After four days of swimming and luxuriating in the magical silence of Simoom Sound, deep in British Columbia’s Broughton Archipelago, our supplies aboard Vestri were running low. It was time to head over to a place I’d been looking forward to all summer: Echo Bay on Gilford Island.
August 9, 2024
Our destination wasn’t just about restocking provisions – it was about meeting an old friend of my dad’s, Billy Proctor, and visiting his museum of nautical treasures.
As it turned out, though, the Echo Bay Marina was a bit of a letdown. There was no potable water, very little non-potable water, and the store was practically empty. We managed to snag some eggs to hold us over for a couple of days, but it was clear we’d have to find real supplies somewhere else.
Our visit with Billy, though, was everything I expected and more. It was a delight to arrive with greetings from his old friend and see his face light up when I mentioned my Dad’s name. He remembered every single boat my Dad owned, told me some stories, and signed one of his books with greetings back to Dad.
Back in the 1950s, my dad, Lorne McKinnell, and Billy Proctor were young fishermen, running up and down the coast together.
They ran up and down Knight Inlet in a little skiff, stirring up mischief and chasing the freedom of the coast.
Billy’s museum is a popular waypoint for boaters in these waters, and his books have helped many of us navigate both the coast and its rich history.
Much like my dad, Billy is full of stories. I loved hearing about how the two of them tore around Knight Inlet in a little skiff, stirring up all kinds of mischief as young men.
Billy’s museum reminded me so much of my dad’s basement – absolutely chock-full of what some might call junk, but what is really treasure if you know how to look.
I wish I had taken more photos of Dad’s collection over the years – the clutter that turned out to be memory and meaning.
It’s always the everyday things we forget to capture: the beautiful landscapes right outside our back door, the messy piles of “junk” our parents kept, the people we love most, always waiting for them to move out of the way of the shot.
It’s always the everyday things we forget to capture: the beautiful landscapes out our back door, the messy piles of ‘junk’ our parents kept, the people we love most.
I wish I had more photos of my parents. I wish I had a thousand.
If you are interested in the stories and history of British Columbia’s coast, I highly recommend Billy Proctor’s Full Moon Flood Tide.
And if you’d like a peek behind the scenes, you can check out Ray’s video here:
At the time, I was happy to report to Billy how well my dad was doing, show him a recent picture of his old friend, and take a photo of myself with Billy to show Dad when I got back.
I’m sure, by now, news of my dad’s passing has made its way up the coast to Echo Bay. But I hope to visit Billy again this summer — to swap a few more stories, and to remember.
Some stories are meant to keep sailing with us.
Update May 15, 2025: I just got the news that sadly Billy passed away on May 13, 2025. Another legend of the coast is gone – but his stories will live on forever.
Next stop: Port McNeill
Just keep taking photos Anne, you never ever have enough. I can count on one hand the photos of my parents that I have. It’s the same when someone of the older generation ( I can talk!) start telling stories. Please, please write them down. Once these people have left us the history is gone.
Love your work.
Hi John, I wish we could all take a page from Billy Proctor’s book and write down all our stories and lessons learned. I tried once to do a project with my Dad to write down his stories, but it didn’t work out. He had a lot of stories! But he never seemed to want to tell them when he knew I was writing it down. I am lucky to have been able to hear them and we have lots of notes written on the backs of photos. I’ll have to incorporate those into the photo project I am planning to digitize them. Meanwhile, I’ll keeping writing down mine. Thanks for your visit and comments John, it is much appreciated.
Thank you for your recent photos and update on your travels. Always enjoy your photos and stories of your adventures.
Roy
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the post Roy, the positive feedback always means a lot to me. Thank you!
Anne; Very well done! kinda know the feeling you may have had. We just moved my 92 y.o. father in law out of a 3400 sq ft house into a 700 sq ft apartment. He saved almost everything and very little went into the trash since the 50’s. Too much for the 6 of us to save. Many ‘treasures’ (5600#’s) went to the dump + numerous trailer & truck loads to Goodwill & Habitate for Humanity. Each of us did save a few though. Being a photo nut we kept a few old photo albums and will spent a few winter campouts going thru them. Amazing what one can collect. Every item has a story as well. I guess it’s all a part of the circle of life. Many thanks for documenting your travels &sharing with us…
Hi Herb, I think it is hard for people to get rid of things that have memories for them. What looks like junk to us is treasures to them, and now looking back on it, that old stuff seems more like treasures to me too. I wish I had photographed more things from my parents home before they started getting rid of stuff. Just the every days things. I guess I didn’t appreciate it enough at the time. But I am thankful for the photos I do have. My dad also had a ton of photo albums and I’m planning on doing a project to digitize all the old the photos. It will take some work, but I think if I get an assembly line together, we should be able to do it. Thanks for your comments Herb!
A lot of great memories and history!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your visit and comments Jon.