26 Radio Unit - Langara Island, BC

Memories of Langara Island - As Indicated

Comments by Bill McLachlan - At Langara, the most northern Canadian island on the West Coast, the trip ashore rivalled a ride on any roller-coaster. Under the watchful eyes of the peregrine falcons who nested on the sheer cliffs, the victim first had to take to a small boat in the open (and often very rough) sea. After a row of a quarter - to a half-mile, he had to manoeuvre the craft into position beneath a contraption similar to a ship's davits, and attach it to an aerial cable of which the seaward end was anchored on a small rocky island. An engine on the cliffs was then started, and the boat and its contents was hoisted up out of the water and swung onto dry land. The alternative to this Rube Goldberg arrangement would have been to hack out and build a road right across the island to the only relatively safe harbour.