''Lady Alexandra'' was a steamship built in 1924 in
Montrose, Scotland
Montrose ( , gd, Monadh Rois) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated north of Dundee and south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers. It is the northernmost coastal town in Ang ...
which served in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
from 1924 to 1952, mostly on
Howe Sound
Howe Sound (french: Baie (de /d')Howe, squ, Átl'ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, Txwnéwu7ts) is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosph ...
.
Design and construction
''Lady Alexandra'' was designed for the routes from Vancouver, British Columbia to
Bowen Island
Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...
and
Howe Sound
Howe Sound (french: Baie (de /d')Howe, squ, Átl'ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, Txwnéwu7ts) is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosph ...
.
[Thirkell and Scullion, ''Frank Gowen's Vancouver'', at page 128.] ''Alexandra'' had a gross tonnage of 1,396 and net tonnage of 678. The ship was 225.4 feet long, with a beam of 40.7 feet and depth of hold of 9.7 feet.
[
The power plant consisted of twin triple-expansion ]steam engines
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
, developing 270 net and 2,200 indicated horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
driving twin propellers.[Henry, ''The Good Company'', at page 149.] The ship had a speed of 14 knots.[
The ship was primarily a day steamer, having only 10 berths in six staterooms.][ The ship was licensed to carry 1,400 persons on daylight trips in ]Howe Sound
Howe Sound (french: Baie (de /d')Howe, squ, Átl'ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, Txwnéwu7ts) is a roughly triangular sound, that joins a network of fjords situated immediately northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was designated as a UNESCO Biosph ...
and 900 persons across the Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...
to Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
.[ In operation the ship often carried close to 2,000 passengers. The ship had three decks, a dining room that could seat 86 people as well as a large hardwood dance floor. The ship had a cargo capacity of 300 tons, but in operation the vessel rarely carried more than 100 tons.][Rushton, ''Whistle Up the Inlet'', at pages 97 and 98.] The official Canadian registry number was 151207.[
''Alexandra'' was built by Coaster Construction Co., of ]Montrose, Scotland
Montrose ( , gd, Monadh Rois) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated north of Dundee and south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers. It is the northernmost coastal town in Ang ...
.[Rushton, ''Whistle Up the Inlet'', at page 216.] Construction began in October 1923, and the ship was launched on February 21, 1924. After undergoing trials on the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, the ship left Scotland on May 7 and arrived in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
on June 21, 1924.[
]
Operation
''Alexandras primary use was a day vessel carrying organized excursions on Howe Sound, including in particular to the resort area owned by the Union Steamship Company on Bowen Island
Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...
. Alexandra's first trip was on June 25, 1924, four days after arriving in Vancouver, was an excursion to view the battlecruiser , then on a visit to Vancouver.[
Although Alexandra had been designed primarily as a summer-time day excursion steamer, the company had intended to use the ship, which had a 300-ton cargo capacity, as a freighter in the off-season to transport canning supplies to, and pick up packed ]salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
from, the many canneries along the coast of British Columbia north of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
. This was done just once, following the close of the 1924 summer season. ''Alexandra'' was sent north to the Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose n ...
with a load of cans. On the way south, laden with salmon, in open waters of Queen Charlotte Sound, the ship rolled continuously and dangerously as much as 35 degrees. While it would probably have been possible to mitigate the rolling by adjustments to the ship's trim, the company had other vessels which could serve the route, and thereafter the ''Alexandra'' was kept on the southern routes.[
The ship was popularly known as the ''Alex''.][ Passenger travel to the Bowen Island resort tripled after the ''Alexandra'' was brought into service. In the 1920s and 1930s it was a common practice in Vancouver for companies and associations to organize large annual excursions to Bowen Island for their employees or members. The largest of these was the Longshoreman's Union annual picnic, when 3,000 people would be embarked for Bowen Island on the ''Alexandra'' and two other steamers. The Port of Vancouver willingly shut operations every year on the day of the picnic. Popular Vancouver orchestras were recruited to play on the company's "Moonlight Dance Cruises" which left every Wednesday and Saturday evening. ''Alexandra'' was also occasionally used on employed on excursions running from White Rock to ]Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...
. Excursion work was seasonal in nature but highly profitable for the company.
''Alexandras crew began work at 7:00 am to get the ship ready, and often worked until 1:00 am, making a 16- or 17-hour day. In addition to the ordinary work of the ship, the tasks of embarking, disembarking, and keeping order among up to 2,000 passengers on a daily usually fell to the deckhands. For this work deckhands were paid $69 per month in the 1930s.[
For much of the 1920s and 1930s, the master of the ''Alexandra'' was William "Cappy" Yates (1890–1966), who although not known as an outstanding seaman, was knowledgeable about the methods of showmanship that made him and the company popular, such as delaying a departure at Bowen Island to retrieve a child's hat which had blown overboard.][Henry, ''The Good Company'', at pages 101 to 113.]
Withdrawal from service
Business fell off for the Union Steamship Company in the early 1950s. In 1952, ''Alexandras season and routes were curtailed, and following the 1953 season, the ship was withdrawn from service altogether.[Rushton, ''Whistle Up the Inlet'', at page 161] In 1960 the ship was converted into a floating restaurant.[ The ship was moored at ]Coal Harbour
Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula and the Brockton Point of Stanley Park. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline.
Neighbourhoo ...
in Vancouver.[ Later the vessel was towed to California and moored at King Harbor in Redondo Beach.] There it served as a floating restaurant, ''Princess Louise II'' (named for the '' Princess Louise'' moored a few miles away), until it was wrecked in a storm in March 1980.[The New Mills' List, “Registered Canadian Steamships 1817-1930 over 75 feet”]
(accessed 06-17-11).
Notes
References
* Henry, Tom, ''The Good Company – An Affectionate History of the Union Steamships'', Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, BC (1994)
* Newell, Gordon R., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966).
* Rushton, Gerald A., ''Whistle up the Inlet – The Union Steamship Story'', J.J. Douglas, Vancouver, BC (1974).
* Thirkell, Fred, and Scullion, Bob, ''Frank Gowen's Vancouver, 1914-1931'', Heritage House (2001)
{{Steamboats British Columbia
1924 ships
Steamships of Canada
Union Steamship Company of British Columbia
Ships built in Scotland
Maritime history of California