Re: Articles about the Vikings & logs

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

At 20:07 09/05/00 -0400, you wrote:
> Dear Laurel,
>                  
> During my ten years in British Columbia. I spent almost a 
> year with the Straits Towing Company on a tug boat called the Fury
> Straits.  
> We would leave Vancouver B.C. and in about thirtysix hours arrive at a
> spot 
> called West Bay on Vancouver Island.  It was nearby Santula on an
> island 
> across from it,  We would spend a few days putting together flat
> booms of 72 
> sections of logs.  This was done by walking across the various rafts
> which 
> had been made up by the loggers.  They brought down logs from the
> forests on 
> the island and dumping them in the water.  Then they would put logs
> at the 
> sides called Side sticks, logs at each end, called head sticks and tail
> sticks then logs were laid across the top, cant remember what we called
> them... these were all drilled with holes to allow wires to join them
> together.   When we had them all lined up we would attach a
> towing bridal 
> with a yoke which was gradually let out from the stern of the tugboat as
> we 
> started on our way back to Vancouver.  Our return jouney would take
> from 5 to 
> 6 weeks account a speed of only one or two knots and having to tie up
> when 
> the tide changed and going through several narrows where you had to wait
> your 
> turn to get through account very strong tides and many other tugs waiting
> also.  Thought it might be interesting for you to know that a
> Sinclair was 
> involved at this late date in such an endevour.  
>
> Remember that Scotland and Ireland were all covered with forests in those
> early years as was Finland and Sweden, so there were plenty of places to
> go 
> for logs. Of course there was always the problem of not being received in
> a 
> friendly fashion but the Vikings never worried about that.  
> All the best, 
> Donald J.H.
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
> [ To get off or on the list, see
> http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html


Donald,

I know you are my cousin but you have had such an adventurous,
varied
and interesting life that you should begin jotting your memories
down.

Your reply on "logging" shows that you have a 'gift' for
graphic description
and almost total recall.

Please do this for the sake of Andrew, Maureen and the rest of us
and
don't leave out the 'steamier' moments in Cairo and Tokyo - you
might
even have a best-seller within your grasp - if you'd only have the
courage 
to 'spill the beans' (but not about me, of course!).

Niven