Book review: Scholars examine remarkable piece of Canadian history
Credit to Author: Tracey Tufnail| Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2019 19:00:24 +0000
The Untold Story of Captain John Voss and the Tilikum
By John M. MacFarlane, Lynn J. Salmon (Harbour Publishing, 2019)
$29.95 | 272pp
When John Voss and Norman Luxton set sail from Victoria in 1901, they were out to make history and money.
Headed for the South Pacific in a modified Nuu-chah-nulth whaling canoe, these two quintessentially late-Victorian hustlers, adventurers, and explorers planned on circling the globe, setting records for small craft circumnavigation and making some money.
Forty thousand miles at sea and three and a half years later, their craft, the Tilikum made it as far as London. At that point, Voss, although he had not completed the final legs of travel that would have brought him and his craft back to Victoria, could credibly claim to have nearly circled the globe in the smallest craft ever used for such a voyage.
Luxton jumped ship when the Tilikum reached the South Pacific, and Voss sailed on, often accompanied by other companions, including one who disappeared from the deck of modified canoe on the high seas. Luxton, who had fallen out with Voss during his own time on board, suggested the sea captain had murdered the young man who replaced him.
Luxton, a journalist of sorts, believed he had been promised exclusive rights to the Tilikum story in return for his participation. He resented the fact Voss published a book about the voyage first. Any working journalist will sympathize with the leap Luxton made — surely anyone who would steal your exclusive story was capable of lesser crimes like murder!
John M. MacFarlane.
The case of the lost crew member was only one of many mysteries surrounding the voyage of the Tilikum.
Voss’s book, The Venturesome Voyages of Captain Voss: Around the World in the Tilikum, 1901, differs in many details from the account Luxton prepared for his family.
John M. MacFarlane and Lynne J. Salmon, both scholars associated with the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, do admirable work identifying where the two accounts differ and determining, where possible, what other independent evidence has to say about the disputed facts.
It is not always possible to come to final conclusions, and where that is the case, the authors are frank about the outstanding uncertainties.
Lynn J. Salmon.
The authors have illuminated a remarkable and little known piece of Canadian history with this intriguing book. It will appeal to maritime history buffs and to general readers. With its storms at sea, its adventures and fierce interpersonal conflicts, it would make a compelling movie.
• Tom Sandborn lives and writes in Vancouver. He welcomes your feedback and story tips at tos65@telus.net
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com