town in Spain. The third slide series consisted of a series of ships in storms, and the fourth slide series showed the break up of a tanker on rocks in England.

Members voted on the next presentation and watched a film entitled, Mr. Ocean Liner: The Life and Times of Bill Miller. This film gave viewers insights into the remarkable life and talent of Bill Miller, the passenger liner expert, lecturer, and model ship collector. While Bill worked for 32 years as a celebrated teacher of middle school and social studies in New Jersey (He was awarded teacher of the year in 2002), his other passion lay in ships and ports; especially those near to his childhood home of Hoboken, New Jersey. This passion led to his second career as a guest lecturer on board over 50 different ocean liners and cruise ships where he became celebrated as an exceptional speaker. In addition to his passion to lecturing on ships, Bill Miller has written 70 books on ships and gone on 300 voyages to date, circumnavigating the globe seven times, making him an international authority on ocean liners and cruise ships. Bill has also developed a private collection of 4,000 books on ships, 15,000 photos and 900 miniature ship models. Of interest to WSS members is that Bill credits an early membership and participation with the WSS to sparking his interest in the international world of shipping. In the film, he recalls fondly his first articles appearing in the Marine News.

The evening ended with refreshments and comradely conversation. Many thanks go to Joan Thornley for her homemade treats. Here’s wishing all WSS society members a safe sailing season and a happy summer filled with outdoor activity. ǂ

► APRIL MEETING — Wednesday April 13, 2011 — Our April public meeting began with a round of applause for WSS Director and Recording Secretary Joan Thornley who has just retired from her position at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives.  The members of the BC Branch of the WSS wish Joan a happy retirement and look forward to seeing her at future meetings for many years to come.

The evening’s members’ and public presentation began with a talk by Ken Mackenzie on the history of the Navy League of Canada from 1895 to 1965.  Ken’s presentation on the League was thoroughly researched and contextualized with Canada’s attempts to build a naval fleet.  He spoke at length on the details of the Navy League’s founding and its contribution to naval affairs in Canada. There was too much detail to give more than a gist here and so interested members are recommended to purchase a copy of Ken’s book at a special price.

Ken Mackenzie began his presentation by reminding those present that every history is in some part a reflection of the historian writing it.  He introduced himself as an imperial historian, a museum and archival worker, and, foremost, a retired naval officer who specialized in operations.  His book, Keeping Watch, is a labour of love that began almost twenty years ago, languished for ten or fifteen years, and then came to life again under a new national president of the Navy League.

The staff of the Navy League did not keep records prior to 1914 and so Ken had to use newspaper sources to fill in the early years of the League’s history.  This history may be traced to an adjacent history of the British navy, something it was guided by but also wished to be separate from.  This history indicates that there was very little support from politicians in Canada for a navy that would be part of the British imperial naval fleet, but there was some interest, albeit small before 1935, for a defense fleet on both coasts.

People who figure in the early history of the Navy League include Admiral Jackie Fisher who brought the first dreadnought; Pierre Etienne Fourtaine who has been called the “Father of the Royal Canadian Navy”; Prime Minister Laurier who did not want Canada to become part of what he called the “vortex of militarism”; Peter Wright, a seaman’s representative from Britain who spoke on seamen’s welfare; and Sir Clive Phillips Wolley who went across the country to gain support for the Navy League and established a corporate existence for the League in 1910.  The context for all this work was that up until 1914 Canada had no navy, and between 1914 and 1930 had only one cruiser and two destroyers.  As such from 1867, The Fisheries’ Protection Service serviced Canada, succeeded in 1910 by the Royal Canadian Navy.  The I.O.D.E. served as an important support and advocate for the Navy League in the early years.

In 1916 the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society set up in Canada and helped advocate the Navy League.  This it achieved and between 1917 and 1918, the Navy League set up across the country.  The League had three aims. 1. to advocate seapower, 2. to assist in the welfare of seamen and, 3. to become involved in the training of boys.  It achieved the latter with particular success. Canada had experienced problems with recruiting and retaining seamen but now the Navy League established a sea cadet program in Vancouver and twenty-two Institutes for seamen (hostels), and 8,500 sea cadets were trained by 1944; a singular accomplishment.

The major change in operations of the Navy League over this time was the switch from an organization primarily run by its president, to a corporate identity run from its offices.  The main office remained in Toronto until the 1960s. By the end of World War II, the Navy League had come to realize that the recruitment of a type of person was as important as the training of the individual and they adjusted themselves accordingly.

This review only touches the surface of the evening’s thoroughly researched talk. Interested members are urged to purchase a copy of Ken’s book from the details on page 30, at a special price.  This evening’s presentation formed part of another informative meeting for members and public of the WSS.  We may look forward with warm anticipation to another evening of socializing and entertainment on May 11th, our last formal public gathering of this spring season. Lets hope the transition into spring weather will be swift and it will be easy sailing from then into the summer for all concerned!ǂ

► MARCH MEETING — Wednesday March 9, 2011.  Our March members’ and public meeting welcomed Daniel B. Lemieux, retired R.C.M.P. Staff Sergeant, who presented the WSS with a power point presentation and lecture on the history of the ST. ROCH followed by a guided tour of the ship.  Mr. Lemieux has been lecturing on the ST. ROCH since 1952, and he was personally acquainted with eight of the crewmembers including Jack Doyle. Part of this evening’s exercise was to show how an historical artifact can be transformed into a living memorial through the power of story-telling.  The strategy certainly cast its spell on members as they walked through the ST. ROCH at the evening’s close.  Many thanks to Jamie Purves of the Vancouver Maritime Museum for being present and making sure the ship was available for the tour.

Daniel Lemieux tackled two aspects of the ST. ROCH.  He began by presenting the technical aspects of the ship that started life as a schooner and was converted into a ketch by raising the bridge.  He then told us stories of the ST. ROCH from former crew members, and as she was sailed by Sergeant Henry Asbjorn Larsen in the 1930s in the Western Arctic, including her 1940’s trip through the Northwest Passage to establish Canadian sovereignty during World War II.  Almost half of this account was about the Inuit people without whom the trips would not have been possible. The Inuit assisted with navigation and especially with over-wintering of the ship.

The ST. ROCH was launched in 1928 as an arctic workhorse for the R.C.M.P.. She has 323-ton displacement and is 104 feet long, 25 feet at the beam, with a draft of 13 feet. She needs 2 ½ fathoms to sail in.  She was able to sleep 19 people providing they were “hot bunking” and she carried 150 tons of fuel or supplies.  She has a six cylinder reliable diesel engine with a capacity of 150 horsepower, which achieved a speed of just eight knots.  Later her engine capacity was raised to 300 horsepower but she was still only able to attain eight knots.  She has a single screw propeller and a rudder that could be raised onto the deck.  The hull was made of Douglas fir covered with Australian iron bark.  There is cement between the decks and ice beams to reinforce the ship when she over wintered in the Arctic. The hull was a round egg shape that proved unstable in the water but served the purpose of popping the ship out of the water during the winter freezes.  On one trip to the Gulf of Alaska, everyone on board was sea sick save for Henry Larsen who earned the name “iron-gut Henry.”

 The regular crew consisted of men in the R.C.M.P. who volunteered for duty on board the ship and they were paid $1.25 per day in 1928 during her first year of operation.  Henry Larsen (1899-1964) took out Canadian citizenship in 1928 and joined the ST. ROCH as first mate in 1928 and rose rapidly to become sergeant for $3 per day.  He was the first person to steer a ship through the Arctic from West to East (1940-1942) and was the first to make the passage both ways (1944).  In 1950 the ST. ROCH was the first ship to traverse North America making a huge journey for its 300 horsepower engine.  For these reasons alone, the ship and Henry Larsen are noteworthy in Canadian and even world history.  While in the Arctic the crew was responsible for enforcing laws and settling disputes, routine patrols by dog sled, recording weather, collecting taxes and taking the Census.

