Some final photos from our annual halibut/salmon fishing trip up the north end of Vancouver Island. First shot is our fishing boat (named Malolo which is Hawaiian for flying fish).
The next shots are an MG-TC we came across in a parking lot in Port Hardy. Not sure if it's a configuration that was ever used by MG but it sure looks cool.
In Dawson City, Yukon, in the early 1900s they used a huge Hornsby (British) steam tractor to haul wagonloads of coal for the power plant there. When the steam tractor was no longer wanted, it was purchased by a BC coast logger who thought he could use it to haul logs out of the woods. It was a complete failure--- the thing was so heavy it simply bogged down in the raincoast mud. So it was abandonned. Over the years pieces were canabalized off of it--- the boiler ended up being used somewhere else, for example. Finally, all that was left was the chassis and treads. A fellow from Coal Harbor came across it and, as a collector of old and interesting machinery, had it barged down to the town.
(The black and white photo is the prototype being field tested in England-- the one that worked in Dawson was a slightly later model.)
My "today" photo is what it looks like now. The fellow standing beside it for scale is Ernie Rose, who used to run the store at Minstrel Island when it was a thriving community and who also owned the boatyard at Lagoon Cove where he specialized in the repair and maintenance of wood boats. We met Ernie last week and he gave me a ton of terrific information about Minstrel Island, information I need to ensure the accuracy of the book I'm currently writing.
Next is a shot of Seymour Narrows, once the terror of boaters due to Ripple Rock. Ripple Rock is still there but after several failed attempts they finally succeeded in blowing the top off of it in one of the biggest man-made, non-nuclear explosions in history. Imported Welsh miners dug out from the shore and then bored straight up into the top of the rock and filled it with explosives.
In my "today" photo, there is a trimaran with hard-to-see black sails crossing the narrows. This boat is part of a unique race from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK. I got the story from a fellow at the view point who is following the race. There is $10,000 "nailed to a tree" in Ketchikan that is the first prize in the race. Second prize is a set of steak knives. The race is open to any and all boats with one caveat---- the boat not only cannot be motor-powered, there cannot even be a motor on the boat at all. So there are sailboats, rowing boats, sailboats fitted with oars and rowing seats in the bow for when the wind is fickle, not there, or blowing the wrong way, you name it.
The first leg of the race is from Port Townsend to Victoria, BC. If you survive that, you can then enter the race proper. There are no classes or categories of boats-- the first person or crew who gets to Ketchikan and grabs the money wins.
Next is a shot of some typical boat traffic in BC today--- cool workboats and giant chip barges on the way to the pulp mills.
And last is a sunrise early last week as we headed out across Blackfish Sound to troll for springs.
The next shots are an MG-TC we came across in a parking lot in Port Hardy. Not sure if it's a configuration that was ever used by MG but it sure looks cool.
In Dawson City, Yukon, in the early 1900s they used a huge Hornsby (British) steam tractor to haul wagonloads of coal for the power plant there. When the steam tractor was no longer wanted, it was purchased by a BC coast logger who thought he could use it to haul logs out of the woods. It was a complete failure--- the thing was so heavy it simply bogged down in the raincoast mud. So it was abandonned. Over the years pieces were canabalized off of it--- the boiler ended up being used somewhere else, for example. Finally, all that was left was the chassis and treads. A fellow from Coal Harbor came across it and, as a collector of old and interesting machinery, had it barged down to the town.
(The black and white photo is the prototype being field tested in England-- the one that worked in Dawson was a slightly later model.)
My "today" photo is what it looks like now. The fellow standing beside it for scale is Ernie Rose, who used to run the store at Minstrel Island when it was a thriving community and who also owned the boatyard at Lagoon Cove where he specialized in the repair and maintenance of wood boats. We met Ernie last week and he gave me a ton of terrific information about Minstrel Island, information I need to ensure the accuracy of the book I'm currently writing.
Next is a shot of Seymour Narrows, once the terror of boaters due to Ripple Rock. Ripple Rock is still there but after several failed attempts they finally succeeded in blowing the top off of it in one of the biggest man-made, non-nuclear explosions in history. Imported Welsh miners dug out from the shore and then bored straight up into the top of the rock and filled it with explosives.
In my "today" photo, there is a trimaran with hard-to-see black sails crossing the narrows. This boat is part of a unique race from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK. I got the story from a fellow at the view point who is following the race. There is $10,000 "nailed to a tree" in Ketchikan that is the first prize in the race. Second prize is a set of steak knives. The race is open to any and all boats with one caveat---- the boat not only cannot be motor-powered, there cannot even be a motor on the boat at all. So there are sailboats, rowing boats, sailboats fitted with oars and rowing seats in the bow for when the wind is fickle, not there, or blowing the wrong way, you name it.
The first leg of the race is from Port Townsend to Victoria, BC. If you survive that, you can then enter the race proper. There are no classes or categories of boats-- the first person or crew who gets to Ketchikan and grabs the money wins.
Next is a shot of some typical boat traffic in BC today--- cool workboats and giant chip barges on the way to the pulp mills.
And last is a sunrise early last week as we headed out across Blackfish Sound to troll for springs.
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