Navvy Jack historical clippings courtesy Leigh Cossey, Jan., 2020.

	June 1, 1946 - The Province: Straits Towing Gets Another Harbor Tug Another tight little harbor tug has been added to the fleet of Straits Towing & Salvage Co. Ltd. On Monday the all-steel welded MS Portovan, ex Hartville, arrived by flatcar from Saint John, N.B., and is now being cleaned up to take her place in the towing fleet of British Columbia. Built in 1944 on the Great Lakes, she was one of the "Ville" class of tugboats built for the Canadian Navy. Recently she was purchased by Straits Towing. She is 40 feet long, 10 feet beam, powered with a 135 h.p. Cummins. Her installations will include the latest type of radio telephone.
	June 3, 1946 - Times Colonist: Straits Towing Buys New All-Steel Tug An all-steel welded tug, MS Portovan, ex-Hartville, has arrived on the coast by flatcar from St. John, N.B., and is now being cleaned and painted for her new owners, Straits Towing and Salvage Co. Ltd. The Portovan was built on the Great Lakes in 1944 and was one of the "Ville" class tugboats built for the navy, She is 40 feet long, has a 10-foot beam and is powered with a 135 h.p. Cummins engine. She will be equipped with the latest type of radio telephone.
	June 10, 1946 - Vancouver Sun: Straits Towing Co. has added another tug, Portovan - short for "Port-of Vancouver" - to its growing fleet here. The boat, a 40-foot three-man craft secured from eastern Canada, is powered with a 120 h.p. diesel and will be used for harbor work.
	Mon. April 16, 1948 - Vancouver Sun: W. Miller, 2026 Venables, was rescued Sunday afternoon in English Bay from a small rented boat which got into difficulties in the gale and heavy seas. Straits Towing and Salvage Co.'s tug Port-O-Van, under Capt. J. Duncan, en route from False Creek to Vancouver Harbor, saw Miller's plight, hove to, and took him in tow. The tug brought Miller and his boat into a Coal Harbor oil barge. The tug reported Miller would probably have drifted out from English Bay if he had not been picked up. Port-O-Van's owners said today it "was about all the tug could do to get herself around from False Creek to the harbor in the wind."
	Thurs. Dec. 22, 1949 - Vancouver Sun: SAMARITAN ACT BACKFIRES Scow Under Creek After Tug Helps Get It Up The Creek Playing the good Samaritan can end up in grief, Straits Towing and Salvage have learned. A tug ran aground in False Creek Wednesday night, and a gravel barge lies sunk in the creek, following a "good Samaritan act" by Straits. When the tug Winamac, towing two gravel-loaded scows developed engine trouble while entering False Creek, Straits tug Straights aided the other tug to a nearby shipyard. Then, Straits tied up one of the gravel barges, and started up the creek with the other one. The Straits hadn't gone 100 yeards when the scow hit a deadhead and sank, almost under Cambie Bridge. Wednesday night the tug Virginia G grounded in darkness, on the sunken gravel scow. For some time it was feared the Virginia might slip off the gravel and fill with water. But with the aid of the tugs Gnome and Red Wing I, and West Coast Salvage Co.'s derrick Lotus Seeker, she was finally refloated. Damage to the Virginia is believed only minor. Efforts are under way to raise the gravel barge.
	Fri. May 11, 1956 - The Province: The previous Davis Straits, a 37-footer, has been sold to Deeks-McBride Ltd. for hauling gravel scows. She has been re-named Navvy Jack, an appropriate name for the gravel trade. She was built in 1944 at Owen Sound, Ont., as the Portovan, and made her maiden voyage from the Great Lakes to Vancouver on a flat-car. n.b. Hartville worked in Cornwallis NS Nov. 1944 to June 1946. When the navy sold her in 1946 she went west to become Portovan.
	May 26, 1956 - Province Star: The new Davis Straits, powered by a 320 h.p. diesel, will be used chiefly as a harbor tug. The previous Davis Straits, a 37-footer, has been sold to Deeks-McBride Ltd. for hauling gravel scows. She has been renamed Navvy Jack, an appropriate name for the gravel trade. She was built in 1944 at Owen Sound, Ont., as the Portovan, and made her maiden voyage from the Great Lakes to Vancouver on a flat-car. Tug Davis Straits was recently renamed Navvy Jack by Deeks-McBride Ltd. SSince Vancouver was young, a grade of gravel once found in West Vancouver, has been called "Navvy Jack." Capt. Don Peck gives some of the history of the first tug Navvy Jack, also owned by Deeks-McBride. "I think the original sank off the mouth of the Fraser," he writes. "She was formerly the Edith, but the engine came from the Berquist, formerly the C.G.S. Falcon, and originally the Ruth, built in North Van by Kirkham and Jones. The engine had previously operated a centrifugal pump in a gold dredge in the Fraser, the Hamlin. It was a steeple compound of 13 h.p. I was in her in 1909 with Capt. Alf. Copp." n.b. this boat was built in 1944 as a Ville-class tug (Hartville) for the Royal Canadian Navy and employed as a Harbour Tug at Cornwallis Nova Scotia. Her maiden voyage therefore was not from the Great Lakes to Vancouver. It became Portovan after it was sold to the public in 1946.
