The following is a public service for all mariners who know of the ROBERTSON II
The Robertson II is an ex fishing schooner built in Nova Scotia in 1940. Nova Scotia once built the best wooden fishing schooners in the world (the BLUENOSE was one of them.) The ROBERTSON II was the last schooner retired from the fishing trade in 1973. She was sold and brought to the West Coast and used to train several thousand youngsters in basic seamanship by the SALTS (Sail and Life Training Society) organization in Victoria. By 1995 SALTS and the Canadian Coast Guard realized the ship was no longer serviceable for their intended use so the CCG revoked their passenger license and SALTS retired her and began building a replacement ship based on her lines called the PACIFIC GRACE- launching her in 1999. The Robbie, as she came to be known was placed for sale in 2001. In 2003 she was sold for only $15,000 reflecting the fact that a million dollars of repairs were required and there was no interest from other prospective buyers to take on the repair liabilities that she represented. The (brave)new owner began refitting her and began taking her off the dock again. It seemed like a happy ending for an old schooner- to find an owner willing to look after her in her old age. The alternative would have been sinking at the dock thru neglect.
However, in the early morning darkness of July 1st -CANADA DAY and near high tide- the Robbie hit a reef near Saturna Island BC on her way to the annual Saturna Island Lamb BBQ and she became firmly grounded. The owner was on the helm. Sudden local tidal action was possibly one factor in the grounding. Police have stated that this was the 17th vessel to hit the well charted yet unmarked reef this year. What perhaps should have been a simple grounding and release then developed into a true Canadian marine disaster when the owner was unable to obtain any assistance to have his vessel pulled off the reef. As the tide fell the problems began to multiply -the ship's keel remained in contact with the reef and she fell over onto a projecting sharp rock which pierced her starboard side, broke some ribs and allowed water to enter her hull. There were no injuries. The weight of her tall masts and the water in her hull and the fact that her keel was in contact with the reef resulted in her listing over on her starboard side and filling with water with the tides. The owner, Roy Boudreau is from a seafaring family and has been around boats all his life. He and his crew and dedicated volunteers then began a huge effort to save the Robbie. (My son was one of the volunteers for three days!) Time and tides and available resources worked against the effort. At first it seemed the Robbie might be saved but as time dragged on it became apparent that the problems were becoming insurmountable for the resources at hand. At this point logic demands that either more resources will be located and the ship possibly recovered or that no more resources will be located and the ship will be permanently lost.
News from the reef has been spotty and often incorrect as the news media seemed incapable of getting to the story as it developed. At first things looked good but after several days a downward trend seem to develop then on August 3rd more info filtered out and is reported in the Oak Bay News quoting a member of the crew. It seems this report suggests that their rescue effort is essentially over. Still there is very little accurate news being obtained by the media and there remains a level of uncertainty over just what is going on. And now there appears to be a new development in the twists and turns of the Robbie story. There is now talk of a new salvage team. (not confirmed)
Here is a chronological listing of events with the latest news at the end!
For additional information please go to the Bosun's Mate website.
A disaster attracts lots of lookey loos who look, talk and do nothing to help and also a few people who volunteer to help and actually do something! Here is a picture of SUPREME No 1 from Victoria, She immediately steamed to Saturna to offer assistance. She was built in 1917 and as you can see is still going strong! Robin Perron her owner keeps her in immaculate shape inside and out.
My Son Eric took some time off from work and was able to help for a few days
The Owner walking down the Port side trying to will the Robbie back to life...he tried his best!
Mark Gumley MG Shipyard and Dive Service from Washington State has offered to help the Owner towards the end of the month when tidal conditions are best (higher tides). One thing about our American cousins is that they have that "can do" attitude and when the chips are down or in this case the ships are down that's what you need!
I hope all the ducks start to line up for the ROBBIE, The Owner is there, his crew and some volunteers are there.
All the ROBBIE needs is a few hours of the right mix of resources and assets and she will float free.
July 16th- waiting for news. Mark Gumley has arrived and has been working on the scene. The Times Colonist reports an effort to refloat here was to be made on Sunday night at high tide. Unfortunately I don't have any news directly from Saturna. Usually good news finds a way of getting out quickly so as this is written 23.22 EST July 16th there is none.
Mark Gumley -our American friends come up to help
July 17/2007 1305hrs EST Great news in the Times Colonist The Robbie was apparently upright with vertical masts and work was started to plug holes and pump out water also she was moved on the reef. My understanding is that a sharp rock had pierced her starboard side and broken some ribs so this is great news if they have been able to get her away from that rock. It appears that they are much closer to re floating the ROBBIE although the costs must be draining available resources. Nevertheless this is the best news for several days.
