Port Douglas (1923)

The 40- foot wooden tug Port Douglas was registered on June 8, 1910. It had a single cylinder high pressure steam engine. The tug towed logs around the Harrison area for most of its life and one of its former skippers, Captain Ward, who lived on the vessel affectionally referred to it as ‘Bubble and Squeak’ because of the noises the leaky craft would emit.

The Port Douglas began taking on water on February 4, 1923 while towing cottonwood logs down the Harrison River. The crew beached the tug at its present location to avoid sinking in deeper and more dangerous water.

The main feature of the wreck site is an engine and boiler atop a collapsed wooden hull. During autumn at low tide the site is clearly visible, however access can be difficult due to sunken logs and snags. Intact marine steam engines and boilers are rare, as are the remains of tugs from the period. This site represents an uncommon and reasonably well-preserved example of marine engineering.

Note: British Columbia’s Heritage Conservation Act automatically protects all heritage wrecks, including the remains of all wrecked vessels and aircraft once two or more years have passed since the date of loss. It is illegal to damage, alter or remove a heritage object from a heritage wreck except under a permit issued by the Archaeology Branch.