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Friday, August 15, 2014
Vol. 7 • Issue 14
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See story on: Page 14
This week’s feature:
A Beautiful View opens tonight Sports vol Barrett and Hicks team up in two-hander
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On the road with Zack...
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The Star was on scene Sunday night for the raising of Obsidian’s damaged main sails. Owner and captain Gary Ramsbottom and his son Lucas took approximately half an hour to repair the popular Nelson landmark. Will Johnson photo
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Pirate ship raises sail
T
WILL JOHNSON Nelson Star
he first time you see Obsidian anchored just offshore in Kootenay Lake, it looks like an optical illusion. A comically small pirate schooner painted a dusty black and highlighted with gold ornamentation, it has two looming masts and a spray-painted skeleton figurehead that also happens to have a voluptuous female bust. Step aboard and you’ll see an authentic-looking treasure chest, a gloomy captain’s quarters full of nautical tools and crates overloaded with marauder’s booty. The boat looks like it belongs on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean, not anchored near Walmart in the gently lapping sum-
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mer waters of Nelson. But captain and owner Gary Ramsbottom wouldn’t have it any other way. “Nelson is the only place I’ve ever really felt like I’m home and I don’t need to go anywhere else,” said the modern day privateer, a signature cigar dangling from his lips and a braided ponytail resting against his chest. “I’m happy here and doing stuff like this just makes me happier.” The local filmmaker originally envisioned using Obsidian as the main character in a children’s adventure television series, but after years of pitching and development, the project has yet to come to fruition. In the meantime its become a beloved landmark across the Kootenays. “People come here from all around just to see the pirate ship. And not just Nelson
people. I had a couple from Quebec who spent two or three days trying to find me because they wanted to spend the night on the pirate ship. I said that’d be fine, but I haven’t finished the inside so I don’t know where you would sleep,” he said. “I love how much people love it. It sank to the bottom of the lake a couple winters back and the whole town went mental,” said Ramsbottom. “They thought it was a goner. I was like ‘no big deal, I’ll just pull it up and dry it out’. Got a barge, a big crane and we pulled it back up.” He said the operation wouldn’t have been possible without financial contributions from boat owners in the nearby marina. The community has contributed and assisted him with the vessel in a number Continued on Page 8
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