July 21/07 update- This is the 21st day the Robbie is on the reef. She has been raised to a vertical position several times but each time the weight of water in her hull and the lack of pumping ability has placed too much strain on equipment and she had to be released. The owner is now working on new ideas. A manufacturer in the USA is making some special lift bags for the Robbie. You really need to respect the owner, crew and volunteers for the effort they are making. This is not the type of problem one person can solve -it needs a joint effort and heavy equipment.
July 28th/07 28 Days on the reef.
July 30th/07 12:05 EST Just received some bad unconfirmed news from the west coast. Apparently a TV station CH Victoria News has reported that the Robbie cannot be salvaged due in part to a large section of her keel being missing. The person who watched the report was unsure if the part missing was 8 feet or 8 metres. Remember this is not confirmed. However this is not good news.
It appears the last chapter in the life of the Robbie rescue is now occurring.
July 31st 2007
Today there was an unconfirmed report that the Robbie has been lost.
August 1st, 2007 day 32 on the reef And today there is another report that the Robbie is still on the reef! Until we get a confirmation of what is going on out there we won't know for sure. It does appear that things are not going very well and the rescue operation -one of the longest in Canadian marine history - has encountered several setbacks. But there has been so much incorrect information floating around that its difficult to know for sure what is going on. So we wait.
Just came across this youtube video about the PACIFIC GRACE on a passage to Hawaii. Very funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysNAnBhYiZs
August 2/07 Still nothing confirmed to report. It appears there have been changes in the rescue attempt but its not clear what the changes are and it seems that the damage is worse than hoped which is preventing refloating but it is unclear what that damage is. Without confirmed news the best I can say is that things do not seem to be following a positive trend and seem to be getting worse. After 33 days on the reef one wonders how long this can go on. We will just need to wait for some news. At this point I do not expect good news.
August 3/07 The Oak Bay news quoting a crew member reports that the Robbie rescue has failed due to extensive damage to the hull. She remains on the reef at this time but plans are to drag her off and let her sink. Only the intervention of a person with very deep pockets could save the situation now. The consistent problem here is confirmation of the news as it comes out. As far as I am concerned if its not confirmed it's just a comment and should be treated as such. There has been so much inaccurate information on the Robbie that one needs to be careful even releasing what news there is. I can see how difficult it must be for news correspondents to get their facts straight on a story.
August 6/07 The story may not be over yet. On the Bosun's Mate website there were some excellent pictures and one of them showed a spray painted sign referring to an organization called Phoenix Marine Salvage and that they were on their way. In fact this may be occurring. Apparently this firm has significant resources and may be capable of getting the Robbie off the reef to a ship repair facility. They are presently working on another project and may be ready next week. This is becoming an epic in Canadian Marine history. You could make a movie about this one!
so we wait and watch for more news
August 7/07 I am 59 today. This event has nothing to do with the Robbie but I thought I'd mention it anyway! Gee the Robbie is older than me by 8 years!!! I don't feel so ancient now!
August 9/2007 Some more info on Bosun's Mate website.
For additional information please go to the Bosun's Mate website.
The End of the Story?
It is now January 20th 2008. This story ended badly. The Robbie was not recovered from the Reef back in August 07. That was despite the best efforts of the owner and volunteers including the expenditure of a significant amount of money and resources. Personally I found it very disappointing that the Federal Government did not become involved in the recovery effort. In fact I wrote to them to request this but they declined other than to monitor the wreck for possible pollution or danger to navigation. Despite all the heavy equipment the Coast Guard and Navy has on the West Coast and the fact the Robertson II was a Canadian Registered vessel the decision was made not to assist. Had the vessel been successfully removed from the reef one could argue that it still would have required a significant amount of work to bring it back to a seaworthy state. But possibly there were other alternatives including use as a static display or tourist attraction given the historic value of the ship. The Robbie was eye candy wherever she went! She was a magnet to anyone with a camera or a love of sailing ships.
Had the wreck occurred on the East Coast I believe mariners there would have salvaged the ship in short order. Its a sad story to the end of a proud ship and my own opinion is that the very law of the sea which demands that one help a ship and crew in distress may not have been followed here because a government department wanted to conserve resources. Again that is just a personal opinion from a professional Mariner who has retired and has a soft spot in his head and heart for old sailing ships. I trust our Coast Guard and Navy had their reasons for their decisions and must live with the results. Curiosity makes me wonder which individual made the decision and why but that is all history now.
So the story is over. The sea has reclaimed the Robertson II after many decades and we are left with our memories and regrets. Those that made the effort and tried their best to save her have nothing to be ashamed about. The Sea is a pretty tough adversary and Robbie's time had come. Bravo Zulu Robbie!
Cheers!
Ron Battiston