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
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