Historic Canadian Princess ship says goodbye in Ucluelet
Hundreds gathered to watch as floating tourist attraction was towed away
It marks the end of an era in Ucluelet. The Canadian Princess, which served as a floating fishing lodge for more than 30 years, has left the harbour.
The ship was part of a hotel that operated under the same name. The Oak Bay Marine Group sold the onshore accommodations earlier this year, but the Canadian Princess was not part of the deal and is instead set to be dismantled.
Hundreds of people watched as the ship was towed out of Ucluelet's harbour on Friday. Several boats were used to pull the Canadian Princess away from the shoreline and tow it to open water.
"Mixed feelings. She has been the centre of Ucluelet for many, many years, and for many years also the heart of our tourism activity," said Dianne St. Jacques, the mayor of Ucluelet and a former Canadian Princess employee.
Paul Freimuth from Ukeedaze.com caught the Canadian Princess's final goodbye on camera:
Mapping the B.C. Coast
The Canadian Princess may be best known as a floating fishing lodge in Ucluelet, but before it became a tourist attraction the ship was named the William J. Stewart, and it spent years mapping much of the B.C. Coast.
Wili Rapatz of Sidney, B.C., knew the ship well. He started out as a deckhand back when the ship was coal powered.
"At that time, she was the most important ship," he said. "She did a lot of very good work mapping the coast of British Columbia and the waters near the coast."
The William J. Stewart struck the famous Ripple Rock near Campbell River and nearly sank during its work.
The deadly rock lurked just beneath the surface and sank or damaged more than 100 ships. Ripple Rock was removed in 1958 in what is described as the world's largest non-nuclear peacetime explosion.
The Canadian Princess was salvaged after the collision and was later purchased by the Oak Bay Marine Group of Victoria.
It was permanently moored in the Ucluelet harbour in 1979. Rapatz got the chance to visit the ship after it became a lodge.
"It was different," he told host Gregor Craigie on CBC Radio's On The Island. "The dining room and so on was, of course, much better than we used to have."
Despite spending years onboard, Rapatz said he doesn't have strong feelings about the ship's final voyage.
"I'm not sure whether I feel bad about it or good about it," he said. "What else do you do with a ship?"
Now that the vessel has been removed from Ucluelet, the community may now be able to put a boardwalk around the inner harbour, St. Jacques said.
The Canadian Princess Resort continues to operate onshore under a new owner.
