Cowichan (steamship)

Last updated
Cowichen (steamship) circa 1918.jpg
Cowichan circa 1918, at a logging float landing.
History
NameCowichan
Owner Union Steamship Co.
Routecoastal British Columbia
Launched23 December 1907
Completed1908
Out of service27 December 1925
IdentificationCanada registry #126210
FateSank after collision
General characteristics
Class and typeCoastal steamship
Tonnage962 gross 520 registered tons
Length157 ft (48 m)
Beam32 ft (9.8 m)
Depth14 ft (4.3 m) depth of hold
Installed power steam engine
Speed11 knots (20 km/h)
Capacity225 passengers, 125 tons cargo.
Crew34

Cowichan was a steamship which was operated in British Columbia under the ownership of the Union Steamship Company. Cowichan sank in 1925 following a collision with another ship.

Contents

Nomenclature

Cowichan was originally launched under the name Cariboo. [1] "Cowichan" comes from the Halkomelem word Q(a)w-(a)can, which means "warm mountains". This is believed to refer to hills at the head of the Cowichan River. The tribe of the First Nations called "Cowichan" lived on southeast Vancouver Island. [2]

The popular name for the ship was The Cow. [3]

Design and construction

Cowichan was designed specifically to serve the remote logging camps of coastal British Columbia. A larger vessel could not maneuver in the narrow inlets such as Minstrel Island, Wells Pass, and Kingcome Inlet. Two new design aspects of the ship were a larger wheelhouse and relocating the bridge further forward so that both the quartermaster and the navigator could see over the bow. [3]

Cowichan was built in Troon, Scotland, in 1908 by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company. The Ailsa firm was chosen over Bow, McLachlen & Co. because Union Steamship Co. was then in litigation with Bow, McLachlen over repairs to another one of the company's ships. Dimensions of the ship were 157 feet (48 m) in length, beam 32 feet (9.8 m) and depth of hold 14 feet (4.3 m), 962 gross and 520 registered tons. Cargo capacity was 125 tons. Cowichin's ship's twin triple-expansion steam engines, built by MacColl & Co. and twin propellers drove the ship's speed was 11 knots (20 km/h). [1] There were two boilers, manufactured by D. Rowan & Co., which were originally coal-fired. [4]

First class accommodations consisted of 53 stateroom berths. There were 34 crewmembers. [3] In 1914, the ship was licensed to carry 225 passengers. The ship's Canadian registry number was 126210. [5]

The ship had separate cabins for members of the First Nations and for Japanese and Chinese persons. Loggers were also accommodated separately. [6]

Delivery

Cowichan, proceeding under the name Cariboo, was delivered to British Columbia by way of Cape Horn, there being no Panama Canal at the time. The ship was commanded by Capt. Charles Polkinghorne on the 90-day voyage, and the vessel was found to be seaworthy during the moderate storms encountered on the trip. Cariboo arrived at the Union dock in Vancouver on July 21, 1908. It was then discovered that there was already a Canadian vessel named Cariboo on the Great Lakes and so the name was changed to Cowichan. [3]

Operations

Following a trial trip to Van Anda, on Texada Island, Cowichan replaced the Cassiar on the Kingcome Inlet route, and then, on August 20, 1908 temporarily took the place of the Camosun on the company's most important route, to Prince Rupert. [3] Cowichan eventually was assigned to its own route. Every Monday and Thursday, the ship departed Vancouver bound for Campbell River and the Rock Bay region. On the Monday trip the ship went further north, to Loughborough Inlet. The ship was also placed on a Saturday Vancouver Island run for a while, making calls at Nanaimo, Denman Island, Union Bay, and Comox before returning to Vancouver at midnight on Sunday. [3]

The first captain of Cowichan was Charles Moody. All the Union steamers at that time, including Cowichan had only three deck officers, the captain and two mates. [7]

In 1908, coaling was usually done at the company wharf in Vancouver unless a stop was scheduled for Nanaimo, where there were substantial mines and coaling facilities. [3]

In 1912 Cowichan was converted to oil fuel. [8]

Loss

On December 27, 1925, Cowichan sank following a collision with Lady Cynthia, which was also owned by Union Steamship Co. [5]

The accident occurred when the Lady Cecilia had brought a Christmas excursion of mostly lumber mill workers south from Powell River to Vancouver. Other passengers had come from the north over the holiday, and the numbers returning to Powell River exceeded Cecilia's capacity. Harold Brown, the company's general manager, had ordered that Lady Cynthia be held on standby with steam up in such an event, and the additional 200 passengers beyond the 400 on Cecilia were embarked on Cynthia. [9]

Meanwhile, Cowichan was coming south under Captain Robert Wilson and encountered fog off Roberts Creek. Captain Wilson was proceeding slowly, listening carefully for the sound of Cecilia's whistle. Cecilia passed safely by, but then Wilson was taken by surprise 15 minutes later when Cynthia, under Captain John Boden appeared out of the fog, striking Cowichan bow-on amidships. Captain Boden shouted down from Cynthia's bridge that he would hold the bow into Cowichan to hinder the ship from sinking. There were only 45 people on board Cowichan, including 31 crew. Captain Wilson helped all board onto Cecilia's foredeck.

