Century old Providence gets a new mast

By Scott Stanfield - North Island MidWeek

Before finding a home in Comox Harbour, the good ship Providence had been around the block and then some in her 100-plus years of existence.

Her story begins in 1903 when launched as the fishing vessel Valkirien, guided by two masts and powered by a two-stroke, single-cylinder 35-horsepower diesel engine.

She was chartered in 1939 by the Royal Danish Navy for patrol duties in domestic waters before being taken over by the Germans in 1943.

The following year, the vessel was sold to the Danish government, represented by the Ministry of Defence in Copenhagen.

In the 1950s, Valkirien was re-named Y 340 when used exclusively for defence purposes and later MHV 55 when she was transferred to the Danish Maritime Home Guard.

The vessel was sold by way of public auction in 1976 to Per Montage, a Danish civilian who in 1978 sold Providence to Courtenay resident Peter-Thor Watson.

She arrived in Victoria in 1979 after an 11-month voyage from Denmark. Providence has since worked as a scuba diving charter boat, a commercial fish packer and as a passenger vessel during EXPO ‘86.

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