Fall of 1968

When September came, Al and I were looking forward to our mid-term leave. Al would be going out the end of September and I was scheduled to go out a month later. Brian chose to stay for his entire year without a break.

I ordered some "goodies" that made me look forward to delivery in the September supply trip. Amongst the goodies was a super-8mm movie camera, a portable radio with VHF aircraft band and grade 13 correspondence courses from the Provincial Department of Education.

Around this time we got a new "visibility marker". The Sedco 135F oil drilling rig was set up some 15 or 20 miles northeast of the Cape to do some exploratory drilling in Hecate Strait. The great thing was that we could see its light at night! It seemed that the drilling rig had followed me from Victoria because I had watched it being constructed at the shipyards while stationed at Victoria Gonzales.

For us, we considered the Summer over and the beginning of Fall when we had our first storm of the season. In 1968, the first storm hit us on Friday the Thirteenth!! September 13, 1968.

A few days later on September 18th, a strange-looking helicopter came to the Cape. It was an Okanagan Helicopter and it landed on our pad. The pilot explained that they were waiting out a storm that was preventing them from landing at their destination -- the oil drilling rig. We invited them in for coffee. Then it seemed that an endless number of people came out of that small helicopter!! It reminded me of a Volkswagen commercial that was on TV around that time. Coffee, tea and refreshments were served to about a dozen men. I think that was the largest number of people I ever saw at the Cape at one time!

Helicopter CGF made the supply trip on September 25th delivering my goodies and bringing Grant Thompson in for relief tech duties. Al went out on his leave and I was appointed acting-OIC. That meant I'd be doing more day shifts -- I think the OIC had one night shift a week to do back then. I also would be cooking 4 dinners a week.

Grant had been stationed at the Cape a couple of years before so he had the experience and was able to quickly fit into the station routine. His previous term had been cut short by a medical problem so he felt obliged to make up for not serving a full year. At that time it seemed if any met tech wanted to get ahead he had to pass his map-plotting "barrier" exam and serve a full year in isolation.

I was having fun with my new "toys" -- the timing of the delivery was close to my birthday. I had a great time shooting movies around the station. I was able to get footage of the huge waves engulfing a 50 ft. high islet at the south side of the Cape.

With my new radio I was able to listen in on high flying aircraft on VHF as they checked in with Vancouver Centre through the Sandspit link.

Friday October 4th was my 23rd birthday and it was Grant's day off. I took a photo of Grant cooking a roast. I also have a photo of Brian giving me a haircut.

There was a very unforgettable meal around that time -- one that made me somewhat famous in the DOT. Brian roast a chicken and something else that evening.

I sat down at my place at the table in the duplex and a serving plate loaded with chicken pieces was brought to the table. Some of the pieces of dark meat looked really dark and I helped myself to a couple of those dark pieces, not noticing that neither Brian nor Grant was picking out any pieces of dark meat.

I remarked that my pieces tasted rather wild like duck which I'd tasted before. Brian and Grant were able to keep straight faces, not letting on that this meal was something very extraordinary.

They didn't dare let me in on their joke until a couple of days later -- I had eaten roast owl! I didn't believe it! They told me to check the winch house where they had plucked the owl and left the feathers in a box. According to Brian, I stormed up the hill and found the box full of feathers. I don't remember this but Brian claims that I took the box to the edge of the cliff and shook out all of the feathers. To this day if my name is mentioned to some people who worked for DOT and didn't really know me, chances are that I am remembered as the person who was served roast owl for dinner at the Cape!