Estevan Point

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.

Estevan Point Lighthouse
Location in British Columbia
LocationHesquiat Peninsula
Vancouver Island
Canada
Coordinates49°22′58.6″N 126°32′38.7″W
Year first lit1909
Constructionconcrete tower
Tower shapeoctagonal tower with buttresses
Markings / patternwhite tower, red lantern
Tower height30.5 metres (100 ft)
Focal height37.5 metres (123 ft)
Original lensFirst order Fresnel by Chance Brothers
Current lensmodern optic
Range17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)[1]
CharacteristicFl (2) W 15s.
Admiralty numberG5224
NGA number14084
ARLHS numberCAN-173
Managing agentSooke Region Museum
Heritageclassified federal heritage building of Canada, heritage lighthouse 

During World War II, in 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
Main article: American Theater (World War II)

During the Second World War, the Estevan Point lighthouse was attacked by the Japanese submarine I-26. On June 20, 1942, 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-inch (140 mm) 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 Royal Canadian Navy patrol vessels and a RCAF Supermarine Stranraer flying boat were dispatched to search for the submarine but failed to locate I-26 which fled north and then returned to Japan. One of the 5.5-inch 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
(63.0)		 17.2
(63.0)		 18.0
(64.4)		 22.0
(71.6)		 26.0
(78.8)		 26.7
(80.1)		 28.9
(84.0)		 27.5
(81.5)		 26.5
(79.7)		 21.1
(70.0)		 17.8
(64.0)		 15.0
(59.0)		 28.9
(84.0)
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
(63.0)		 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
(55.0)		 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
(39.0)		 5.1
(41.2)		 7.7
(45.9)		 10.0
(50.0)		 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
(7.0)		 −10.6
(12.9)		 −7.8
(18.0)		 −3.3
(26.1)		 0.0
(32.0)		 2.8
(37.0)		 4.4
(39.9)		 5.0
(41.0)		 −1.1
(30.0)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −9.5
(14.9)		 −11.7
(10.9)		 −13.9
(7.0)
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
(17.93)		 313.6
(12.35)		 303.0
(11.93)		 273.1
(10.75)		 163.0
(6.42)		 143.8
(5.66)		 73.7
(2.90)		 97.6
(3.84)		 133.5
(5.26)		 330.5
(13.01)		 468.0
(18.43)		 429.2
(16.90)		 3,184.4
(125.37)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 453.5
(17.85)		 310.1
(12.21)		 301.6
(11.87)		 273.0
(10.75)		 163.0
(6.42)		 143.8
(5.66)		 73.7
(2.90)		 97.6
(3.84)		 133.5
(5.26)		 330.5
(13.01)		 466.7
(18.37)		 427.5
(16.83)		 3,174.4
(124.98)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 2.0
(0.8)		 3.5
(1.4)		 1.4
(0.6)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 1.4
(0.6)		 1.7
(0.7)		 10.1
(4.0)
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]
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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. Archived from the original on July 27, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  4. 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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