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The Salvage of the Sundowner at Bella Coola BC
by Jody Goffic and John MacFarlane 2022
The Sundowner in happier times (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)
The Sundowner was built in 1964 by Douglas Berryman and Ronald W. Wallace at North Vancouver BC. (ON 322395 VRN 91177) 10.58m x 3.29m x 1.59m (34.7’ x 10.8’ x 5.2’) wooden hull 12.11gt 8.23rt. She was powered by a 82bhp diesel engine. She was originally rigged as troller and subsequently as a gillnetter.
In 1964–1970 she was owned by Donald J. Dickson, Vancouver BC. In 1971–1974 she was owned by Robert O. Fergusson, Vancouver BC. In 1975–1979 she was owned by John D. Glover, Richmond BC. In 1980–1984 she was owned by David J. Einarson, Campbell River BC. In 1985–1986 she was owned by P & G Enterprises Ltd., Courtenay BC. In 1987–1991 she was owned by Bruce J. Pilkington, Campbell River BC. In 1992–1997 she was owned by Aaron L. Danroth, Mission BC. In 2001 she was owned by Kennett Contracting Ltd., Surrey BC. In 2003–2004 she was owned by Paul Perkins, North Vancouver BC. In 2011–2022 she was owned by Allan W. Walls, Quesnel BC.
On July 23, 2017, the Sundowner sank at her berth and containment equipment was deployed to control escaping fuel and oil. (Photo from the Jody Goffic (CCG) collection.)
On July 23, 2017 the Sundowner was reported to have become a potential marine incident. Local officials reported that it was low tide and that the vessel was observed leaning against the dock at Bella Coola Harbour. When the Environmental Response Officer arrived on the scene from Canadian Coast Guard Prince Rupert. The vessel was found to be boomed–off and sorbents were being used to clean up diesel fuel. At high water the vessel sat bow down on the bottom but the aft portion was still afloat. Diesel fuel was leaking out of the vessel sporadically as it rose and fell with the tides. The Environmental Response Officer and the local Harbour Authority worked together to rig lines from the vessel to the dock, monitor the containment boom, and clean up diesel soaked pads as the tide fell in the evening.
Several attempts to up–right and de–water the vessel were made. (Photo from the Jody Goffic (CCG) collection. )
Two heavy lines were set up in the bow to cradle the vessel between the docks. The docks provided flotation and stability as the vessel was stood up for the high tide. A two inch pump was used to de–water the vessel but due to the vessel’s angle, water ingress of the rising tide was too much for the pump to keep up. Diesel and engine oils continued escaping sporadically.
After the 3rd tide cycle Environmental Response and Harbour Authority representative refloated the vessel, performed interior decontamination of oiled surfaces and then repositioned the vessel on a trailer provided by a local contractor hired by CCG. A salvage operation began the following day. A section of new dock was moved onto the port side of the vessel which was then secured to the bull rail of the dock at the stern. )
After a few attempts to position the boat properly, it was hauled out with the help from the excavator they had on standby. The boat was parked in the Harbour Authority yard and Canadian Coast Guard Emergency Response Officers handed the vessel over to the Bella Coola Harbour Authority. (Photo from the Jody Goffic (CCG) collection.
Environmental waste was collected and arrangements for proper disposal were made. (Photo from the Jody Goffic (CCG) collection.)
Environmental waste was collected and arrangements for proper disposal were made. (Photo from the Jody Goffic (CCG) collection.)
To quote from this article please cite:
Goffic, Jody and John MacFarlane (2022) The Salvage of the Sundowner at Bella Coola BC. Nauticapedia.ca 2021. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Sundowner.php
Site News: December 21, 2024
The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,824 vessel histories (with 16,274 images and 13,929 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters).
Vessel records are currently being reviewed and updated with more than 45,000 processed so far this year (2024).
The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3996 images).
Thanks to Ray Warren who is beginning a long process of filling gaps in the photo record of vessel histories in the database. Ray has been documenting the ships of Vancouver Harbour for more than 60 years.
Thanks to contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon for the hundreds of photos he has contributed to illustrate British Columbia’s floating heritage.
My very special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.