In addition to the technical information about the ST. ROCH and her duties in the North, Daniel Lemieux told stories from the former crewmembers.  In particular he recounted the tough conditions and lack of common conveniences on board the ship.  The Panipakuttuk family, the Inuit who aided their journey in 1944, showed the special resiliency of the Northerners by refusing berths on board the ship, preferring instead to live in a tent erected on the ship’s deck.  The Inuit were vital to the survival of the ship’s crew as they knew where the ship could be safely wintered and they alone knew how to build igloos that would be crucial to the survival of the crew on land expeditions.  Sometimes dog and sled teams traveled as far as 800 miles away from the ship to complete work. This required many nights in igloos as they only trekked 30-40 miles per day.  The crew wore the same bone sunglasses with a slit in them as the Inuit did. Henry Larsen modelled himself after his predecessor in the Arctic, Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) and it is certainly possible to see the similarities of the two seamen as they traversed the Arctic.

The WSS BC Branch is most grateful to Mr. Lemieux for his most stimulating and informative public lecture and thank him for arranging for the tour of the ST. ROCH with the Museum as part of the talk.  Everyone had a most entertaining evening and discussion continued into the night. It was a pleasure to “revisit” the ST. ROCH in our host Museum and to acquire a fresh perspective on an old friend.‡

► FEBRUARY MEETING — Wednesday February 9, 2011.  February’s public lecture consisted of an outstanding presentation by WSS member Captain Tom McLean. Tom has spent his entire working life at sea or around ships beginning in 1960 with the Royal Canadian Navy (ten years) on destroyers, frigates and minesweepers, followed by obtaining his 2nd Mate’s Certificate in 1970 and Master, FG in 1981. On coming to shore, Tom worked as a marine and cargo surveyor on the BC Coast and in the Arctic and founded the McLean Taylor Marine Surveyors in 1997, a company he still does some work for. Since 1990 he has been a nautical inspector for the Bahamas Marine Authority and it is from experience in this capacity that he presented his evening’s talk.

Captain McLean’s illustrated talk was entitled, Behind the “Crew Only” Signs, and gave the audience a unique and comprehensive view of the entire range of activities of a cruise ship from the safety and operations viewpoint. The talk was divided into five segments beginning with some beautiful photos of the cruise ships themselves; the command center of the ship (the bridge); every aspect of the crew’s accommodation from sleeping to grooming and feeding; the mechanics of the ship; and finally the fire and evacuation procedures including a full fire drill. Tom gave us not only visual glimpses of the operation behind-the-scenes of the ships but also his insights into the crew and officer’s work.

Behind the “Crew Only” signs there is a large contingent of staff running the cruise ships. Many of the regular staff members are Filipino people but speak English, as this is the official language of the ships. The regular crew has modest but adequate cabins on the ship. Most of the ratings have shared rooms and shared bathrooms facilities but plenty of communal space for recreation. Officers have individual rooms and larger communal areas for the entertainment of official guests. Some of the jobs on board are 24-hour operations, including the laundry room and waste disposal service, and require an active staff to service them. We learned how all the new crewmembers are put through a daily two-week orientation to the operation and safety procedures of the vessel.

Captain McLean showed us photos of the modern bridge with its computerized control panels and small wheel and thruster levers.  Despite the high level of computerization, everything must be backed up with paper work and the ships must be able to operate manually in case of a failure in the computer system. As such, each ship bridge has two sextants and the crew must prove to Tom, on his inspections, that they know how to operate the sextants from the way they hold them, to operating them from the monkey’s island behind the bridge. Tom’s job makes him familiar with all aspects of the ship’s safety and his tests are comprehensive taking a full three days to complete.

Next Tom gave us a look at the machine and engine rooms that stretch the entire length of a cruise ship. The chief engineer is a most important crewmember who spends much of his time on a computer overseeing the operations. We saw the machinery spaces, the machinery control rooms, computers, CCTV monitors, gauges, the main engines and propulsion motors, the gas turbine, the oily water separator, the refrigeration and A/C machinery, the steering gear, shaft tunnel, air receivers, water maker and, of course, the engineering workshop and machinists room. The ships are as self contained as any cruiser.

Tom also showed us all of the health and safety aspects of the ship from the galley to the sewerage treatment and garbage disposal system, all of which is also very comprehensive. Sewerage is treated on board until it has reached a level deemed safe to let into the sea, and the garbage goes through a process of either incineration or compression before recycling at a main port. Environmental standards are much higher today than they were in the past and cruise ship owners’ have spent millions of dollars on equipment that makes the ships more eco-friendly.

We then had a chance to look at a complete fire drill including an evacuation procedure. We saw the first responders at work on one of the passenger decks, the response of the Fire Alarm Bridge, the emergency generators, which might be necessary, the lifejacket lockers, and the passenger muster. We also saw the watertight emergency doors closing, the evacuation chutes, and the large variety of lifeboats and rescue craft.

In addition to this detailed talk on “behind the scenes” of a cruise ship, we were also treated to some of Tom’s excellent photographs. We looked at a number of ships sailing under the Bahamas’ flag including the NORWEGIAN SUN, VISION OF THE SEAS, INFINITY, SILVER SHADOW, and the SILVER CLOUD. Our member Tom McLean is to be thanked for the time and care he took to present this well organized and fully engaging illustrated lecture for the WSS branch. This was a talk that will be remembered for years to come. We are most lucky to have such an experienced Captain in our midst and we hope that Tom may have another presentation to give us in the time ahead.

► JANUARY MEETING — Wednesday January 12, 2011.   The January meeting, presided over by WSS President Ray Warren, began with a report by Joan Thornley on the recent executive meeting. The membership was most delighted to hear that the rental for the room at the Maritime Museum will not be increasing. This announcement contributed to a great beginning to the New Year. The executive report was then followed by member’s contributions. William Etchell reminded members and guests that he has been bringing information about the NORWEGIAN EPIC for them to examine at the back of the room. James Conwell then gave us an update on the tugboat SS MASTER that is still afloat having had $40,000 worth of work done to the hull gifted by Allied in exchange for a tax receipt. She does, however, still need work done above the water line. A reminder of the significance of this steam-engine wooden-hulled tug: Arthur Moscrop built her in 1922 in False Creek, she has 200 ton displacement, is 85 feet long and cruises at over 8 knots. She was used between 1922 and 1959 as a tow for logs and barges in the Georgia Strait and since 1959 has been part of a preservation project to commemorate the workers in the B.C. towing industry. For more information on the SS MASTER and some excellent recent photos see the SS Master Society website at www.ssmaster.org.

Our evening speaker, Ellen Ramsay, addressed the topic of London’s Historic Inland Waterways: Part II. Last year Ellen spoke about the history of the Regent’s canal and narrow boats and the Thames Clipper commuter boats. This year she spoke about working boats on the Regent’s canal and three museum destinations along the South Bank of the Thames including two floating museums. Last year she emphasized the role of public access to the waterways, and this year she continued the theme by discussing the role of historic ship museums as destinations on the modern waterways.

Ellen began her illustrated talk with the London Canal Museum (f. 1989) housed in the 1863 ice warehouse of Carlo Gatti (1817-1878). The building is positioned on the Battlebridge Basin of the Regent’s Canal where Gatti’s ice arrived by barge along the canal. This ice warehouse is the only one remaining in Britain and is testimony to the industriousness of the Victorians. Gatti distributed his ice (up to 400 tons of it) to the hospitals, butchers, fishmongers, and ice cream makers along the canal system and by horse and cart. Originally the ice was imported from Norway.

The London Canal Museum houses two historic vessels: The CORONIS, a nineteenth century butty (one of a pair) narrow boat, inside the museum; and BANTUM IV, a 1950 pusher tug, on the basin outside the rear of the museum. The CORONIS provides an excellent example of the “roses and castles” motif typical of narrow boat decoration in the nineteenth century once families moved aboard, along with some “lace plates” decorating the iron stove cove. The BANTUM IV was built in 1950 by E.C. Jones and Sons of Brentford and used for gravel yard work. She has since been overhauled and repainted and is in operating condition. She possesses a Lister JP2 diesel engine that is hand cranked. Robert Ashton Lister (1845-1929) who originally manufactured agricultural equipment including sheep shearers started the company and eventually became renowned for producing combustion engines. By 1926 the Company had a workforce of 2,000 operating the plant 24-hours per day producing 600 diesel engines per week for their 6,000 UK customers alone.