	Mon. May 4, 1959 - The Province: SKIPPER DROWNS AS TUG CAPSIZES A tugboat captain and three fishermen were rescued in separate marine mishaps Sunday. Dead is Karl Willy Gursli, 28, of 3337 Victory, South Burnaby, captain of the tug Navvy Jack, which sunk in False Creek west of Granville Bridge Sunday morning. Rescued by the tug Victoria Strraits seven miles off Point Grey after being adrift in a dinghy for four hours after their fishboat Great West No. 1 hit a deadhead and sank were: Captain Norman F. Turnbull, 42, of 3980 Renfrew; can Silas Jones, 24, and Cecil Demaris, 30, both of 267 Blundell. Earlier, Fred Knight, 70, of Victoria, and Edward Goff, 60, of Port Coquitlam, were taken off their $10,000 cabin cruiser as it was breaking up on the rocks south of Steveston, by the tug Gillspray. Gursli was trapped in the cabin of the Deeks-McBride Ltd. owned tug Navvy Jack when it capsized seconds after a towline was hooked to a barge. This was done to help the tug Torpedo guide the barge under Kitsilano Span. Witnesses said the combination of current and drag from the barge pulled the 38-foot tug under without warning. Mr. Gursli was taken from the submerged boat by Vancouver Police skin divers Cpl. Roy Chapman and Const. (continued next page) Photo Caption: CAPSIZED TUG Navvy Jack was righted after recovery of body of Captain Karl Gursli. The tug's skipper drowned after tug capsized and sank Sunday in False Creek, seconds after it was hooked by towline to a barge. Gursli was trapped in the cabin. His body was found by police skin divers.
	Mon. May 4, 1959 - Vancouver Sun: SPEEDY SKIN DIVERS FAIL TO SAVE MAN - Karl Gursli Drowns in Sunken Tugboat Before Aid Reaches Him A man drowned in a sunken tug in False Creek Sunday despite speedy action by two fast-moving police skin divers. The divers brought Karl Willi Gursli, 28, of 5261 Victory, South Burnaby, to the surface within half an hour, but inhalator treatment failed to revive him. Air often gets trapped in ships that sink suddenly, they explained. Gursli was alone in the 38-foot Deeks & McBride tug when it tipped in 25 feet of water 100 yards east of Granville Bridge shortly after 11am. The tug was steadying a barge of concrete from behind, with connecting lines. Police said the tug turned and then suddenly tipped over on its side. It sank almost immediately. DIVERS TO THE RESCUE A police diving team Cpl. Roy Chapman and Const. Andrew Roberts, dashed through the city by car from headquarters on Burrard Inlet to the sunken vessel. They changed into their swimming gear en route and had Gursli's body up within 20 minutes of being called. "Gursli was trapped in the wheelhouse." Roberts said. "but we had no trouble getting him out - a door and a window of the tug were open." RUSHED TO INHALATOR Gursli was rushed by an RCAF crash boat to a nearby dock where artificial respiration and oxygen were applied by a city inhalator crew. The "Navvy Jack" was later salvaged by tug work crews and towed to shore. Photo Caption: Karl Willi Gursli...trapped, drowned
	Mon. May 4, 1959 - The Province: TOW HOOKED ON Gursli was trapped in the cabin of the Deeks - McBride Ltd. owned tug Navvy Jack when it capsized seconds after a towline was hooked to a barge. This was done to help the tug Torpedo guide the barge under Kitsilano Span. Witnesses said the combination of current and drag from the barge pulled the 38-foot tug under without warning. SKIN DIVERS Mr. Gursli was taken away from the submerged boat by Vancouver Police skin divers Cpl. Roy Chapman and Const. Andy Roberts within half an hour. He failed to respond to inhalator treatment. The skin divers were on the scene within 20 minutes after an emergency run by car from their headquarters on Burrard Inlet. MINUTES BEFORE Mate Jerry Mussellman, 640 Grove, Burnaby, stepped off the tug a few minutes before it sank to attach the tow lines. His brother, Gordon Mussellman, 6830 Karen, Burnaby, mate on the tug Torpedo, was on the front of the barge at the time. Photo Caption: KARL GURSLI ... drowns
