Author Topic: British Columbia: concrete hulks of Powell River and then some  (Read 4816 times)

Offline lappino

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British Columbia: concrete hulks of Powell River and then some
« on: October 01, 2018, 02:34:38 PM »
Greetings to all,

Just as I have announced earlier, here:

http://forum.shipspotting.com/index.php/topic,16319.msg86658.html#new

I went for a rather short (time wise, definitely not distance wise) trip to Canada, to see the concrete hulks that still form a breakwater at Powell River, Sunshine Coast. Of course, being near Vancouver, there were always other sweet opportunities for a dedicated ship spotter.

I arrived around noon on Tuesday, and immediately proceeded to check on my old acquaintance, derelict ferry "Queen of Sidney" which, by the way, did not look like she deteriorated significantly from the last time I saw her in May 2015:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2917747

After experiencing a trademark Vancouver evening rush hour, I've spent the night at North Vancouver, closer to Horseshoe Bay, the starting point of a ferry ride to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast. Then some 54 km to Earls Cove, and another ferry ride. The ferry in question was this one:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2917756

There was also this old Sietas built freighter at Earls Cove:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2917740

Then, the final 30 or so kilometer stretch of road to Powell River, and the main purpose of my trip, the concrete hulks that make what is considered the world

Offline lappino

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Re: British Columbia: concrete hulks of Powell River and then some
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2018, 12:07:47 AM »
So, on to the Powell River breakwater...

I have contacted their tourism office before my trip, and they assured me that organizing a boat trip to the hulks would present no problem whatsoever (the breakwater is some 2 km north of the Powell River harbor). But the end of September is already a "low season" time of the year, as I discovered when I asked around in the search of my maritime transportation. After checking out several places, all I got was information where to ask next, but at one fishing store I ran into a gentleman willing to take me to the hulks for a very reasonable price.

So, the breakwater. It was put in place in the late nineteen forties, to protect the logging pond of the Powell River Company pulp and paper mill. Concrete ships were used (I understand because nobody wanted them anymore back then, and they were dirt cheap), appropriately ballasted for stability in case of heavy weather. There were 10 ships not long ago, until one of them (the barge YOGN-82) was sunk to create an artificial reef.

Going from south to north, these are the remaining ships (I put more info on them with the photos linked here):

1. S.S. Peralta, oil tanker, the largest concrete ship still afloat, and also the last surviving concrete ship of the WW1 design:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2916183

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918136

2. The barge "Quartz":

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918079

3. Emile N. Vidal:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918083

4. Henri Le Chatelier:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918147

5. P. M. Anderson:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918148

...to be continued...

Offline lappino

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Re: British Columbia: concrete hulks of Powell River and then some
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2018, 02:25:32 AM »
Continuing with the Powell River breakwater concrete ship hulks...

6. John Smeaton:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918169

7. Thaddeus Merriman:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918174

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918176

8. L. J. Vicat:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918178

9. Armand Considere:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918180

Overall view, as taken from the ferry to Vancouver Island:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2918346

I was not clever enough to try to take a picture of the breakwater from the area of the paper mill, however. The original plan was to spend the night at Powell River, and use the early morning sun to get the picture of the breakwater, but it was quickly changed (after buying some significant quantity of maritime books in the local used books stores) in order to  catch a ferry to Vancouver Island, and go to Victoria. Now, whenever I have sudden change of plans, I have this "final destination" state of mind, when I realize that I may end up where I was not supposed to be, with all sorts of possible consequences. :) The consequence in this case was "doe, a deer, a female deer" standing in the middle of the highway 19, a proverbial "deer in the headlights". The resulting incident derailed my plans to continue to Victoria, as I did not feel too safe driving a car with no forward port side turn signal, so I took a ferry from Nanaimo back to Horseshoe Bay, and then proceeded to the airport to get me a new rental car. "First time to take a life?" asked me the rental clerk... :)

My mission in Canada was fulfilled anyway, so I had a beautiful day to spend in Vancouver, spotting ships around the harbour, like this one here:

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2917732

...and that's it, thanks for your attention.

 

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