Loonasea I

Laurie MacBride stated "It was the sailpast/spring opening of the Capital City Yacht Club, at Genoa Bay. My parents are on deck, with my father taking the salutes - he was CCYC Commodore at that time. I'm pretty certain the photo was taken by our longtime boating friend, the late Bill Halkett, who was at the time a staff photographer at the Victoria Times (later Times-Colonist). Senator II was 36 feet in length and designed by Ed Monk. If you look closely you'll see a toothed metal projection on the bow, which my father told me was there because the boat had previously been used commercially around logs and floating debris in the Vancouver area. My parents bought the boat in 1965, or perhaps late 1964 - our old log book includes an entry for Feb. 6, 1965, "First time out overnight" (at Musgrave Landing), "four kids with us". The boat seemed huge compared to our previous vessel (Charon). The focsle had four good-sized bunks with the head forward of them, so I was allowed, on special occasions like that, to bring along three friends! (My two brothers were much older than me - one had long since left home - so were rarely cruising with us anymore.) My parents slept on the very large fold-down settee in the saloon. The galley and saloon were spacious and we had our first-ever boat fridge installed (I believe it ran on propane). The two helm seats were wide and comfortable - one of my favorite photos from that era is of my mom at the wheel with her three young grandchildren on the seat with her. When we first got the boat the cockpit was open; after our first summer my parents had the roof added over it, which you can see in the photo (is there a proper term for a cockpit roof? It's not really a deck, nor a bridge...). Once that was done, the large raised engine cover that was in the cockpit served not only as an outdoor sitting / eating platform on sunny days, but a comfortable place on wet days and it could also be used (as it very occasionally was) as an outdoor sleeping area big enough for two adults. On our first northern cruise in 1965, we went as far as Blind Channel, and we cruised north each of the following summers, making it safely into Hidden Basin in 1967 (a feat which still amazes me). However, the log book entries (which were often written by me) end in 1970, which is about when I stopped going boating with my parents. I can't remember exactly when they sold the boat, but it was likely 1971, because by 1972 they had a different boat, according to the family photo collection. "