Biography
Being born in Pender Harbour and growing up at the family homestead on Cape Cockburn put Lee on the water from birth. In those years boats were the only form of transportation, and at an early age he took over running the Ha-Ha, the family’s open gas-boat, on grocery runs to Pender. With his two sisters as crew, Yoe Mortensen and Zoe Roberts, these voyages were sometimes delayed by weather or engine trouble, and 10-year-old Lee would find them a safe place to tuck in for the night and wait for better circumstances. This experience set the course for his life; don’t get too excited, stay calm and deal with the problem. At 15 years of age, he was driving cat for Charlie Klein, logging on Nelson Island and building roads on the Sechelt Peninsula, this provided the money to buy a big 5-7 Easthope to go in his first tug. The 28’ Black Wolf was built on the beach at Cape Cockburn in 1951, next to the sawmill where he cut her lumber. The Easthope was soon replaced with a flathead Ford salvaged from some car.
He told me, “The Easthope could tow one section, with the Ford I could tow three.” The cat driving was to be another major thread in Lee’s life, repairing and running heavy equipment, building roads and logging. Towing with the Black Wolf provided income for a few years but soon the economic realities of a wife and four children lead to a couple of tries at running gas stations in Roberts Creek and Gibsons. When those efforts didn’t thrive, Lee returned to logging in Howe Sound and then running early skidders north of Tofino.
Around 1963 the family moved to Cracroft Island for a couple of years contract hauling for Walden Brothers. Logging on Vancouver Island in the Johnston Straits occasioned the purchase of the little tug Valerie K to tow logs across the strait for booming in Growler Cove.
Around 1965 Lee traded the Valerie K and a fiberglass speedboat to Gary Kleeman for a beachcomb boat called the Wendy K. This 25’ fiberglass hull was powered with a V-8 Chev gas engine and direct drive, the worst towboat ever. Nonetheless some epic tows were undertaken with a drum of extra gas in the cockpit. I recall us towing a huge logging A-frame and float camp someplace in Desolation Sound when we dropped the tow and left it to drift while we ran down to Ragged Islands for fuel. In the early 1970’s Lee acquired the Squamish Queen, which he returned to her original name Deerco. The boat was something of a hulk when we towed it out of False Creek and up to Lund. An old 6-cylinder Cummins engine was found and installed, with some steering gear and towpost added, and the boat was ready to go beachcombing on Texada Island. A couple of years later the Deerco went to Richard Sunderland and Lee acquired the Joe Drinkwater from Captain Al Zueff in Gibsons. After years of delivering beachcomb logs to Gulf Log Salvage in the Fraser River, Lee was well known to them, and it was suggested he tow their booms from the northern delivery station. These monthly tows from Bold Point on Quadra Island south to the river were a staple job for Lee and the Joe for at least a decade, and of course there were many adventures encountered along the way. There were numerous assist jobs, especially along the “stretch” from Welcome Pass to Gower Point, and these lead to further contacts and other towing jobs. Once at Gower Point, we assisted the Ocean Crown around the corner, Lee shook his head, he couldn’t see how his puny 6-71 could help that monster tow, but the Ocean Crown skipper was generous in his thanks. In the 70’s Lee teamed up with Al Meadows to tow the barge Saltspring Island #1, buying roe herring in the Gulf mainly around Denman Island. (See Al’s book, Pushing the Beach) After working together for eight herring seasons, Lee bought the barge from Al around 1980, loaded a crane aboard, and went full -on into the piledriving and marine construction business. For 50 years Lee ran the Joe Drinkwater, until his retirement in 2023. The boat was continuously upgraded during that time but always retained its original character. Early on Lee built a new pilothouse, then the old Graymarine engine was traded for a modern GM 6-71. The hull was steel sheathed in the ‘90’s, and modern watertight hatches were fitted.
They were together for so long it’s hard now to separate man and boat, and I suspect that’s true for many people. Lee is survived by his sister Yoe Mortensen, wife Joan Van Orden, children Nelson Roberts, Tad Roberts, Tamara Roberts, and Kim Roberts, 7 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
He was pre-deceased by his sister Zoe Roberts, daughter Jennifer Roberts-Brunelle, and son Dylan Roberts. Always ready and able to help in whatever way he could, especially mariners with a problem, Lee was a calm presence when everyone else was panicked. Tad Roberts
Vessels Owned / Designed
Significant vessels include; Black Wolf Valerie K Wendy K Squamish Queen/Deerco Joe Drinkwater