Captain Wilson was the last to leave Cowichan. When he stepped onto Cecilia, he called out to Captain Boden:"Pull her out now, Cap, or she'll take us down with her." [10] When Cecila backed away, Cowichan sank almost immediately. [9] It was reported that once Cowichan had sunk, Captain Wilson turned to Captain Boden and said: "Well, that's it. Let's go below and have coffee." [6]

Discovery of wreck

In May 1997, after a year of searching, a team of wreck hunters on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol vessel Lindsay in connection with a training exercise, located what they claimed was the wreck of the Cowichan2 miles (3.2 km) south of the White Islets off Roberts Creek, British Columbia. The water over the wreck site was 128 meters deep. [11] Subsequent research has shown, however, that the discovered wreck was not, in fact, the Cowichan despite all the breathless newspaper reports to the contrary. Her final resting place is still not known with certainty.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Rushton, Whistle Up the Inlet, at page 216.
  2. ↑ Rushton, Echoes of the Whistle, at page 142.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rushton, Whistle Up the Inlet, at pages 51 to 52.
  4. ↑ Rushton, Echoes of the Whistle, at page 133.
  5. 1 2 The New Mills' List, “Registered Canadian Steamships 1817–1930 over 75 feet” Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 06–17–11).
  6. 1 2 Union steamship COWICHAN, Vancouver Maritime Museum Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 06–29–11)
  7. ↑ Rushton, Whistle Up the Inlet, at page 55.
  8. ↑ Rushton, Whistle Up the Inlet, at page 63.
  9. 1 2 Rushton, Whistle Up the Inlet, at pages 104 to 105.
  10. ↑ Rushton, Echoes of the Whistle, at page 54.
  11. ↑ "Wreck Hunters End 7-decade Ocean Mystery", Vancouver Province, May 23, 1997, reproduced at West Coast Ferry Forums (accessed 06–29–11).

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Princess Sophia</i> Canadian steel-built passenger liner

SS Princess Sophia was a steel-built passenger liner in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Along with SS Princess Adelaide, SS Princess Alice, and SS Princess Mary, Princess Sophia was one of four similar ships built for CPR during 1910-1911.

SS <i>Prince Rupert</i> Canadian steamship

The Grand Trunk steamship Prince Rupert and her sister ship SS Prince George served the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Prince Rupert had a 45-year career serving northern ports from Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1910 to 1955. The ship was considered "unlucky" and suffered several incidents during her career, including two significant ones that left large portions of the vessel underwater. The ship was broken up in 1956.

SS <i>Catala</i> Canadian coastal passenger and cargo steamship

SS Catala was a Canadian coastal passenger and cargo steamship built in Scotland in 1925, for service with the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia. In 1927 the ship became a total loss after stranding on reef, but was recovered and returned to service. Retired in 1958, Catala was later used as a floating hotel until wrecked on the Washington State coast in 1965.

<i>Thomas Wilson</i> (shipwreck) Whaleback freighter that sank in Lake Superior

The Thomas Wilson was a whaleback freighter built in 1892 and used to haul bulk freight on the Great Lakes. The ship sank in Lake Superior just outside the harbor of Duluth, Minnesota, United States, on 7 June 1902, after a collision with the George Hadley. The wreck of the Thomas Wilson is one of the best remaining examples of a whaleback steamer, and it is also significant for the changes made in operating procedures at the Duluth harbor. The remains of the ship were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Steamship Company of British Columbia</span> Pioneer firm on coastal British Columbia

The Union Steamship Company of British Columbia was a pioneer firm on coastal British Columbia. It was founded in November 1889 by John Darling, a director of the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, and nine local businessmen. The company began by offering local service on Burrard Inlet near Vancouver and later expanded to servicing the entire British Columbia coast.

SS <i>Superior City</i> Freighter in the Great Lakes service that sank in Lake Superior

The SS Superior City was considered a pioneer vessel at her launching in 1898. She was the largest vessel ever built on freshwater at that time. She sailed the Great Lakes for twenty-two years until she sank after a collision in 1920 with the steamer Willis L. King in Whitefish Bay of Lake Superior that resulted in the loss of 29 lives. Controversy was immediate over the collision. It was subsequently ruled that the captains of both ships failed to follow the “rules-of-the-road”. Controversy started again in 1988 when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society produced a video called "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" that included extensive footage of the skeletons of the Superior City crew. The controversy continued as late as 1996 over artifacts removed from her wreck. She is now a protected shipwreck in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.