Next on the list of museums was the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, a purpose built museum (1873), which has had a £20 million face lift (The Neptune Court) and the addition of a major wing (The £35 million Sammy Ofer Wing) due to be completed in 2011. Ellen took us on a perimeter tour of the “lower deck” of the museum including the figurehead of the POLYPHEMUS (1782), from a 64-gun ship launched during the American War of Independence that fought in the battle of Copenhagen (1801) and the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and was broken up in 1827. She then showed us the working machinery of the paddle tug RELIANT built by Messrs Eltringham of South Shields for service on the Manchester Ship Canal at a cost of £6,700; a figurehead from a Spanish warship of 1806 said to have escaped the Battle of Trafalgar the year before and had her figurehead stolen by four British Officers from the SIRIUS; Queen Mary’s Shallop built by King William III in 1689 as a royal river barge and operated as such until 1919; figureheads from the HMS BRISTOL (1861), a wooden screw propeller frigate, broken up in 1877 and the HMS ADVENTURE (1855) built at Birkenhead as the RESOLUTE and broken up at Chatham in 1877; and the speed boat MISS BRITAIN III (1933) built by Hubert Scott-Paine and which once held the record for the fastest single engine boat for over 50 years (exceeding 100 mph).

The third museum, a floating museum, illustrated in the evening presentation was the HMS BELFAST (1938), a Southampton class cruiser built by Harland and Wolff Shipyards under the order of the Admiralty. She and the HMS EDINBURGH (1938) were innovative cruisers that combined both the 10,000-ton displacement of the heavy cruiser with the rapid firing 6-inch guns of the light cruiser. The BELFAST required one change in design causing the guns to be triple mounted instead of quadruple mounted. The spare weight was used to increase her anti-aircraft armament. She had an interesting history being commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1939 under the command of Capt. G.A. Scott and during the Maritime Blockade of Germany intercepting and capturing a German Ship, the SS CAP NORTE disguised as a neutral vessel, the ANACONA carrying reservists from Argentina to Germany. A few months later after this early success she had a magnetic mine placed on her hull causing serious damage to her hull and machinery (and light casualties). It took three years for her to be repaired at the Devonport Dock and she wasn’t able to move on to more successful missions until after 1942 when she became the flagship of the 10th Cruiser Squadron as the most powerful cruiser in the Royal Navy. She now bulged amidships to a displacement of 11,500 tons with her stability improved and up to date radar and fire control systems added. 

The HMS BELFAST went on to be active in the Battle of North Cape (1943) destroying the SCHARNHORST; Operation “Tungsten” where she destroyed the TIRPITZ, Germany’s last surviving battleship; Operation Neptune on D-Day; the evacuation of Japanese prisoners of War (1945); a refit in 1947; China (1948); Korea (1956); a refit for the atomic age in 1956 with an enclosed bridge, air conditioning and modern gunnery controls and new lattice masts; a round of Commonwealth countries as Britain said goodbye to the empire in the late 1950s; paid off into reserve (1963) and reclassified as a harbour accommodation ship. In 1971 her active life was over and the Imperial War Museum took over the job of turning her into a museum and since then seven million people have visited her.

The fourth museum on the Thames that was Francis Drake’s (1543-1596) GOLDEN HINDE, originally named the PELICAN, a replica of Drakes’ ship of 1577 that circumnavigated the globe. Her figurehead (a golden hinde) and motto (“Virtue is the safest helmut”) were both taken from Christopher Hatton’s family coat of arms as one of the sponsors of the trip. Queen Elizabeth I, another sponsor of the trip, knighted Drake on his return and decreed the ship to be preserved at Deptford in 1580. As such she became the first museum ship in England. She broke up however in 1600.

The replica of the GOLDEN HINDE was designed by Loring Norgaard of California who hired Albert Elledge, president of a San Francisco tug and harbour-tour line to complete the work. She is a classic example of a mid-16th century warship during the transition from the carrack to the galleon, built along Venetian lines. She took three years to research from seascapes and engravings. In 1981 she was established as an educational museum and a second replica is moored in Brixham, Devon.

The members and guests of the WSS warmly received Ellen Ramsay’s talk and many of the questions probed the different aspects of Carlo Gatti’s ice trade in the nineteenth century. This aspect of the canal trade was of interest to all and would therefore make a good talk for some future event.  Several members reminisced about the days when ice was delivered by horse and cart in Vancouver in the not too distant past. The evening was concluded congenially with refreshments and light discussion.

► DECEMBER MEETING — Wednesday December 8, 2010.    The solstice meeting of the WSS began with a long social accompanied by seasonal music from one of Ray Parkinson’s music boxes. Joan Thornley, one of our Directors, provided refreshments for the evening. At approximately 8 pm then, the members were called together by President Ray Warren for the AGM. Most of the discussion focused on ideas for the Society to save money or raise revenue to cover the shortfall in the budget. Last year’s officers will remain in their positions for another year.

Following another break for refreshments and conversation, the audience was gathered once again to hear members’ presentations. This year we were treated to a very informative and delightfully well illustrated slide show by our member, Ted Karanka, who showed images of Iqualuit at the start of the Sea-lift season in 1990-1992. Iqaluit became the capital of Nunavut in 1999 and is located at 63º15’North and 68º31’West on Koojesse Inlet near the northeast head of Frobisher Bay on southern Baffin Island.

Ted showed a number of flat-bottomed boats that came into the deep harbour to load on dry land including several craft in the Le Groupe Desgagnes Inc. He showed CATHERINE DESGAGNES built by Hall, Russell & Co at Aberdeen in Scotland in 1962 for the Burnett Steamship Co and christened GOSFORTH. In 1972 she was then purchased by the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Company and renamed THOROLD. In 1984 Le Groupe Desgagnes purchased her and renamed her CATHERINE DESGAGNES.

Other ships we were shown in Iqaluit included JAZ DESGAGNES and TERRA NORDICA, the latter built by Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., Port Weller Dry Docks division in 1964 for Chimo Shipping as the CHESLEY A. CROSBIE.  She was purchased by Puddistar Trading Co and renamed. Her Canadian registry was closed March 13, 1992, and she was subsequently registered in Honduras as NORTHERN STAR of Northern Star Naviera. Ted also showed sea-lift tugs, sea-lift barges, coast guard launches and small craft in Iqaluit Harbour giving us a unique glimpse of life in the largely ice-bound small town.

Robert Etchell presented photos of his summer trip aboard the FRANCES BARKLEY. The FRANCES BARKLEY was built in 1958 and named RENNESOY in Stavanger, Norway, then renamed HIDLE and used in the Norwegian ferry fleet out of Stavanger. She is 128 feet long, with a beam of 24 feet and a draft of 9.5 feet bearing an engine with 400 horsepower from an 8 cylinder Bergen Diesel with a speed of 11 knots. She can carry 200 people and bears a gross tonnage of 300. She became the FRANCES BARKLEY in Canada named after the wife of a Captain William Barkley who sailed with her husband to trade on the West Coast in 1786. Alberni Marine Transportation now owns her. Robert then showed a selection of small fishing boats seen from the FRANCES BARKLEY including LADY JANE, AMIGO III, and an image of the former passenger/freight vessel LADY ROSE. He concluded with some photos of the former QUEEN OF ESQUIMALT, now PRINCESS JACQUELINE (for sale) and the Russian training ship KRUZENSHTERN.

Ray Warren showed his photos from the Canadian Naval Centennial International Fleet Review at Esquimalt and Royal Roads. They included HMCS VANCOUVER, SIR WILFRED LAURIER, USS CHOSIN, USS RONALD REAGAN, USS SAMPSON, JDS ATAGO, HMCS PROTECTOR, ALGONQUIN, and VICTORIA. Ray’s photos all displayed the artist’s touch and we were especially delighted to see the Snowbirds caught in a beautiful symmetrical formation.

Finally, Bill Etchell showed a selection of Andrew Kilk’s slides of ships around the world. Many of the ships were cruise ships, but there were also some naval ships and some smaller craft in the great ports of Europe, North America and Australia. They included NORWEGIAN SPIRIT in Juneau and Seattle, NORWEGIAN STAR in Skagway, CROWN OF SCANDINAVIA in Copenhagen, INFINITY in Vancouver, and BURKE PRINCESS in Stockholm, Sweden.

