The Nicholson Clan was one of the first families to spend their summers in tents on the beach at Buccaneer Bay around the tum of the century. Dr. Francis Nicholson and his wife, Hulda, had four children: Louis, Eleanor, Howard and Caroline. About 1912, they built a more permanent structure on the bluff. This grand old cabin which now belongs to Don and Pauline Wright was the site of many happy and fun filled holiday times.

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Family water transportation to and from Vancouver was provided by the launch "Kaukalani".

 

As the children grew and started their own families, the Nicholsons gradually expanded their South Thormanby holdings. Eleanor and her husband, Ross Thompson, built their cabin (now owned by the McTaggart clan) next door. Howard and his wife Elaine, moved to Water Bay and replaced the existing shack with a brand new cabin. Caroline, the youngest sibling, along with her husband, Don Wright, eventually inherited the original house. Louise married and moved to the United States returning to visit only from time to  time.

 

In those early days, food supplies, ordered from Vancouver, were delivered to the end of the float each week by the Union Steamship, the coastal freighter which stopped at the numerous little hamlets as it chugged its way up the coast. These deliveries were augmented by milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables provided by the farm at the south end. Some dry goods were also available from the store on the beach.

 

The resident farmer, Mac McCullough, was also a willing and able handyman. It was he who constructed Howard and Elaine's cabin in Water Bay in 1938. The cabin was cozy, quiet and very secluded. The access was either by water or by the very narrow foot path which lead over the beach on the way to Clovelly, the old Burnett place.

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The view of Malaspina Stytits through the First Gap was clear and expansive in those days. The Nicholsons well was completed near the water hole and a holding tank was located in the middle of what is now the jeep lot. It was a daily chore for the boys to pump 100 strokes in order to fill the tank. Later, with the advent of logging, the Sherwoods, Nicholsons and Nygards all shared that well.

 

Howard was a renowned fisherman. Islanders would often catch the faint sound of his grand old East Hope putt putting out at 5am or at dusk. He usually gave away most of his catch upon his return. He and Elaine had three boys; Peter, John and Robbie. Elaine and  the children spent two months up at Buccaneer Bay each summer. Howard spent the summer driving between the cottage and his work in Calgary. He was often among those  who arrived on weekends via the infamous rollicking Daddy Boat.

 

Summer days were filled with swimming, fishing, picnics at Epsom Point or the South End and hikes to Pebbly Beach. Elaine's father, grandpa Colledge, painstakingly hauled over boat loads of sand from the gap to create safe and easy accessible mini beach in Water Bay for his grandchildren. Sometimes the Burnetts, who lived in what is now the Holmes' place, would host afternoon teas which were complete with donkey rides for the children.

 

As the years went by, the farm was abandoned and Mac moved on, but trails were maintained by Walter Starrett, another handyman hired by Calvert Simson.

 

Logging started on the island in the mid I950's (probably to offset rising taxes). Tag Nygard moved to South Thormanby with his family and opened up a network of roads with his huge logging machinery. One of the first roads established was from the beach to the logging chute in Water Bay. The quite seclusion was over when it became necessary to choose a new float site, Water Bay was an obvious choice because of its protected harbor and newly created road access.

 

In the late I950's Joe Dunn sold his sailboat, which had beautiful red sails and became caretaker of Thormanby Island. He was a spry and practical fellow and a jack of all trades. It was Joe who built our new deck in the late I960's. To Howard and Elaine's consternation, they discovered, after the fact, that he had assembled it from wrought cedar lumber that he'd found under various cottages on the beach. He mistakenly used Howard's finished lumber for another project. However, due to Joe's liberal application of wood, the deck still stands sturdy and it is well used to this day. The anonymous donors were none the wiser.

 

Joe's ingenuity demonstrated itself in other ways. He always seemed to know when a favorite and easily chewed meal was being prepared, and he would appear at the door in his cap with a hand full of chewing tobacco. While sipping his tea, he would entertain the children with stories of exciting but improbable adventures. One of his favorite stories was the one where he described his daily swim to Texada, which he managed while also carrying his lunch on his head. His dog, Buck, would howl for days when Joe left in his  boat, the Omar Kayam, to visit his sister on Nelson Island or for his annual trek to the big city.

 

In the early I980's some welcome renovations

to this Nicholson cabin were completed by

John Ellis. Although Howard Nicholson

unfortunately died in 1976, Elaine, who lives in

Vancouver, continues to come to Buccaneer

every summer for as long as she feels she is

able to stay. Of the three Nicholson children,

it is Rob, the youngest, who has become the

most regular inhabitant. He and his wife

Kathryn settled in North Vancouver and have

three children; Maureen, Alan and Scott, all of

whom come to Buccaneer often in the

summer. John Nicholson and his wife Carol

live in Oakville, Ontario. Two of their children,

David and Lynn are currently living in Vancouver

and now make regular visits to Buccaneer. Peter

and Val Nicholson who lived in Calgary, have

both sadly passed away in the last five years,

but their son, Kirby and his new wife, Dawn,

usually appear at the cabin for an extended

weekend sometime during the summer.

 

For the Nicholson clan, the Bay has become a family gathering place, an oasis of respite from the often frantic pace of city living. Our family is blessed with this access to such a magical retreat - so lucky to sit on the deck as eagles soar above and watch seals and otters splash and play. We love to bask in the sun and marvel at the brilliant sunsets and to linger around the bonfire or swim in the phosphorescent ocean under an achingly beautiful canopy of stars. We pick buckets of juicy blackberries for our year's supply of jam and walk through the meadows and woods feeling free and safe. We are part of the past and present of this warm and solid community. What a rare and magical legacy to leave to our children.