Ladner says 'bon voyage' to historic landmark

A piece of Ladner's history disappeared last Friday when the Mitchell Bay was towed from the dock behind Speed's Pub to the scrap yard.

The boat's owner, Speros "Speed" Falcos, said there were few dry eyes on the waterfront when he watched the final voyage with his friends.

"My buddy had tears in his eyes and I haven't slept too good the last week," Falcos said.

"It's a beautiful boat, eh?"

Falcos said the boat's condition had deteriorated over the years and he felt it was beyond repair. 

The Mitchell Bay was built in the 1930s and shipped fish from Ladner's canneries to locations all along the B.C. coast.

When the federal government rounded up a group of local fishermen to patrol the shoreline prior to the Second World War, the Mitchell Bay became part of what was called the Gumboot Navy.

"There was more money in that than there was in fishing," Falcos said.

Ladner landmark

Roy Botkin's father worked on the Mitchell Bay in its early days and Botkin later owned the boat himself.

"I've got millions of memories on that boat," Botkin said.

"Half of Ladner worked on the damn thing at one time or another."

He sold the Mitchell Bay to Falcos in the mid-'90s and it remained docked at Falcos' pub for more than 20 years.

It was photographed and painted thousands of times, appeared in magazines and phone books and is featured on a mural in downtown Ladner.

The boat also serves as the logo for Speed's Pub.

"My customers are already complaining because they miss it," Falcos said.

He plans to build a display in his pub that tells the history of the Mitchell Bay.

Video watched thousands of times

As Botkin and Falcos watched the Mitchell Bay get towed away, a group of onlookers gathered around them to watch the boat's last ride.

Brent Fahl, who works at the restaurant next door to Speed's Pub, recorded a video on his cell phone and posted it to Facebook.

"It was a landmark on the waterfront," he said.

In less than a week, Fahl's video had been viewed nearly 20,000 times.

To put that number in perspective, Ladner's population is about 22,000.