With our evening presentations at a close, members lingered longer to sup on more refreshments and to catch up with friends and acquaintances.  Many thanks go to all of those who presented and to those who worked behind the scenes to make the evening a success.  Here’s wishing you all a safe, healthy and happy holiday season and we will look forward to seeing you all in 2011.

December 8, 2010.  Photo by Robert Etchell.  Ref: WS10-0463.

This photo shows the Vancouver Branch executive having just been elected by acclamation for the 2011 year.  Seated, from l-r: Ellen Ramsay, Ray Warren (President), Glenn Smith (Treasurer & Membership Secretary).    Standing, from l-r: Neil England, Syd Heal (Vice President), Cec. Woods, Joan Thornley (Recording Secretary).  [12.2010]

► NOVEMBER MEETING — Wednesday November 10, 2010.  Our monthly evening speaker was David Williams, member of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and bronze medal winner at the 2000 Para Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. His talk was titled, “Rumrunners and their Ships,” in place of the original title, “A History Cruise to Wigwam Inn.”  It is hoped that he will return to speak about the cruises to Wigwam Inn at a later date as both talks are of interest to the Ship Society.

“Rum running” was the term used for smuggling liquor over water, often consisting of cases of whiskey, to the United States during that country’s period of Prohibition between the years 1919 and 1933.  On land, the smuggling was more commonly referred to as “bootlegging” with it origins in the days when whiskey bottles were hidden inside men’s boots.  In 1919 the Volstead Act, which introduced Prohibition, was named for Andrew Volstead, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which managed the legislation. In 1933, the Cullen-Harrison and Blaine Acts passed under Roosevelt’s administration repealing the Prohibition laws.  The “rum” in “rum running” was a low profit item in the smuggling business and so Canadian or Irish whiskey became the more profitable smuggled good.  Some ships carried as much as $200,000 in contraband in a single run and sometimes the bottles were diluted with water to make them even more profitable.

The method of delivery for smuggled goods was for a mother ship to transport the goods to the legal limit off the coast of the USA and then signal for smaller speedboats to come and take cases of liquor from her.  At first there was a three-mile limit around US territory but as smuggling increased, the limit, known as the “rum line,” was extended in 1924 to twelve miles.  Small boats often armed with machine guns and powerful aircraft engines and armour plating took the risk of completing the delivery to shore.  The US Government ran patrol boats, typically 75-foot Coast Guard Cutters with a top speed of only 12 knots to intercept the illegal trade.

David William’s talk focused on some of the local ships used for smuggling.  They included MALAHAT, MOONLIGHT MAID, KUYAKUZMT, SKEEZIX, PESCAWHA, KAGOME and BERYL G.

MALAHAT, referred to as the “Queen of Rum Row,” was a 245-foot, five-masted ship that could transport 60,000 cases of liquor in her hold and another 40,000 on deck.  She was a slow ship capable of about five knots and was a prime target for the US Coast Guard who followed her on her trips along the coastline of the U.S.A.  She had two smaller boats alongside capable of 35 knots while carrying many cases of liquor on board.

SKEEZIX, was the name of another smuggling ship built specifically for holding cases of liquor.  She had two V-12, 400 hp engines capable of running at 40 knots and could easily out run the USCG cutters.

Sometimes fish boats were used for smuggling because they could disappear into a fleet and go undetected.  Most of the smuggling was a nighttime activity and was very dangerous as the ships often ran without lights and were at risk of gunfire and raids from other smuggling ships.  As the years progressed and the trade sharpened, the risks from competitors became very serious and ships armed themselves with machine guns.

In addition to discussing some of the smuggling ships, David Williams included a description of some of the local run runners including, H.W. Hobbs, Charles Hudson, and the Eggar brothers. Hobbs was a cattle rancher in Scotland who bought ships and loaded them with Irish and Scottish whiskey destined for the United States.  He found the business so profitable that he decided to move to Vancouver to get into the business more seriously.  His ship MOONLIGHT MAID went through a series of name changes from COLUMBIA, WASP, STADCONA, to KUYAKUZMT.  In order to register the name of the ship in Britain (still the place of registration for Canadian ships at the time) he had to have a name that no one else had used, so he looked on a BC map and found a Kuyakuz Mountain and named his ship KUYAKUZMT.

Captain Charles Hudson, a RVYC member, was another immigrant to Canada who went into the smuggling business.  Hudson came to Canada as a naval captain but then discovered a profitable trade in rum running from Coal Harbour.  The system that he ran was quite sophisticated and included the use of short-wave radios and coded messages to contact other vessels and crew.  At one point in his career he had a boat named KAGOME built at the dockyards near the Roger’s shipyard and refinery.  Hudson was disappointed that the ship only reached nine knots and discovered that the wrong props had been installed, so he had them changed to make the boat much faster.  One of his boats was seized along with its crew, including Hudson himself, but he had the acumen to go back on board the ship to get his logbook to show that he had been outside the 12-mile limit.

As time went on public and government sentiment turned against Prohibition and finally the Act was repealed under President Roosevelt in 1933 who signed an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the Cullen-Harrison Act which allowed the manufacture and sale of 4% alcohol by volume.

David Williams was thanked for his public lecture by Ray Warren and presented with a book by WSS member Syd Heal.  Members congregated and talked together in the J. Torben Karlshoej Gallery surrounded by beautiful maritime paintings current on display at the Maritime Museum. 

One of our Directors, Joan Thornley, kindly provided the refreshments; Ray Parkinson brought a selection of his maritime treasures to share with members;  Glenn Smith staffed the members’ table; and Robert Etchell oversaw the raffle table.  Neatly arranged boxes of post cards of ships were available for sale by Don Brown, at the back of the room, and David Williams kindly made himself available for further discussion with members and guests.  The conversations were convivial and it was apparent that all in attendance had an enjoyable evening.  We may look forward to the members’ “Show and Tell” next month.‡

► OCTOBER MEETING — Wednesday October 13, 2010. The evening's talk was exceptionally well organized and presented, leaving many members expressing the delight of having learned something entirely new about the charting of their coastline. M. Gervais' talk was divided into three parts: La Pérouse, the explorer; the search for the Northwest Passage, and the outcome of La Pérouse's trip.La Pérouse was born in France and, at the age of 17, became a naval cadet assigned to the Ile de France (Mauritius) and then to Boston in the American Revolutionary War. He was in charge of the French Division at the Battle of Louisburg and also fought the Hudson's Bay Company in Hudson's Bay. His naval career brought him many distinctions, one of which was the Order of Cincinnati awarded by General Washington. Today the eagle design on the Order is used as the seal of the American president.La Pérouse launched his Northwest Passage expedition at a time when Europeans felt, to some extent, that such a passage was still discoverable and when other countries such as Spain and Britain were also desirous of such a route. From 1688 maps showed Vancouver Island but few displayed anything to the north of it.While Henry Ellis was commissioned by Britain to seek an eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage via the Hudson Bay in 1746, The Ship Society's October public meeting was a most auspicious occasion that played to a packed house at the Maritime Museum. Jérôme Gervais from France, our speaker, attracted a large audience of both members and guests from the map and museum community as well as the French community. M. Gervais, an eloquent and thoroughly well researched maritime historian, was a man with a purpose. His talk was entitled "La Pérouse (1741-ca 1788) in Search of the Northwest Passage from Alaska to California 1785-1786" and his intention was to develop the knowledge and appreciation of La Pérouse's exploration of the Pacific Northwest, and to rebuild the historical landmark on Cenotaph Island in Lituya Bay, Glacier Park, Alaska.

President Ray Warren introducing speaker. Photo by Robert Etchell.  Ref: WS10-0438.

Photo by Robert Etchell. Ref: WS10-0437.

