For the past 50 years, the RV John Strickland has been a key part of the University of Victoria’s (UVic) biology and earth and ocean sciences departments. As the boat approaches its 50th birthday on Nov. 4, we’re taking a look back at some of the boat’s key contributions and memorable milestones.
Building the Strickland
The Strickland isn’t just a boat we bought—it’s a boat that we built. Faculty members in the Department of Biology, led by Jack Littlepage, dreamed of a vessel designed for the complex coastal waters of British Columbia that could be used for a wide variety of marine science studies, as well as for the teaching program. For years, they advocated for such a vessel, and on Oct. 15, 1973, the project was greenlit by the UVic Board of Governors.
The boat was designed by naval architect David Moore, with input from Littlepage, to meet the research and teaching needs of the department. Shore Boat Builders in Vancouver, BC won the contract to build the hull and topsides and install many of the main pieces of equipment. A second contract was signed with Philbrook’s Shipyard in Sidney, BC, for the final electrical work and other tasks required to complete the vessel. In November 1975, the Strickland was officially delivered to UVic—almost six months late and $100,000 over budget.
… it was Jack [Littlepage]’s conviction and persistence that were predominant in leading UVic to its present facility. He basically designed the ship, and over many years persisted in arguing the need…. The ‘John Strickland’ is attributable largely to Jack Littlepage, and…I want to make clear the debt that the ship users owe him.”
– Derek Ellis, biology professor, in a letter to A. Fischer (dean) and M. Ashwood-Smith (chair) on Aug. 17, 1976
A storied captaincy
Over the past 50 years, the Strickland has had surprisingly few captains at the helm. Don Horn, the first captain, is thought to be the only permanent, full-time captain in the Strickland’s history. In 1999, demand for vessel time was insufficient to warrant a full-time captain on staff and the captaincy, along with crew scheduling and management of maintenance, was contracted to a local company. This era of the Strickland saw Ken Brown take over as captain, a position he held for the next several decades until his retirement at the end of 2024. Today, Casey Brant is at the helm of the Strickland. In addition to her captain duties, Brant is an associate teaching professor in the School of Earth & Ocean Sciences. She is the first woman and first Indigenous person to captain the Strickland.
A cornerstone of experiential learning
Hands-on learning is a foundational part of a UVic education, and from the beginning, the Strickland has offered a unique opportunity for marine biology and ocean science students. The Strickland has been used for field trips to observe marine mammals and birds, to explore algae and other aquatic plants, and for marine ecology, comparative physiology and oceanography courses. In 1976, the vessel’s first full year of operation, the Strickland travelled to Bamfield for a course in Marine Pollution and Its Assessment, offered by Derek Ellis.
[The Strickland] provided a spacious and professionally equipped sampling platform suitable for demonstrating to my class of 9 students a variety of working techniques. The class proceeded to design and implement an environmental impact program using the vessel, and this was conducted expeditiously using the navigation and sampling facilities on board.”
– Derek Ellis, biology professor, in a 1976 memo
Today, the vessel is regularly used in oceanography courses, where students participate in full or part-day research cruises. Students gain hands-on experience using CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) equipment and Niskin bottles to collect samples, preparing and preserving the samples for analysis, and managing data collection. The data is often used for lab analyses and assignments throughout the term.
Spending the day on UVic’s research vessel was an incredible experience that allowed me to apply classroom knowledge in a practical setting and gain hands-on experience in oceanographic fieldwork. Applying what I’d learned in class to real-world sampling and spotting trends in my data as I processed it onboard was incredibly gratifying.”
– Antonia Kropp, third-year chemistry and ocean sciences student
Research in Saanich Inlet
While the Strickland has visited areas all around Vancouver Island and up the coast of BC, the vessel has spent a lot of time in Saanich Inlet. The Inlet is a remarkably unique marine environment located northwest of Victoria where, for most of the year, the deep waters lack oxygen due to a shallow sill at its mouth that restricts water circulation.
UVic researchers commonly conduct studies in the Inlet, and many honours and graduate students have gone out on the Strickland to collect samples for their projects. Biological oceanographer Diana Varela studies phytoplankton productivity in the Inlet, examining differences across time and location and the impacts of the 2019 marine heatwave. Phytoplankton are a key ocean organism and monitoring their productivity is key for understanding climate-driven changes in coastal marine systems. Roberta Hamme and Jody Klymak have studied deep-water renewal dynamics in the Inlet, examining changes in oxygen and nitrogen levels after water from outside the inlet flows in to replace the older, oxygen-depleted water. Klymak, alongside John Dower, has also used the Strickland to measure turbulence and internal waves in the Inlet.