SS <i>Cardena</i>

For more than 35 years, from 1923 to 1958, the Union steamship Cardena sailed the British Columbia Coast, carrying passengers, groceries, dry goods, industrial cargo, mail and sundry other supplies to the 200 or so mining, logging and fishing communities that once dotted the province's coastline during the early years of the 20th century. On her return voyage, at the peak of the summer fishing season, Cardena routinely carried thousands of cases of canned salmon to the railheads at Prince Rupert and Vancouver for shipment across Canada and around the world. And so it went for the better part of half a century; a regular and reliable marine service that made Cardena a coastal institution, remembered with affection and regard by the countless men, women and children who inhabited those tiny outports in a bygone era.

<i>Capilano</i> (steamboat) British Columbia steamship, built 1920

Capilano was a steamship built in 1920 in British Columbia, which served until 1949.

<i>Comox</i> (steamboat)

Comox was a steamship built in 1891 in British Columbia which served until 1920. Comox was the first steel ship built on the west coast of North America north of San Francisco.

<i>Cutch</i> (steamship)

Cutch was a steamship built in 1884 in Hull, England. The ship served as a pilgrimage vessel and a yacht in India from 1884 to 1890, then as a steamship in British Columbia from 1890 to 1900 under the ownership of the Union Steamship Company. The ship was wrecked in August 1900, then salvaged and registered in the United States as Jessie Banning. In 1902 the ship was transferred to the navy of Colombia where it was armed with cannon and served in the Colombian navy as the gunboat Bogota. Bogota shelled the city of Panama on November 3, 1903 during the secession of Panama from Colombia.

<i>Lady Alexandra</i>

Lady Alexandra was a steamship built in 1924 in Montrose, Scotland which served in British Columbia from 1924 to 1952, mostly on Howe Sound.

<i>Cheslakee</i>

Cheslakee was a steamship that operated from 1910 to 1913 under the ownership of the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia. In 1913, the ship sank, killing seven people. This was the only accident involving a passenger fatality in the 70-year history (1889-1959) of the Union Steamship Company. Following the sinking Cheslakee was raised, reconstructed, and launched again under a different name.

<i>Cheakamus</i> (steamship)

Cheakamus was a steamship built in 1913 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. This ship was originally built as the Cheslakee in Scotland. After Cheslakee capsized in 1913, the hulk was raised, lengthened, and placed back into service as Cheakamus.

<i>Camosun</i> (steamship)

Camosun was a steamship built in 1904 in Paisley, Scotland, which served in British Columbia.

<i>Lady Cynthia</i>

Lady Cynthia was a steel-hulled passenger ship converted from a minesweeper,, which served in the coastal waters of British Columbia from 1925 to 1957. Lady Cynthia was a sistership to Lady Cecilia, also a converted minesweeper. The ship was generally referred to as the Cynthia while in service.

<i>Chelosin</i>

Chelosin was a steel-hulled, steam-powered passenger-freighter vessel that served in coastal British Columbia from 1911 to 1949, under the ownership of the Union Steamship Company of British Columbia.

<i>Chasina</i>

Chasina was an iron-hulled, steam-powered ship, originally built as a steam yacht, but later converted to a passenger-freighter vessel that served in coastal British Columbia and other areas during the early decades of the 1900s under the ownership several different companies. The ship disappeared in 1931 after leaving Hong Kong.

SS <i>Admiral Sampson</i> American-flagged cargo and passenger steamship

The SS Admiral Sampson was a U.S.-flagged cargo and passenger steamship that served three owners between 1898 and 1914, when it was rammed by a Canadian passenger liner and sank in Puget Sound. Following its sinking off Point No Point, the Admiral Sampson has become a notable scuba diving destination for advanced recreational divers certified to use rebreathing equipment.

<i>129</i> (barge) American whaleback barge (1891–1902)

129 was an American whaleback barge in service between 1893 and 1902. She was built between December 1892 and May 1893, in Superior, Wisconsin,, by Alexander McDougall's American Steel Barge Company, for McDougall's fleet of the same name, based in Buffalo, New York. She was one of a class of distinctive and experimental ships designed and built by McDougall. The whalebacks were designed to be more stable in high seas. They had rounded decks, and lacked the normal straight sides seen on traditional lake freighters. 129 entered service on May 22, hauling wheat from Superior. She was sold to the Bessemer Steamship Company of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1900. In 1901, she became owned by the Pittsburgh Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota, when the Bessemer fleet merged into it.

SS <i>Emperor</i> Canadian Great Lakes freighter 1910-1947

SS Emperor was a steel-hulled Canadian lake freighter in service between 1911 and 1947. She was built between 1910 and April 1911 by the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company in Collingwood, Ontario, for Inland Lines, Ltd., of Midland, Ontario. She entered service on May 3, 1911. Emperor was sold to Canada Steamship Lines of Montreal, Quebec. Under the ownership of Canada Steamship Lines, she carried a wide variety of cargoes, but most frequently iron ore to Point Edward, Ontario, where it would be transported to Hamilton, Ontario, by train. After the opening of the fourth Welland Canal, Emperor carried the ore directly to Hamilton. She was involved in several accidents throughout her career.

References

49°23′56″N123°42′43″W / 49.399°N 123.712°W / 49.399; -123.712

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.