La Pérouse set forth in 1785 to find a western passage. By the middle of the 18th century, the chronometer was being used with great success to record longitude readings and this aided exploration and charting immensely. King Louis XVI set out the objectives of the trip personally. One of the aims was to fill out the map of Vancouver Island and the regions north that were noticeably blank on Philippe Buache’s (1700-1773) map and the other was to find the Northwest Passage.La Pérouse set out in 1785 with two frigates, LA BOUDOLE and L’ASTROLABE, 110 crew on each, and supplies for four years. La Pérouse was also given the best scientists and best scientific instruments for his trip including two chronometers. Quite by chance, the young mathematician and cadet, Napoleon Bonaparte applied to join the expedition but was turned down in favour of another mathematician. Had he been selected, French history and world history would have been dramatically different.La Pérouse began his charting of the coast from Alaska and headed south to California. He located and named the sublime Port de Français (150 km NW of Juneau) on 3 July 1786, now named Lituya Bay. He explored the bay and negotiated the purchase of the island in it from the First Nations' People. The deed was buried on the island accompanied by medals of the King and Queen of France. He also purchased 2,000 seal skins to trade with China at a later date. He recorded the customs of the original inhabitants of the region and kept on good terms with them as Louis XVI instructed him to.On 12 July 1786 as La Pérouse left the bay, two of his small ships taking soundings were capsized in a windstorm, and twenty-one sailors drowned. La Pérouse, profoundly upset by the loss, built a memorial for them on the island that he named Cenotaph Island and placed a bottle in the soil with the names of each sailor who was killed in the storm.La Pérouse continued his journey south charting all the geographical features as he went. Due to fog on the coast he missed the Dixon entrance to the Queen Charlotte Islands but found Queen Charlotte Sound; found Nootka Bay but didn't recognize Vancouver Island as an island; and missed the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On the 27th and 28th of August 1786, he reached La Pérouse Bank, shallow waters off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and then headed south past San Francisco to Monterey Bay where he was welcomed by the Spaniards on September 13,. 1786. La Pérouse then set sail for Macau (3 January 1787) to trade his 2,000 seal skins (unfortunately he was not the first and thus received a lower price for the furs) and headed on to Australia. In 1788 all trace of Pérouse ends as he disappeared in wreckage on Mannicolo Island probably caused by a typhoon. Both frigates were destroyed.In the meantime, France entered into its revolutionary phase and La Pérouse's work could not be followed up. Some of the last words spoken by Louis XVI were "Do we have any news of La Pérouse?" The only information the French received of La Pérouse's discoveries were those that he sent home while on his journey. M. Gervais emphasized La Pérouse's contribution to our geographical knowledge of the West Coast and our knowledge of the First Nations' People, and reiterated his desire for the plate to be restored on Cenotaph Island. He noted that in 1958 a giant 524-metre wave hit Lituya Bay when a huge piece of mountain slid into the bay jarred by a quake generated by the Fault of Fairweather. Cenotaph Island was devastated in the quake and wave. As the Island is now an American National Park, it is unlikely that the park authorities will allow another marker. However, M. Gervais is determined that the memory of those sailors, La Pérouse, and the expedition will be remembered.Gifts were exchanged at the end of the memorable evening. M. Gervais gifted a reproduction of Philippe Bouache's map to the Maritime Museum. All were grateful for an exceptional presentation, an evening of knowledge, and good conversation afterwards.

► SEPTEMBER MEETING — Wednesday September 8, 2010. Welcome members and friends to a new season of public speakers! Our September meeting was opened with a greeting from President Ray Warren to all present and especially to our special guests from the North Vancouver Museum and Archives.There were several announcements worthy of note. Guy Mathias, Curator of Collections at the Vancouver Maritime Museum is looking for photographs, memorabilia and general information about travel in steerage class on board steamships between the late 1800s and the 1930s. These are needed for a forthcoming exhibition at the museum. Contact Bill Etchell if you have items or information of interest.Daien Ide, reference historian at the North Vancouver Archives, is asking for personal stories about living and working in North Vancouver for the archives oral history program. The first oral history project will focus on life around the shipyards. Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to contact Daien at ided@dnv.org or 604-990-3700.Joan Thornley read the minutes of the Director’s meeting from September 1st. Most of the discussion at the meeting concentrated on the forthcoming speakers’ program. Ideas for public lectures for 2011 should be brought to the attention of the directors.Our evening speaker was Roland (Rollie) H. Webb, introduced by Syd Heal. Rollie has extensive ship going experience with the Canadian Coast Guard and ship yard experience here in Canada and in Seattle as President of Todd Shipyards (1993-2003). He was President of Washington Marine Group Shipyards from 2003-2008 and currently works as a consultant. ‡Rollie’s subject for his talk was “Submarines for the Czar” on Vancouver’s clandestine role in building subs for Russia during World War I. The story dates from 1915 to 1918 starting when Britain and Russia were allies in the War and America was neutral.

James Paterson, general manager of the Seattle dry-dock brokered a deal to build five submarines for the Russians at a site in Barnet, North Burnaby so as not to break the neutrality laws. The vessels were “H” Class subs that were 150 feet long and 16 feet in diameter with a descent depth of 200 feet.Submarine warfare was crucial and effective in World War I. Right at the beginning of the war Britain lost three major cruisers to submarine torpedoes. Those involved in the Canadian-assembled submarines were Charles M. Schwab, President of Bethlehem Steel in the US, James Paterson, General Manager of the Seattle Dry Dock, and Charles S. Meek, a Vancouver land developer. Paterson organized the entire project and was back and forth across the border to complete the deal.The submarines were completed in less than one year and were shipped in sections to Vladivostok and on to St. Petersburg. All five were in service by 1916. (None survived the war.) In 1917 the men were commissioned to produce a further six submarines, just before America entered the war, and this time they assembled the subs in downtown Vancouver. The Russian Revolution intervened in 1917 and the Russians were unable to pay for the subs, so the Americans purchased them in 1918 and they were kept in service until 1931. The story of the Barnet and Vancouver subs was a carefully guarded secret and even after the war the story was not broken until three books gave the details in 1964, 1977 and 1986. The entire story is told in Bill Lightfoot’s book, Beneath the Surface: Submarines built in Seattle and Vancouver 1909-1918 published by Cordillera Books (Syd Heal). This was the one and only period in which submarines were built in Vancouver.

► JUNE MEETING, by Glenn Smith — I received an unexpected phone call from Capt. Cees de Keijzer, Chairman of the Rotterdam Branch, and just had to do whatever it took to accommodate this unscheduled program, despite our policy of not holding meetings in the summer months. Capt. de Keijzer, along with his wife Olga, brought with them a digital presentation called “Navigare Necessare Est – Era Maritimus ex A ad Z”. Capt de Keijzer has had a long career in the Maritime Industry in Rotterdam and served for years with the Port of Rotterdam. The program was enthusiastically received by all the members present, and could easily have continued on for another two hours, or more. As the title of the program suggests, the talk started with a story about a vessel whose name started with the letter “A” – AGIOS IONNIS, followed by a “B” – BONTEKOE, and then on to a tale about the CORNELIUS MAERSK, DONGEDYK / DIEMERDYK, ENERGY CONCENTRATION / EUROBULKER X, FLARE, GLOBAL ENVOY, ­ all the way down the alphabet to “U” – ULYSSES I, “V” – VLIST, “W” – WAALHAVEN, “X” – XX ANNIVERSARIO, ending at ZEEVAARTSCHOOL.It was a riveting presentation by Capt. de Keijzer, who has many, many stories to tell. He was invited to return again if he is ever on the West Coast of North America. Many thanks to Capt. de Keijzer for an excellent entertaining presentation. Capt. de Keijzer then presented the President of the Vancouver Branch with a WSS flag on a stand for the podium, a musical CD produced for the Port of Rotterdam and a copy of his latest book, “Mooie Schepen en Banen in de haven van Rotterdam”, co-authored with Hans Roodenburg.

Holland America Line’s DONGEDYK, leaving the Port of Vancouver sometime in the early 1960’s.  Ref:  WS10-0144.

MAY 2010 MEETING

Cecil Woods, Director and Editor of the Ship's Log, opened the evening's meeting by ask those present for current news items of interest to members. Neil England, Director-At-Large and Ship's Log columnist drew the audience's attention to the new WSS-Vancouver Branch calling cards – 250 neatly organized and presented business cards – that members may use selectively to invite new people to meetings. The cards contain our meeting date, time and place as well as contact details. Neil designed these attractive cards, and members have been impressed with the final product. Thanks Neil.

