The Skeena
Spence doesn’t have a typical job: he’s a self-described “modern day lighthouse keeper”.
And even within the lighthouse keeper community, his posting is a little odd.
That’s because Spence works at Boat Bluff Lighthouse, a Canadian Coast Guard station at Seal Cove near Prince Rupert.
“The interesting thing about Boat Bluff is it actually isn’t a lighthouse, we don’t have a big traditional tower like you would expect in a lighthouse or anything like that,” he says in a new video on his YouTube account BC Lighthouse Keeper explaining his job.
Boat Bluff is on the Inside Passage, a route used by boats that stretches from the northern tip of Vancouver Island all the way up past Rupert.
Because it isn’t exposed to the open Pacific Ocean, “It’s actually quite calm, we don’t get a lot of the high winds, we don’t get big waves. Ships come through, they can travel safely,” Spence explains.
Boat Bluff is a heritage location, so that means “a lot of the things we do are maybe building repair, or cutting the grass…sometimes we have to paint the deck or do general maintenance duties to ensure the station is in good order,” he says.
Watch the video to learn more about Spence’s unique and interesting job.
