The Uchuck Years: A West Coast Shipping Saga

by David Esson Young

On the wild west coast of Vancouver Island, those days still exist, as this book reveals in vivid detail. Relating the trials and tribulations of what surely must be the last of Canada's historic coastal shipping lines, The Uchuck Years is a rare first-person account by an old salt who owned and captained his own vessels. Enduring for sixty-five years, the company that came to be known as Nootka Sound Service Limited is still in operation to this day, though David Young no longer owns it and has recently sworn off serving as skipper even in a relief capacity. Initially serving the communities of Ucluelet and Bamfield, the company refocused its efforts when Highway 28 was punched through the mountains from Campbell River to Gold River in 1959. Logging and mining camp bosses farther up coast in the Nootka Sound and Kyuquot areas were convinced of the company's usefulness, allowing it to move its service farther north along the remote West Coast. The four company vessels--all named Uchuck--have hauled passengers and freight ranging from the more usual outpost supplies to broken aircraft, totem poles and, more recently, kayaks and camping gear for eco-touring expeditions. Every day is an adventure on the Uchuck and the ships have been called upon countless times to perform boat rescue and other emergency support. Young's gripping first-hand accounts of stormy passages through waters once known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific" are interspersed with his anecdotes about the colourful boss loggers and hermits who make this storm-tossed but incredibly scenic wilderness one of coastal BC's most fascinating places. The Uchuck Years is transportation history par excellence, a great seafaring yarn and an important history of one of BC's most charismatic regions.

304 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2012

Reviews

[Rickey McKown]

Interesting account of a small coastal shipping company on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the latter half of the 2oth century, with stories of the three ships (all named "Uchuck") they operated, the people who served in them, and the west coast communities and business operations they supported. Clear, straight-forward narration, mostly of the human-interest side, which would appeal to a larger readership, spiced up with some technical details about the ships and their operations that will be of interest to mariners. MV Uchuck III (the company's third ship) is still in operation, and having myself made the trip in her from Gold River to Friendly Cove (also highly recommended), I was keen to learn her history.

[Patricia L.]

Shipping saga on the waters near Gold River and Tahsis.