	Wed. May 6, 1959 - Vancouver Sun: DEATH TUG MISHAP SAME AS SISTERS A tug that capsized in False Creek Sunday was completely under water within six seconds. This revealed at an inquest today on Karl Willy Gursli, 28, of 5261 Victory, South Burnaby, skipper of the ill-fated Navvy Jack. The sinking was identical to the capsizing of three sister ships of the Navy Jack in the past 15 years. Gerald Musselman, Navvy Jack deckhand, who was aboard a barge that the tug hooked on to moments before the sinking, told the coroner's jury that the Navvy Jack "turned over when it was making a turn." SHOUT IGNORED "I shouted to him (Gursli) to get off when I saw it capsizing, but I don't think he could hear me," said Musselman Using a pencil to illustrate how fast the Navvy Jack capsized, Musselman said it took only six seconds. Musselman and seamen aboard the a second tug hooked to the barge were unable to offer an explanation for the accident. Jury foreman Cecil Rhodes, 4239 Pandora, Burnaby, also a towboat skipper, commented that the Navy Jack joined three sisters which all capsized "in an almost identical fashion." NAVY TUGS He said two were navy boats at Bidwell Bay and Prince Rupert during the Second World War and the last was the Harban, which turned over near First Narrows about eight years ago. Rhodes said three other sister ships, owned by Kingcombe Navigation, National Harbors Board and Gilley Bros. are still in operation on the coast. The jusry, comprising six tugboat captains, found Gursli came to an unnatural death from drowning and recommended that two men should be on board a vessel assisting another vessel in the type of operation (i.e. holding back a tug with stern-to-tow and proceding stern first). FUNERAL FRIDAY Gursli is a member of the Canadian Merchant Guild. He is survived by one brother, Reider of North Burnaby, his parents, and another brother in Norway. Funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday in Royal Oak Chapel, Kingsway and Royal Oak, Burnaby, Rev. L. T. Nilson officiating. Cremation will follow.
	Thurs. May 7, 1959 - The Province: DEATH TUG WENT DOWN IN SECONDS The tug Navvy Jack went down in six seconds when it capsized in False Creek Sunday, a coroner's jury was told Wednesday. The jury of six tugboat captains classified the death of the skipper of the Navvy Jack, Karl Willy Gursli, 27, of 5261 Victory, South Burnaby, as accidental. The jury recommended that two men should be onboard a tug assisting another tug in "holding back" a barge, after hearing that Gursli was alone on the Navvy Jack at the time. ASSISTING ANOTHER Court was told the Navvy Jack was assisting another tug that was approaching Kitsilano Bridge with a barge in tow. The tug was moving stern first and holding back the tow, helping to guide it through the narrow channel under the span. TURNED OVER Navvy Jack crewman Gerald Musselman, of 640 Grove, Burnaby, who was on the barge at the time of the mishap, said the tug turned over when it was making a turn. Jury foreman Capt. Cecil Rhodes, of 4239 Pandora, No. Burnaby, said a sister ship of the Navvy Jack, the Harban, sank in the First Narrows about eight years ago in an almost identical accident. n.b. HC-101 was another Ville tug, built by Russel Bros in 1942. She was purchased by the RCN in 1942 to replace the condemned vessel ‘Tantramar’. She was employed on Baffle and Boom Maintenance duties at St. John's NF. In 1946 she was sold to Anticosti Shipping Co., Montreal, QC and renamed ‘Consol III’. In 1947 she was sold to Straits Towing & Salvage Co., Ltd., Victoria, BC and renamed ‘Harvan’. In 1948 she sank (total loss). Official No.: 176584
	Thurs. May 7, 1959 - Nanaimo Daily News INQUEST SET ON DROWNING An inquest will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on a seaman who drowned when his tug capsized in the mouth of False Creek Sunday. Captain Karl Willy Gursli, 28, of 3337 Victory, Burnaby, was trapped in the tug Navvy Jack just as it turned turtle just west of Granville Bridge. The accident occurred moments after a towline was hooked to a barge to aid another tug in getting it under Kitsilano trestle.
	Sat. Feb. 24, 1962 - Vancouver Sun Tug "Navvy Jack" for sale by Deeks-McBride, $9,000, 170 h.p. CAT, 35 foot steel hull.