External organizations
Even before the Strickland took to the sea, it was expected that the vessel would be used not just for research and teaching, but also to generate income. There were concerns about construction and operating costs of the vessel, but charters were considered a possible revenue source. Governmental organizations, such as the Institute for Ocean Sciences and the Geological Survey of Canada, have chartered the Strickland, as have many industry players, whether for environmental monitoring programs or their own research. In 1980, with the assistance of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grant, Strickland operations were expanded to also service other west coast universities, including the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Royal Roads and Camosun. This partnership lasted until 1987, when the Strickland lost NSERC funding. Currently, the Capital Region District (CRD) regularly uses the Strickland for water quality monitoring and for taking sediment samples.
The ‘man in cold water’ study
UVic biologist John Hayward was a pioneer in the field of cold-water immersion physiology and survival. His research explored long-term and acute responses to cold water immersion, factors affecting the body’s cooling rate in cold water, and how to treat hypothermic individuals. While some studies were conducted using an on-campus cold water tank, in others, participants boarded the RV John Strickland and headed out to be immersed in the cold ocean water. Hayward’s research validated the Heat Escape Lessening Position (HELP) as the ideal way to protect from heat loss in cold water. Research findings also contributed to the State of Alaska’s guidelines for the treatment of hypothermia and resulted in a patent for the Thermofloat jacket—a coat, produced by Mustang Survival, that helps delay the onset of hypothermia when immersed in cold water.
Changing hands
The Strickland has had several different homes when it comes to its management. Initially, the biology department managed the Strickland, assigning ship time, securing funding and ensuring maintenance took place. In 1990, the management of the vessel was reassigned to the Centre for Earth & Ocean Research (CEOR), although the day-to-day bookings resided in the biology department.
In September 1997, usage of the vessel at UVic was determined to be low and a budget deficit had been accrued. In response to these issues, the Strickland was loaned to the Bamfield Marine Station for two years. In August 1999, the Strickland returned to UVic and management was assigned to the dean’s office, where it still lies today.
A life-saving rescue
While the Strickland was built for research and teaching, it also has some experience with rescue missions. In August 1982, the Strickland rescued three brothers off a barren reef in Barkley Sound. The brothers had left on a canoe trip early that day, and while it had initially been a beautiful, sunny day, the weather soon turned and their canoe was flooded by a wave, with no hope of refloating. After spending an hour and forty minutes in the ocean, where a dense fog had descended, the trio was able to make out a barren reef 200m away and swam to land. They huddled together, wet and shivering, under the canoe, until they sighted the Strickland—the first vessel they’d seen all day—around dusk. The crew rescued the brothers, providing hot showers, dry clothing, a hot meal of soup and sandwiches and a ride to Bamfield.
This is a letter of gratitude to the crew of the University of Victoria research vessel ‘John Strickland’. Our deepest thanks goes out to Don Horn, Alex Hartley, Penny Gee and Steve Cross whose actions and efforts saved the lives of my brothers and I. … We feel they went above the much appreciated rescue in their understanding of our situation and the sharing of food and clothing.”
– from an Aug. 31, 1982 letter to Roger Davidson, dean of arts and science
Sea otters, sponges and plankton
If a boat could be a published author, the Strickland’s publication record would rival that of the most respected academics. Over the years, the Strickland has been involved in the study of sea-otter transplants to the Nootka Sound area, bioluminescence in Euphausia pacifica, the anaerobic capabilities of several species of zooplankton, the effects of air-gun signals on glass sponge reefs in the Strait of Georgia and benthic sampling to monitor communities over time. The Strickland has also been used to examine the ecology of the boot sponge, Rhabdocalyptus dawsoni, conduct a Rockfish survey in Tlupana Inlet, analyze surface sediments around Vancouver Island for absorbed petroleum hydrocarbons, assess cultivation methods for the commercially valuable red alga Irideaea cordata, investigate the migration and feeding strategy of hydromedusae, a type of jellyfish, and to expand collections of organisms, such as R. Brinkhurst’s collection of marine oligochaetes, a type of worm.
Another 50 years
The Strickland has impacted thousands of students and for many, the research cruises are a highlight of their student experience. For researchers, the vessel has served as critical infrastructure, allowing biological and oceanographic research to take place and resulting in hundreds of publications that have increased our understanding of the ocean and the organisms that live within.
Here’s to another 50 years.
