6.3.77

1960s-- Remnant of one of two boat-launching ramps built on Trail Bay beach in 1961.

Both ceased to function within a few years, largely because of maintenance problems resulting from strong wave action. The ramp pictured was built by Art James in front of Lot 17 on the Boulevard between Wharf Avenue and the Indian Reserve. The sign on James Wharf read "Boat rentals and bait."

In July 1961 a Vancouver newspaper carried an article headlined "Piggy back gives lift to outboards" It stated that "Boats are picked up from a concrete ramp on the gulf side and launched from a second ramp in Porpoise Bay. Outboards up to 23 feet and nine-foot beam can be handled. Charges, set by the Public Utilities Commission, are 60 cents per lineal foot of the boat's length." Another story said that "The three-quarter mile journey across the isthmus is by means of a special vehicle that is a cross between a flatbed truck and a stilt-leg lumber carrier."

Photograph courtesy The Peninsula Times newspaper and the Alsgard family