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Island Princess (steamboat)
Encyclopedia
The steamboat Daily operated in the early 1900s as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
The Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet was a large number of private transportation companies running smaller passenger and freight boats on Puget Sound and nearby waterways and rivers. This large group of steamers and sternwheelers plied the waters of Puget Sound, stopping at every waterfront dock...
. In later years, Daily was renamed Island Princess and later Cy Peck.
Construction
Daily was built in 1913 by Matthew McDowellMatthew McDowell (steamboat captain)
Matthew McDowell was a steamboat owner and builder associated with the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet.-Background:McDowell was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and left home at age 15 to work as a coal passer for steamers of the Anchor Line. He had three sons and one daughter, all of whom were associated...
at his yard at Caledonia, near Tacoma. Daily was one of the larger vessels built by Captain McDowell, 116' long, 25' on the beam, 8' depth of hold and rated at 254 tons. Daily was the seventh Puget Sound passenger and freight vessel built by Captain McDowell. Daily was a classic example of a mixed-used Puget Sound mosquito fleet vessel, as shown by photos published and drawings prepared by Professor Turner.
Operations
Daily was placed on the Seattle-Tacoma route, running via points on VashonVashon Island
Vashon is a census-designated place in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon-Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. The population was 10,624 at the 2010 census. At , it is about 60 percent larger...
and Maury
Maury Island
Maury Island is a small island in Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Before construction of the isthmus, the island was connected to Vashon only during low tide. The island is rural with...
islands.
Sale to Canadian Pacific Railway
In 1918, Daily was sold to the coastal service of the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, who renamed her Island Princess. CPR put her in the Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
service, where she made a significant improvement. She was the smallest vessel in the CPR Fleet. Island Princess (ex Daily) ran for CPR from 1918 to 1930. She served points on North Pender
Pender Island
Pender Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located in the Gulf of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Pender Island is approximately in area and is home to about 2,500 permanent residents, as well as a large seasonal population...
, South Pender
Pender Island
Pender Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located in the Gulf of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Pender Island is approximately in area and is home to about 2,500 permanent residents, as well as a large seasonal population...
, Mayne
Mayne Island
Mayne Island is a rustic 21-km² island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of around eleven hundred.-History:...
, Galiano, and Saltspring
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
Islands.
Sale to Gulf Islands Ferry Co.
CPR’s Gulf Island service was proving successful, so Captain Troup, the head of CPR’s steamship division, decided to replace Island Princess with the old CPR steamer Charmer in 1927. Unlike Island Princess, Charmer had been rebuilt to carry automobiles. In 1930, CPR sold Island Princess to the Gulf Islands Ferry Company which renamed her Cy Peck after British Columbia war hero and politician Cyrus Wesley PeckCyrus Wesley Peck
Cyrus Wesley Peck VC DSO and Bar was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Peck was one of seven Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on...
. Unfortunately but probably inevitably the new owners rebuilt her to carry automobiles.
Later career
Cy Peck (ex Island Princess ex Daily) must have been a well-built boat, as she was still in regular operation in British Columbia waters (on the Fulford HarbourFulford Harbour, British Columbia
Fulford Harbour is a residential community on the southeast side of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, located near the island's southern end...
-Swartz Bay
Swartz Bay, British Columbia
Swartz Bay, located on the north end of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island, is primarily known for being the location of one of BC Ferries' main terminals, the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Swartz Bay was named after a man named Swart - i.e. it was meant to be Swart's Bay.-External links:...
crossing) as late as 1956. In 1961, BC Ferries
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
purchased the Cy Peck along with other Gulf Island ferries, keeping her as a relief vessel at Fulford Harbour. She was later sold to J.H. Todd & Sons for use as a floating fishing camp. In 1975, she was reported still extent in private use on Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...
at the town of Ganges
Ganges, British Columbia
Ganges, British Columbia is an unincorporated community on Salt Spring Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada.-History:Ganges Harbour, from which Ganges takes its name, was originally called Admiralty Bay but was renamed by Captain Richards in 1859 for the , which was at the Pacific...
. A replica of the ship's wheelhouse can be found on the Ganges waterfront.
Historic image from collection of the University of Washington
- Daily on Puget Sound This is a classic image of this small steamer, probably taken for publicity purposes. The vessel in typical steamboat style, carries a pennant with her name Daily flying from the masthead. The boat, built for almost exclusively passenger service, shows a large number of windows on all decks.
Historic images from B.C. Provincial Archives
- Island Princess (ex Daily), excellent image from starboard bow Daily must have been reconstructed when acquired by CPR, as the pilot house was moved down from the boat deck to the passenger deck to approximately where the forward passenger cabin had been. The Texas (the small cabin structure on the boat deck just behind the pilot house) was completely removed, and there appears to have been a cargo boom added to the mast, indicating a change in use from passenger to mixed passenger and freight.
- Island Princess This photo shows the vessel backing away from a landing, as can be seen by the wake in front of the bow, rather than the stern, as would of course be the case if the vessel were moving forward.
- Island Princess, good profile image This photograph should be compared with the photo of the Daily in Puget Sound service, the differences in the vessel at these two times of service can be readily seen.
- Island Princess approaching a landing in Vancouver Harbor This photograph shows the passengers gathered on the forward passenger deck getting ready to disembark. A net is hanging over the side of the boat, this is a safety net that will be rigged under the gangplank to prevent people who might fall off the plank from landing in the water.
