Estevan Point

Estevan Point Lighthouse
Location in British Columbia
Location Hesquiat Peninsula
Vancouver Island
Canada
Coordinates 49°22′58.6″N 126°32′38.7″W / 49.382944°N 126.544083°W / 49.382944; -126.544083Coordinates: 49°22′58.6″N 126°32′38.7″W / 49.382944°N 126.544083°W / 49.382944; -126.544083
Year first lit 1909
Construction concrete tower
Tower shape octagonal tower with buttresses
Markings / pattern white tower, red lantern
Height 30.5 metres (100 ft)
Focal height 37.5 metres (123 ft)
Original lens First order Fresnel by Chance Brothers
Current lens modern optic
Range 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)[1]
Characteristic Fl (2) W 15s.
Admiralty number G5224
NGA number 14084
ARLHS number CAN-173
Managing agent Sooke Region Museum
Heritage classified federal heritage building of Canada, heritage lighthouse Edit this on Wikidata

Estevan Point is a lighthouse located on the headland of the same name on the Hesquiat Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.

During World War II,1942, the Estevan Point lighthouse was fired upon by the Japanese Submarine I-26, marking the first enemy attack on Canadian soil since the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1871.

Currently the Canadian Coast Guard still maintains Estevan Point, with the light still active as of 2008. The light emits a signal of a double flash every 15 seconds with the focal plane located at 37.5 metres (123 ft) above sea level.[2]

History

The Spanish explorer Juan José Pérez Hernández, originating from Mallorca, traded with the natives of the region (the Nuu-chah-nulth people) when he explored the area in 1774 and named the headland "Punta San Esteban". Four years later, James Cook's expedition arrived in the Nootka Sound and made contact with the local population.[3]

The lighthouse was established in 1909 as one in a series of buttressed lighthouses designed by engineer William P. Anderson. The lighthouse was constructed in concrete as a 30.5 metres (100 ft) tall octagonal tower supported by buttresses. Originally, a first order Fresnel lens made by Chance Brothers of England had been used but together with the lantern it was dismantled during the 1980s and was then donated to a regional museum in 2004.

Estevan Point lighthouse attack

During the Second World War, the Estevan Point lighthouse was attacked by the Japanese submarine I-26. On June 20, 1942, the I-26, under the command of Yokota Minoru, surfaced and shelled the lighthouse,[4] at the same time as the Japanese submarine I-25 made a similar attack at the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon, shelling Fort Stevens.[5]

I-26 fired 25-30 rounds of 5.5" shells at the Estevan Point lighthouse and radio-direction-finding station, but failed to hit its target and the lighthouse station remained undamaged.[6] Five RCN patrol vessels and a RCAF Supermarine Stranraer flying boat were dispatched to search for the submarine but fail to locate I-26 which fled north and then returned to Japan. One of the 5.5" shells was recovered by a naval shore patrol after the attack while additional shell fragments were found in 1973.[4] An explosive demolition team from CFB Comox destroyed one explosive fragment while an inert fragment was presented to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. Although the attack resulted in no damage or casualties, the subsequent decision to turn off the lights of outer stations caused difficulties for coastal shipping.[7]

A 1995 episode of the CBC television newsmagazine program The Fifth Estate reported contradictions in eyewitness descriptions of the attacking vessel and speculated that the attack may have been a false flag conducted by allied surface vessels with the intent of increasing domestic support for the Prime Minister Mackenzie King and his wartime policies related to conscription.[8]