July 5, 2009. Discarded tugboat Navvy Jack, Bush Harbor, Kinbasket Lake, BC, Canada.
source: http://www.pbase.com/ellisonphotography/image/137792390

 

May 20, 2013. Navvy Jack, Kinbasket Lake, BC, Canada. Photo by Stephen Jolie Photography / Jolie View Images. Stephen Jolie comments (Sept. 5, 2018): "The location of the vessel is at the docking/loading bay of Bush Harbor, Kinbasket Lake. To me it looks like the vessel hasn�t been moved. The last image, in 2015 shows a different perspective being shot in the winter with foreground, showing a tow dock. The lack of foliage and dry open bay in the background not shown in the other images may look like the vessel has been moved, but I assure that it has not. The vessel was used for bringing log booms across the lake from various inlets, to Bush Harbor where there was once a processing mill facility. Then the wood products were exported by truck. I never did enter the interior of the tug. I was struck by the beauty of the exterior, and the stories that must be held in its lifetime."
source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151604426130210&set=oa.254655658006956&type=3&theater

 

April 11, 2015. Navvy Jack is still sitting on the shoreline only the "NAVVY JACK" name is no longer on the tug. Photo courtesy Il Nido Country Inn, Golden, BC. Thanks to Leigh Cossey for finding the photo! Click to enlarge to 2048 pixels wide.
source: https://www.facebook.com/IlNidoCountryInn/photos/a.145457485502223/845068662207765/?type=3&theater&ifg=1

 

Leigh Cossey with Navvy Jack, Sept. 2018. Bush Harbor, Kinbasket Lake, BC, near Golden. Click to enlarge to 1632 pixels wide.

 

Navvy Jack Exterior. Photos from Leigh Cossey, Sept. 2018.

 

Navvy Jack Exterior. Photos from Leigh Cossey, Sept. 2018.

 

Navvy Jack Engine. Photos from Leigh Cossey, Sept. 2018.

 

Video by Leigh Cossey, Sept. 2018

 

 

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