Joan Thornley, Director and Recording Secretary of the Branch presented the minutes of the Executive Meeting of 5 May 2010. These minutes included a list of speakers from 8 September 2010 to 9 February 2011. Thanks to Joan, copies of the minutes were available to members present. Cecil thanked Joan and the executive for their sound advance planning. Syd Heal, Past-President suggested that a small gesture of thanks be given to speakers in the form of a book or bottle of wine. The Executive decided to adopt this measure and the evening's membership seemed to concur that this would be a good idea. Syd's suggestion for a small promotional brochure for distribution to prospective members was also adopted at the Executive meeting and will be worked on by Directors over the summer.  All this is manageable within our existing budget.

Robert Etchell drew the meeting's attention to the 21st International Tugboat and Salvage Convention and Exhibition to be held 17-21st May at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. He also pointed out that there is to be an International Fleet Review at Royal Roads, Victoria 9-14th of June to mark the Canadian Naval Centennial. Twenty-eight naval ships representing over 25 nations will be there. Those interested should look at the Canadian Naval website for further information.

Syd Heal gave the evening's address on The Rise and Fall of the B.C. Fishing Industry and its Influence on Fishing Vessel Design. Syd began his talk by explaining that in addition to his specific and sustained interest in the shipping industry, he had twenty years experience as an underwriter and broker with much exposure to the big fleets controlled by the canning companies. In 1969 he joined the Bell-Irving Group who controlled one of the big three of the industry, the Anglo-British Columbia Packing founded in 1890. Henry Bell-Irving originally built the company that was to extend for three generations as a family business. In 1891 he bought out seven Fraser River canneries plus two on the Skeena to account for more than one quarter of B.C.'s total packed salmon. Only in 1969 did the company close its doors on its West Coast canning operation to concentrate on the East Coast herring industry.

Syd's talk was illustrated with digital images from the Rod Logan Collection, his own collection and some images from the Maritime Museum. They were organized chronologically from the nineteenth century to modern times spanning all vessels from whalers, draggers, trawlers, seiners, trappers, prawners, shrimpers to skiffs. We saw how the design of the ships developed to improve their productivity (and sometimes their appearance) and caught a glimpse of how design affects horsepower, fuel consumption and efficiency of ships. In some instances the design of the ship was aesthetically pleasing as well and practical. Syd showed a number of vessels that were converted from one use to another, and demonstrated some ships that were so poorly designed that it must have had an adverse effect on the operating economics of the vessel. Many conventional seiners have been converted to draggers while others have been purpose built.

The whalers perhaps stood out of the modern viewer now that we are accustomed to an international prohibition on the whale industry (despite Japan's continuance of the practice). Steam powered boats much altered the design of craft in this form of fishing. Syd then moved on to the draggers that were notable for ripping up the sea bottom and causing irreparable damage to sea life including cod, halibut and coral off the West Coast. Trawlers then grew in dimensions and many of the conversions were to this type. These vessels were productive but risked capsizing if filled beyond capacity. The First Nations' ships stood out as some of the largest and best built judging from the photographs. 

One of Syd's main messages during his talk was that, in his opinion, the decline in the fishing industry was largely due to greed in the industry itself. This is evident, he explained, from the vessels, the style of fishing and the handling of the fish over the decades. He pointed out that the industry has been quick to blame others, including fish farmers and loggers, for the decline in the fish stock, but they need only look at their own fishing practices to see that they have been overexploiting the renewable fish stocks. The two big fish on the West Coast were salmon and herring, both cyclical stock, and special care needs to be taken not to allow these species to become extinct outside the farmed fish.

The presentation was very comprehensive. One of the questions from Don Brown was related to the different registration numbers on the top and sides of the ships and whether there was an international standard for these. It was agreed that we might seek a speaker to address this question. A good subject for next year perhaps.

Cecil Woods thanked Syd Heal for his thoroughly enjoyable talk and invited members to stay and socialize. Members are reminded that raffle tickets, at a bargain price, are available at the start of each meeting and we can always use more quality prizes to entice people to buy more tickets.  The post card collection of vessels from all over the world is also available for perusal and purchase at our meetings with an average price of just $2.50. All kinds of membership goodies are available at Glenn Smith's tables and members often bring things of interest to share and exchange with other members.

The evening was a very good conclusion to a full season of speakers. Members will be notified if there are any activities over the summer, but for some of us we will have to wait until September 8th to return to our regular monthly meetings.  Our September speaker will be Rollie Webb on modern tug design and construction.  Have a pleasant summer and remember to stay safe on the water.

► APRIL 2010 MEETING
Our April meeting opened with notes by members on projects they are involved in or following with interest. Ray Parkinson spoke briefly on the progress of the Pacific Maritime Centre in North Vancouver and reminded us that Simon Robinson has been appointed Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum thus putting that institution in good shape. Bill Etchell displayed a poster of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship LOUIS S.ST. LAURENT, named after the former Prime Minister of Canada. Classed as a Heavy Arctic Icebreaker, the ST. LAURENT was built in 1969 by Canadian Vickers Ltd in Montreal and is the flagship of the Canadian Coastguard. She has been based in Dartmouth, N.S. all her life.

Syd Heal polled the membership about a possible presenter for the forthcoming meeting in October. Gérôme Gervais of France is going to visit Vancouver for a conference on the Age of Sail at UBC in October and is going to present a paper on Comte de la Pérouse (1741-1788), a contemporary of Captain James Cook. Péruse was appointed in 1785 by King Louis XVI to lead a scientific expedition around the world and to complete Cook’s exploration of the Pacific. Pérouse’s expedition on board the ASTROLABE and sister ship BROUSSANT disappeared without a trace. The poll of members present showed them to be very interested in having M. Gervais speak to us.  Syd Heal hoped the addition of this speaker would help to broaden the range of ships discussed in our meetings.

Tonight’s speaker was veteran author and museum board member, Eric Jamieson. Mr. Jamieson gave an illustrated talk based on his latest book, Tragedy at Second Narrows: the Story of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge published in 2008 by Harbour Publishing Co. Members might also be interested in another book Jamieson has co-authored with Gareth Wood entitled, South Pole-900 Miles on Foot.

The original Second Narrows Bridge, connecting Vancouver with North Vancouver at the second narrowing of the Burrard Inlet, was completed in 1925. The bridge consisted of a car and train deck with a bascule portion close to the south shore, which rose to let ships through. From its conception the bridge experienced collisions with ships due to the quick current at this part of the Narrows. At one point the bridge was out of commission for four years, causing the bankruptcy of the North Shore municipalities.

A second bridge underwent construction in November 1957 adjacent to the original bridge. Premier WAC Bennett and Highway’s Minister Phil Gaglardi chose a six-lane cantilever steel-truss bridge by Swan, Rhodes and Webster (later known as Swan, Wooster and Partners). The bridge’s main span was to be 335 meters of its total 963- meter length. This bridge was the cheaper of the options before the government costing $11,600,000, although upon completion the bridge costs had risen to $26 million. A partnership, Keiwit Raymond, was to do the concrete work on this bridge while Dominion Bridge would erect the steel. Dominion Bridge and Swan, Rhodes and Webster had good reputations and plenty of experience with bridge construction. The workers hired belonged to the Ironworkers Local 97 with a charter dating back to 1906. While the bridge plans looked solid engineering work on the Second Narrows Bridge had a long history of danger for workers with four men losing their lives even before the great tragedy of June 17, 1958.

The collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge is believed to have occurred due to a number of factors, one of which was an error in calculation that caused the falsework to collapse thus bringing down two spans of the bridge. The falsework is the supportive structure that temporarily holds the cantilevered span of the bridge in place until the span reaches the next pier. Once span five dropped, it caused span four to collapse as well.

The collapse occurred at 3:40pm and sent dozens of workers approximately 60 meters down into the water.  18 men were killed, some instantly, and one diver drowned while looking for bodies in the recovery attempt. There were many acts of heroism by local people as boats went into the area to help with the rescue. Some men were recovered even though they had been washed over two kilometers away.

