At Kingcome Inlet in the 1960s (#11710)

With the M.V. John Antle
at Cortes Island (#17890)

For sixty-four years, from 1905 to 1969, people living in the remote settlements, logging camps, inlets and lonely bays of British Columbia’s coast grew to depend on the ships and crews of the Columbia Coast Mission, founded in 1904 by the Rev John Antle.
These ships, seventeen in all, (including a "Columbia I" built in 1905 and a "Columbia II" built in 1910) plied the hundreds of miles of rugged coastline year-round, bringing much needed medical and social care to the isolated outposts. Often braving severe weather and unpredictable seas, the ships pushed through to provide their important services.

In Frederick Arm near Bute Inlet (#17893)

Some of the boats were equipped as ‘hospital ships’ and carried a doctor and a nurse …babies were born, logging accidents attended to, and painful teeth pulled, all in a day’s work. As well, the ships and crew were welcomed as communication links, bringing news and supplies and fostering a sense of community between coastal settlers who otherwise couldn’t stay ‘in touch’.

"… On her final run to Vancouver, the Columbia III started off from Hardy Bay on December 2, into very rough seas. She battled wild seas all the way but she kept on going, though bigger vessels were running for shelter. She stopped at Half Moon Bay overnight so Alan Greene could see her one last time. Around five a.m. the waves were banging the ship so hard against the wharf that the crew had to let her go and steam around in the bay until seven a.m., when they continued on to Vancouver. Reverend Ivan Futter said of the trip, "The seas were just fantastic and no matter which way you turned they seemed to come from every direction at once. But the Columbia III rode each one proudly and bravely and never once shipped green water over her bow! She rolled, she pitched, she tossed, everything that could move on board, moved! But still she came up for more! "When we say the Columbia is coming, she comes!" said Futter. It was the ship’s unofficial motto …"
from "THE COLUMBIA IS COMING!" By Doris Anderson

At Hardwick Island (#17894)

Weddings, Christmas parties, libraries, social visits, spiritual support …all were offered on the Columbia and became a very essential and appreciated part of life on the coast.
"Year in and year out …the mission boat has patrolled a route of over 10,000 miles, now proceeding in the face of tempestuous seas, now in sunshine and under kindlier skies, now antlike in the shadow of massive impending mountains, and often through waves that set the decks awash- but always forward with her message of comfort and relief. Vigilant, her wireless catches a cry of distress and, her bow pointed in a new direction and under full speed, the Columbia rushes to the scene of some fresh mountain, forest or marine mishap. …She becomes the hospital ship, serving all equally, irrespective of creed or nationality."
(by Ben Drew from "The Log", the bulletin of the Columbia Coast Mission)

Launching Day, October 13, 1956 (#18323)

The Columbia III was designed in 1955 by renowned naval architect Robert Allan of Vancouver B.C. She was built the following year at Star Shipyards in New Westminster B.C. and still has her original Gardner diesel engine. She serviced the coast as a hospital ship, answering emergency calls until 1968, when it became evident that float planes met the needs of the logging camps and coastal villages much faster than a ship traveling at 8 knots. Also, the coastal population was dwindling as people left the hardships of isolated living and moved to urban areas. The Columbia III was restored to its present immaculate condition in 1990 by Bill McKechnie of Victoria B.C. and since then she’s been used as a charter boat, especially as a kayaking "mothership". Today still, wherever we go, she is welcomed and recognized, and many stop to reminisce, relive and share their personal experiences aboard the Columbia III.
For further reading, see "The Columbia is Coming" by Doris Anderson, "I Heard The Owl Call My Name" by Margaret Craven, and "God’s Little Ships" by Michael Hadley.

Columbia III Underway (#17888)

"… Generations of settlers in all walks of life up and down the British Columbia coast will remember the stanch little ships that fought their way through dense fog, wild rapids and stormy seas. The ships came to small rock bound islands and traveled up the long, beautiful inlets, bringing laughter and companionship, consolation and spiritual inspiration to the camps and settlements, and to the men and women struggling against privation and loneliness in log cabins hidden in the forest wilderness…"
from "THE COLUMBIA IS COMING!" By Doris Anderson

All photos are courtesy of the Campbell River Museum.

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