Yacht, Sail
Class
38′
Length
1901
Year converted to sailing yacht
Converted to sailing yacht by
Henry Vollmers
In search of fame, fortune, and adventure Captain John C. Voss and Norman K. Luxton partnered in 1901 to sail a small boat around the world. They chose a dugout Nuu-chah-nulth whaling canoe from the west coast of Vancouver Island for this voyage.
After purchasing the canoe, Voss took it to Henry Vollmers on Galiano Island where Vollmers converted it into a sailing vessel. He reinforced the cedar hull and added the masts and rigging. Breaking a bottle of wine over the bow, they named the 38’ vessel Tilikum meaning “Friend” in the Chinook trading language.
Untested and untried, Voss and Luxton set out from Oak Bay, BC. Their first destination was Australia. Tilikum proved to be a successful sea voyager but for the crew the physical and mental challenges proved taxing. At Suva, Fiji, Luxton quit the voyage.
Voss continued his journey with a series of different Mates and sailed single-handed for some stretches. He carried on toward his goal of circumnavigation, paying his way by exhibiting the boat at all his ports of call. Together he and the boat became media sensations of the day with their adventures being reported in hundreds of newspapers around the world. His exhibit and his public lectures were attended by ever-increasing numbers of visitors at each stop.
The voyage carried on to New Zealand, South Africa, South America and ended in 1904 in London UK where Voss exhibited Tilikum in the Naval and Fisheries Exhibition of 1905. Afterwards Tilikum was sold into private hands but proved to be unsuccessful as a yacht. Successive owners, frustrated by her configuration, gave up on her and by the 1920s she was a derelict in the Thames Estuary.
In 1930 she was repatriated to Victoria. Later, in 1965, the Maritime Museum of BC became the new owner.
The story of the vessel, the crew members, and the saga of restoration and preservation is unique in the world. She is a testament of British Columbia prowess in nautical history.
