Persephone - The Logging Tug

Anyone who lives in BC is

familiar with the forestry 

industry of our province.

One of the TV shows that made this

BC lifestyle famous was

"The Beachcombers" from the 1970's.

The steel logging tug that became a

favorite on the show is called 

"The Persephone". Built as

   the "John Henry"  in 1965 she

was chartered by CBC 

Television and renamed "Persephone".

The steel tugs of this era

were built tough to handle 

the hard life and rough

sea conditions along

the British Columbia coast. 

Considered "real" working boats

that were slow, strong and 

seaworthy, they became part

of our BC history. They are

cherished by many who worked on

and with them and their

seaworthiness saved countless

lives from the fate of a sometimes

ill tempered ocean.

The "Persephone" still graces

her birthplace of Gibsons

on the Sunshine Coast,

the perfect resting place

for this grand lady of the sea.

Boom Boats, Fraser River, BC, Canada

Boom boats are used in
the forest industry in British Columbia, Canada
for sorting logs right in the water.
They act like miniature tug boats,
are highly maneuverable, and
a total joy to watch
darting and zipping
amongst enormous logs, sorting them into
booms, which in turn are towed by huge tugboats to
sawmills and wood processing plants along the Fraser river.
These tiny boats have the ability to turn on a dime and
take water over their decks, making
them highly entertaining to watch, especially
on a rainy afternoon.
I haven't had the privilege to
ride on one yet, it's one of those
adventures that is on my to-do list. My list keeps
getting longer instead of shorter.

Share