A Royal Commission was established to discover what part negligence may have played in the tragedy and whether the Toll Authority was involved. The Commission headed by Chief Justice Sherwood Lett eventually found fault with Dominion Bridge and Swan Wooster. The Commission found a number of issues that contributed to the collapse including: errors made on a critical design sheet; questionable quality of steel in the upper grillage assembly of the falsework; complacency with respect to the way falseworks were treated; and a flawed column formula.

The tragedy of June 17, 1958 turned into a local event that left its mark on many peoples’ lives. To this day there are still those who can state what they were doing when they heard the news. There were also many eyewitnesses. It is a great reminder of how dangerous bridge building is. In 1994 the bridge was renamed the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows crossing to commemorate the men who died in the tragedy.

 The evening’s talk was very thorough and members were challenged with many technical terms that were clearly explained. There was a brief intermission in the talk when members could refresh themselves with the coffee and biscuits prepared by member June Etchell. Members and guests of the WSS then returned to hear the final half of Eric Jamieson’s talk before a short Q&A period. There were many interesting questions and it turned out that several of our members saw the bridge collapse in 1958 or vividly remember receiving the news. Several copies of Eric Jamieson’s book were purchased testifying to the members and guests satisfaction with the talk.

► MARCH 2010 MEETING   The March meeting of the Vancouver Branch was opened by President Ray Warren and began with business notes and information for members. Unfortunately Joan Thornley, the recording secretary was ill and so the minutes of the March Directors’ meeting will be postponed until a later date.William Etchell brought information to the meeting regarding Royal Caribbean International’s OASIS OF THE SEAS (2009), the largest and most expensive ($1.24 billion) cruise ship in the world built in Turku, Finland with a capacity to carry 6,300 passengers. He also informed the membership that the MILL BAY FERRY, the oldest in the BC Ferry fleet (1956), is to retire from service this year.Ray Parkinson informed members that he is continuing to bring books and items from his collection for sale at the monthly meetings and that the part proceeds will be donated to the WSS.Bill Etchell reminded us that next month’s speaker, Eric Jamieson, won the B.C. Historical Federation Award (presented by the Lieutenant Governor) for his book Tragedy at Second Narrows at last May’s meeting in Nelson. Members can anticipate an excellent presentation.President Ray Warren next welcomed visitors to the meeting including David Rahn, publisher of the Western Mariner magazine, as well as two active members of the West Coast Railway Association, Bob Hunter and Bill Marchant.Our evening talk commenced with Ray Warren’s slide presentation on the American standard ships built during the late 1930s and early 1940s as freighters, tankers, and troop ships, some of which were converted following the war for other uses and mainly retired in the early 1970s. He also looked at some of the longer lived tugboats built during the 1940s.Ray Warren illustrated the C-1A, C-1B, C-1 MAV1, C-2, C-3 and C-4 class ships, all designed by the U.S. Maritime Commission (MARCOM). The smallest cargo ships were the C-1MAV1s. These ships were designed for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Many were built for military uses during World War II. Pennsylvania Shipyards built 44 of the C-1A diesels favoured by Scandinavian owners. Illustrated was the Norwegian flag SOLSYN also known as GOOD YEAR under Singapore registry, and PRESIDENT ROXAS. SANTA VICTORIA was shown as an example of a C-1B steamer.The C-2 class ships were designed by the MARCOM to be all-purpose cargo ships with five holds and better speed and fuel economy. This class included SIERRA owned by Oceanic S.S. Co., a division of Matson Line and SANTA MALTA of Grace Line. Some C-2’s also illustrated were owned by Sea King Line and Hellenic Line.The C-3 class of vessel designed by the MARCOM was built to be larger and faster than the C-1 and C-2 types. They were 492 feet long and could reach a speed of 16.5 knots. Many were built during the war as escort carriers and destroyers, submarine and sea plane tenders. They included AFRICAN MOON and AMERICAN MAIL. Many of the C-3s were built in Tacoma or Portland. The MORMACWIND and MICHIGAN were standard C-3s. LIMBURG, ZEELAND and RONDO were completed for Dutch owners in 1946 on escort carrier hulls but were classed as modified C-3s.    The C-4 class of ship was developed for the American-Hawaiian Line in 1941 but the ships were taken over by MARCOM. They were built as cargo and troopships in Richmond (CA) and Vancouver (WA) and could reach 17 knots powered by steam turbines connected to a single screw. They included VALL MOON, CALIFORNIAN, MAUNALEI, HAWAII BEAR and NEW ZEALAND BEAR.

The tankers were much longer lived than the cargo vessels and so went through a greater number of conversions. The T2 tankers were built in record time (70 days). Before Pearl Harbor they were built by the Sun Shipbuilding Company for Standard Oil. After Pearl Harbor they were mainly used en masse to supply US warships. Ray Warren showed CATAWBA FORD, ATLANTIC TRADER and MISSION BUENAVENTURA, examples of the few T-2s to retain their original names throughout their careers. The NEVADA STANDARD was also shown.Some of the ships had a colourful history of conversion. Of local note was a ship that began life in 1944 as the WILLIAM NOTT for the US Navy but was completed as the ROBERT M. EMERY for the US Army. Bethlehem Steel in Brooklyn converted her to a port repair ship and in 1946 the vessel went into USMC Reserve. In 1965 she was sold to Portland Oregon Shipbreakers but in 1966 was resold to Canadian buyers and towed to Victoria, B.C. where she was docked at the foot of Fort Street. Sold again in 1969 to US buyers, the vessel eventually became an aquarium known as Marine Wonderland docked in Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco. She was withdrawn from service in 1970 and towed to Astoria. As the ROBERT EMERY, the photo shows the vessel in Commencement Bay, Tacoma in November of 1984, probably awaiting scrapping. 

► FEBRUARY 2010 — Due to the 2010 Olympics held in Vancouver, Richmond and Whistler, the Vancouver Branch of the World Ship Society did not hold their monthly meeting in February. The next meeting will be held on March 10th at 7:30 pm at the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

► JANUARY 2010 MEETING — Wednesday January 13th, 2010.   Ray Warren, President of the World Ship Society, Vancouver Branch launched the 2010 public program with a welcome to members and a log of seaworthy events. Of local interest was the news that the CSCL Hamburg, a 4,250 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) container ship built in 2001 belonging to the Seaspan Corporation’s 42 container ship fleet ran aground in the Gulf of Aquaba, Egypt on December 31, 2009 while en route to Singapore. According to news sources there were no personal injuries and no oil spills and the insurer is expected to cover the repair costs. The company is coordinating the recovery of the vessel with the Egyptian authorities. WSS member Ray Parkinson then gave members a brief political history of the National Maritime Museum project from the 1980s. He explained that the A-frame St. Roch building is Federal Government property and classified as a museum dealing with cultural artifacts and thus is secure as an independent site, however it was never feasible to build a Maritime Museum of the Pacific at this location because the dock is too shallow to accommodate visiting tall ships. Coal Harbour had therefore been proposed as an alternative site at the time when the Trade and Convention Center was being discussed but the plans failed to materialize. The National Maritime Center for the Pacific and the Arctic on the North Shore therefore emerged with the City of North Vancouver working on the plans for five to ten years to be funded by the three levels of government. The current work in North Vancouver is in tact for 50 years funded by high-rise and condo development. Unfortunately this week however the provincial government announced that it has rescinded any further funding for the project due to budget changes. The city of North Vancouver is confident nonetheless that it can go ahead with some changes of its own. Ray Parkinson concluded that this was all part of the process of launching such a project and while it is a protracted process it reflects the usual ebb and flow of politics.Joan Thornley, the Society’s Recording Secretary, gave an account of the first executive meeting for 2010. She informed members that most of the directors’ discussion focused on the forthcoming program for 2010 and 2011 and that the society looks in good shape for the public talks. She asked if any members have ideas for speakers or suggestions for topics that they bring them to the attention of an executive member. The executive will be meeting on a regular basis now whereas in past years they have met more informally.The January program commenced with a presentation by Ellen Ramsay entitled, “London’s Historic Inland Waterways: The Regent’s Canal and the Thames.” The talk was divided into two parts. The first part dealing with the Regent’s Canal, looked at the golden age of canals from the 1770s to the 1830s. The narrowboats (the correct name for canal boats) that traversed England’s national system of canals predated the national rail system and quickly replaced the horse and cart for carrying heavy loads. The narrowboats were able to carry ten times more than a horse could pull — up to a weight of 30 tons of coal — were just 6 feet 10 inches wide, 30 feet long with a headroom of 6 feet. The boats were often designed to the exact maximum that the canal and locks would allow in order to maximize the profit. John Nash who designed the Regent’s canal originally intended it to run through Regent’s Park, but the final plans had the canal run around the Outer Circle Road on the north side of the park.

