By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)
It seems like only yesterday log salvagers Relic (Robert Clothier) and Nick Adonidas (Bruno Gerussi) were at odds with each other every Sunday night on the Canadian television series The Beachcombers. Relic would try to steal floating logs (and business) from Adonidas while using his speedboat “Hi Baller” to run circles around Adonidas’ slower moving tug “The Persephone”. But those Sunday nights are gone and while both actors are now deceased the memories of the characters they played are kept alive by fans, fans like the owners of HiBaller Transportation.
In a ceremony that took place last Thursday, the HiBaller IV, a 68-foot (21-metre) barge was moved from the shipyard of H.L. Enterprises on Payne Road to the waterfront of Gibsons, British Columbia. It was here that Lynn Smith of HiBaller kept tradition by breaking a bottle of champagne against the ship before it was launched at 7:30 a.m. to catch the high tide.
HiBaller co-owner John Smith believes that the vessel is the largest ever launched in Gibsons. At 68 feet long (90 ft. or 20 metres with the ramp extended) and 26 feet (eight metres) across the beam, and with a displacement of 1,000 tons the company will be using the barge for various jobs throughout southern Georgia Strait.
Source(s): Friends of The Beachcombers Facebook group, Brett Wilkie, Coast Reporter, and Sean Eckford.
Video Source(s): Retro Newfoundland YouTube channel.
