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Estevan Point, B.C.

N 49' 23", W 126' 32", elev. 7 feet.

Located approx. 135 miles north west of Victoria B.C. midway up the western side of Vancouver Island.

"The angry coast, the rocky reef,

No more feared by man,

And those that sail will never fail,

To praise the light of Estevan"

"author unknown "

Estevan Point is one of the most beautiful lighthouses on the Pacific coast,and perhaps,in the world. The architecture is truly amazing, especially when taking into consideration the remoteness of the construction site, and the time in which it was built. The large buttresses up the sides of the tower are entirely unique to this coast and are rare throughout the world. The picture shows the CG helicpoter CG304, a Bell 212 taking off from the helipad

This is the main light of the Estevan station. Each bulb is 200 watts and each side contains 8 bulbs. There are 4 sides to the main body of the fixture. In order to give the distinctive 'flash pattern', in this case two flashes every fifteen seconds, only two banks of lights are on at any one time. The second bank is the back-up set. There is another, smaller, light mounted outside the main housing for 'emergency service'. The whole system is operated on 12v d.c.

The picture above is one of the spiral staircase in the tower. From the bottom landing to the top of the tower there are 153 steps. This picture is looking down to the main level, some 90 feet below.

This is a view looking north toward the Nootka LightStation. It shows in detail, the hard rocky coastline typical of Vancouver Island. There are only a few sandy spots in this area. What you are looking at is layered rock, with 'boulders' resting on top. The red and white tower in the foreground is a Non Directional Beacon, or NDB, used for the navigation of marine vessels, and aircraft.

Here is an aerial shot taken from the helicopter on my arrival at Estevan Point to assume my duties as Assistant Lightkeeper. This picture will show the proximity of the station to the ocean and its sometimes fury.

This shot is taken from the top of the tower in early September 2001. This is possibly the last visit of the Search and Rescue Labrador helicopter to Estevan Point. They are due to be retired very soon.

The moment of liftoff. There is no more dangerous and exhilerating time in a flight. Everything must be working to optimum standards for this mode of transportation.

As the great Jackie Gleason said once: "And away we go". The last flight to Estevan station of the venerable Labrador helicopter departs.

The water that you see in the foreground, is the result of an overnite rain storm. The 'lake', is about half again as large what you see in the picture, and in the centre is some 14 inches deep. This particular night, in a 12 hour period, the storm deposited approximately 3 inches of rain ( this was a measured amount) on the ground.

The yellow tanks, in the background, are diesel fuel storage tanks. This fuel is the lifeblood of the station. It fuels the generators, so they produce electricity, and also fuels the furnaces in the houses. Each tank holds apporximately 9000 liters.

This is the sunshine recorder. It is a high quality glass sphere, that redirects bright sunlight onto a card (the white strip to the immediate left of the sphere). The sunshine is concentrated to burn a hole through the card, to denote the amount of 'bright sunlight' on any given day. This is one more informational device that lightkeepers have maintained and monitored for many years. Air and water samples, sunshine amounts, rainfall and snowfall amounts are all part of the job of a lighthousekeeper.

Another of the meteorological instruments that Lightkeepers use. This is a barograph. Its function is to track the changes in atmospheric pressure.

One of the more tranquille pictures of Estevan. A rain shower had passed through the area shortly before this picture was taken. I did search for the pot'o'gold but had no luck.

One of the more unusual views of the tower here. It is also a tough picture to take. I actually got dizzy getting just the right shot.