BLAST FROM THE PAST Stormy seas sink passenger ship

BY JOËLLE SÉVIGNY

Late in the evening of October 11, 1947, Al Alsgard, publisher of the Powell River Town Crier, was advised that the passenger vessel, MV Gulf Stream, had struck and foundered on Dinner Rock.

His 12-year-old son, Stewart, recalls the flurry of his Dad creating an Extra Edition of the Crier and a report to the Vancouver Daily Province together with on-site photos of the incident, as well as contacting MovieTone News.

Stewart and his friends Bobby Hammerton and Jack MacIntosh, were tasked with distributing the extra edition on the streets of Powell River. Shortly thereafter, the Patricia Theatre ran the movie report, and the news was soon international.

STILL IN THE WATERY DEPTHS: Three children and two women died when the MV Gulf Stream struck Dinner Rock one stormy fall evening in 1947. The vessel remains at the bottom of the ocean. Photos courtesy of the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives.

The Gulf Stream was a 145-foot steel hulled passenger vessel that had just unloaded at Westview and was now heading for Lund, carrying 15 passengers. However, it never reached its last destination.

During the stormy evening, around 8:20pm, the ship struck Dinner Rock at full speed. The scene was traumatic; mere moments after the crash, the coldwater starting rushing in and the lights went out. Five lives were lost: three children and two women were trapped and drowned in their staterooms.

The rescue was quick, at 10:40pm, the survivors were landing at the Powell River dock, brought there by the fishpacker Betty L, who was close by and saw flashing lights off Dinner Rock. News of the disastrous event was all over the province within days.

Today, the abandoned ship sits at 160 feet underwater just off Dinner Rock, where scuba divers can explore the wreck and the various forms of sea life that now occupy the ship. If you are kayaking, you can also visit the memorial located at the top of Dinner Rock.

Blast from the Past is a monthly historical column written by the Townsite Heritage Society’s coordinator Joëlle Sévigny. The THS tells the history of Townsite from 1907 onward.