Climate

Climate data for Estevan Point
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high humidex 13.3 16.1 15.0 18.3 23.6 29.6 31.0 27.3 32.4 20.4 17.7 13.9 32.4
Record high °C (°F) 17.2
(63)		 17.2
(63)		 18.0
(64.4)		 22.0
(71.6)		 26.0
(78.8)		 26.7
(80.1)		 28.9
(84)		 27.5
(81.5)		 26.5
(79.7)		 21.1
(70)		 17.8
(64)		 15.0
(59)		 28.9
(84)
Average high °C (°F) 8.2
(46.8)		 8.6
(47.5)		 9.8
(49.6)		 11.3
(52.3)		 13.7
(56.7)		 15.5
(59.9)		 17.2
(63)		 17.6
(63.7)		 16.4
(61.5)		 13.0
(55.4)		 9.9
(49.8)		 8.1
(46.6)		 12.4
(54.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6)		 5.9
(42.6)		 6.9
(44.4)		 8.2
(46.8)		 10.7
(51.3)		 12.8
(55)		 14.4
(57.9)		 14.7
(58.5)		 13.4
(56.1)		 10.3
(50.5)		 7.3
(45.1)		 5.7
(42.3)		 9.7
(49.5)
Average low °C (°F) 3.6
(38.5)		 3.2
(37.8)		 3.9
(39)		 5.1
(41.2)		 7.7
(45.9)		 10.0
(50)		 11.6
(52.9)		 11.8
(53.2)		 10.3
(50.5)		 7.5
(45.5)		 4.8
(40.6)		 3.1
(37.6)		 6.9
(44.4)
Record low °C (°F) −13.9
(7)		 −10.6
(12.9)		 −7.8
(18)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 0.0
(32)		 2.8
(37)		 4.4
(39.9)		 5.0
(41)		 −1.1
(30)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −9.5
(14.9)		 −11.7
(10.9)		 −13.9
(7)
Record low wind chill −16.0 −12.0 −12.0 −6.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 −5.0 −12.0 −18.0 −18.0
Average precipitation mm (inches) 455.5
(17.933)		 313.6
(12.346)		 303.0
(11.929)		 273.1
(10.752)		 163.0
(6.417)		 143.8
(5.661)		 73.7
(2.902)		 97.6
(3.843)		 133.5
(5.256)		 330.5
(13.012)		 468.0
(18.425)		 429.2
(16.898)		 3,184.4
(125.37)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 453.5
(17.854)		 310.1
(12.209)		 301.6
(11.874)		 273.0
(10.748)		 163.0
(6.417)		 143.8
(5.661)		 73.7
(2.902)		 97.6
(3.843)		 133.5
(5.256)		 330.5
(13.012)		 466.7
(18.374)		 427.5
(16.831)		 3,174.4
(124.976)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 2.0
(0.79)		 3.5
(1.38)		 1.4
(0.55)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 1.4
(0.55)		 1.7
(0.67)		 10.1
(3.98)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 23.7 19.2 22.1 19.5 16.4 14.7 10.4 11.1 12.5 19.6 24.0 23.3 216.4
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 23.4 19.0 22.0 19.5 16.4 14.7 10.4 11.1 12.5 19.6 23.9 23.0 215.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 0.85 1.1 0.62 0.04 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.04 0.31 0.76 3.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 61.9 83.1 115.7 158.3 206.2 205.6 232.9 200.5 170.5 114.8 62.1 57.6 1,669.2
Source: 1981-2010 Environment Canada[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. p. 2017.
  2. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of British Columbia". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Early Exploration". Nootka Sound Service. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  4. 1 2 SENSUIKAN! — HIJMS Submarine I-26: Tabular Record of Movement, combinedfleet.com, retrieved 2007-12-09
  5. ↑ SENSUIKAN! — HIJMS Submarine I-25: Tabular Record of Movement, combinedfleet.com, retrieved 2007-12-09
  6. ↑ Conn, Stetson; Engelman, Rose C.; Fairchild, Byron (2000) [1964], "The Continental Defense Commands After Pearl Harbor", Guarding the United States and its Outposts, Center of Military History, United States Army, CMH Pub 4-2, retrieved 2007-12-09
  7. ↑ Japanese Submarines on the West Coast of Canada, pinetreeline.org, archived from the original on 2008-07-08, retrieved 2007-12-09
  8. ↑ the fifth estate (2017-08-18), Estevan Point Bombing : A Shot in the Dark (1995) - The Fifth Estate, retrieved 2017-08-18
  9. ↑ "Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010". Environment Canada. Retrieved October 28, 2017.


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