The canal was completed in 1820 and the fill from the canal was used to build the picturesque Primrose Hill just north of the Prince Albert Road. In 1929 the Regent’s Canal merged with the Grand Union Canal from the Midlands allowing for a 136 mile run with 166 locks. Post-war reindustrialization and the advent of trains and highways contributed to the decline in the canals and today the inner city section of the Regent’s canal is primarily used by leisure and tourist boats such as Jason’s Canal Boat Trips (est. 1951). Pedestrian and cycling commuters use the towpaths.‡

The second part of the talk illustrated the recent attempt by the city of London to use the Thames Waterway for commuter traffic. In 1999 Sean Collins and Alan Woods began a transit service with one boat under license from London Transport. The business, known as Thames Clipper, has expanded to 12 catamarans and has been bought by the Anschutz Entertainment Group operating from Millbank to Royal Arsenal Woolwich. The catamarans hold up to 220 seats, are 38 metres long and 9.3 metres wide with a beam of 9.6 metres and can operate up to 28 knots with rapid acceleration from a 965 horsepower “quickshift transmission” twin propeller engine. The fleet is not yet fully integrated into the public transport system but transit cardholders receive a 33% reduction in price. Ellen Ramsay used digitalized images in her talk to illustrate the sights along both waterways. Questions followed with members enquiring about the boating on the inland waterways in more detail.

DECEMBER 2009 — Wednesday December 9th, 2009 — Our December meeting opened with the Branch's Annual General Meeting. All officers’ reports were read and adopted. The out-going President, Syd Heal reiterated the need for a succession strategy for younger members to take office. The Treasurer and Membership Secretary, Glenn Smith, reported on the healthy maintenance of the membership (180 subscriptions to the Ship’s Log) and explained the very slight fall in revenue due to the decline in sales of postcards, books, raffle tickets and contributions towards refreshments at meetings. A full slate of officers, including two new members, was voted in with Ray Warren now the new President, Syd Heal the new Vice-President, Glenn Smith continuing as Secretary-Treasurer, Cecil Woods as Editor of the Ship’s Log, Joan Thornley as Recording Secretary and Neil England and Ellen Ramsay as Members at Large. Seasonal refreshments organized by June Etchell and music by Glenn Smith followed the Annual General Meeting

The monthly program commenced with a selection of slides provided by Andy Kilk from San Francisco Bay area of all varieties of ships at international ports presented by Bill Etchell. James Conwell then gave an overview of the port of San Francisco explaining the complexity of the port structure which is really nine conjoined bays including South and Central San Francisco, Richardson, San Pablo and Suisun, the latter two being connected by Carquinez Strait.  While the area of the Bay is large at 400 square miles, the navigable portion of the bay is relatively small with an average depth of 15 feet.  This depth is due in part to the hydraulic (placer) gold mining in the late 1800s. Jim described the ship building significance in the historic Bay area and then pointed out that now the Bay area is used for cruise ships and some container ships at the Oakland Container Terminal. Jim gave members three pamphlets published by the Naval and Maritime Museum and the Sausalito Historical Society that celebrate the port’s past and draw attention to the eight maritime museums in the Bay area.

Robert Etchell gave the third presentation with photographs taken with his new digital camera on his trip to Newcastle Island in Nanaimo Harbour. Robert showed the historic Newcastle Island Pavilion now run by the Snuneymuxw First Nations’ People – a pavilion that has been used for dances and weddings over the decades and is an historic building in its own right. Robert also showed photographs of working boats and other vessels off Tyee Point and Marks Bay between Newcastle and Protection Islands. Next he showed an extensive collection of excellent photos of the QUEEN OF PRINCE RUPERT commemorating the ferry’s 43rd and final year of sailing. The ferry had been built in 1966 by the Victoria Machinery Depot Co and served the Inside Passage until its decommissioning on April 20, 2009.

The final presentation of the evening was a display and presentation by Ray Parkinson of some small books from his huge collection of historical memorabilia. This year he brought items from the 1950s of the early minstrel shows and illustrated the links to the blacking tradition of the Lancashire coalfield. He also explained how this part of his collection had brought him into friendship with John and June Pender and Harold Steves of Steveston.

The evening’s presentations and entertainment were brought promptly to an end at 9:45 with the museum staff coming in to put away the chairs — despite the fact that there were still two presentations to be shown.  In all the evening had been a success and many thanks go to the people who contributed to its success.  [EH 12.2009]

Ed. Notes:  Those presenters who were unable to give their presentations due to time constraints, will become the basis for the January 2010 program.  Our thanks to Ellen Ramsay for the detailed write-up of each of our programs since November 2009.

NOVEMBER 2009 — Wednesday November 11th, 2009 — Our November meeting opened with a reminder from the President Syd Heal that the December meeting will begin with the AGM and that since the organization has an aging profile he expects younger people to take over more of the responsibilities of the organization. If this does not happen there may have to be changes to the organizational structure of the branch and to the monthly meetings.

The November speaker was Mr. Cary Dicerni of Subsea Solutions Alliance, an underwater ship maintenance company specializing in significant repairs to ships while they are still in the water rather than in the dry dock to reduce the loss of production time. All-Sea Enterprises group (est. 1978), the Vancouver branch of Subsea Solutions Alliance (est. 2002), and its sister organizations around the world are able to mobilize to any part of the world in 24 to 48 hours. The group currently has standing contracts with Rolls Royce and Wartsila Propulsion and fulfills warranty repairs for other companies.

All-Sea Enterprises offers four main innovative underwater service repairs: Stern seal replacement and repair, permanent shell plating replacement and repair; machinery replacement and repair; and underwater inspection and maintenance. The company uses a variety of airlift bags to do dry repair to propellers and inserts Transhabs (air balloon environments) to repair the aft propeller shaft seals. The company custom fits the Transhab around the shaft and a trained technician descends into the secure air environment to conduct repairs just as if the ship was in the dry dock. Attention is paid to safety at all times and all environmental controls are observed.

Mr. Dicerni stressed that ship maintenance is very important to the performance and cost of running ships and All-Sea is able calibrate the propellers with the engine, and eliminate cavitations and harmonics on older ships.  Members and guests of the WSS received the speaker with great interest and there were many questions both during and after the presentation. Don Brown, June Etchell, Syd Heal, Anthon Dekkers, David Chamberlain, Robert Etchell and others in attendance raised pertinent points for discussion and Mr. Dicerni answered each question with attention to detail.  [report by Ellen L. Ramsay]

OCTOBER 2009 — Wednesday October 14th, 2009 — Just about everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! We lost the power cord to the projector. So we borrowed another projector—only that one wasn’t working well. With no other choice, Syd Heal went ahead with his talk about his latest publication “Canadian Capers” (which is detailed on Page 30). Syd gave us a very interesting in-depth history of the author, Svein Stokke, and his maritime activities over the years, including his involvement with the Washington Marine Group of companies. Near the end of his talk, we did manage to get some of the images shown, but hopefully we can re-run the slide presentation part of the talk on another night.

SEPTEMBER 2009 — Wednesday September 9th, 2009 — The September meeting at the Vancouver Maritime Museum featured an illustrated slide show presented by Ray Warren. The subject was the wartime standard ships taken after the war at Vancouver. For those of us able to remember when the wharves and docks around the harbour here often full with American-built Liberties and Victories, Canadian-built Forts and Parks and British Empire types, it was a journey into nostalgia. In those days ships looked like ships with funnels amidships and a gracefulness that today's ships have difficulty in emulating. Today's ships too often look like barges with an exhausts so far aft that they look like they are ready to fall off over their broad transom sterns. Thanks Ray for an interesting presentation‡ [SCH]