On 1 May, 1955 the Chinook entered the Esquimalt Graving Dock for what PSN was saying was an annual refit. However, the work included many structural modifications including the removal of state rooms on the Cabin Deck and most telling, the removal of the Chinook's bow to allow bow loading. Rumors began to spread that the ferry would not be returning to the Port Angeles-Victoria run. On May 24th, 1955, the company removed all doubt when it announced the transfer of the vessel to Canadian registry and the vessel would be moved to the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo run opposite the Kahloke.
The outcry was swift and loud. Both Victoria and Port Angeles predicted economic ruin without the link between the two cities. With Captain Peabody having already transferred the vessel to Canadian registry, there was no going back. Port Angeles and Victoria appealed to Washington State Ferries to provide service on the run until a private company could take over. WSF came to the rescue and sent the Kalakala to work the route during the summer months between 1955 and 1959. They were able to abandon the run when the Coho took over the route in the fall of 1959.
The City of Nanaimo, understandably, was absolutely delighted by the move however. The new service proved to be very popular, and Captain Peabody, knowing where the greater profits were to be had, never looked back from his decision to move the Chinook.
Only one thing seems to have gone against Peabody's wishes: the name of the vessel. There was already a Chinook on the Canadian registry. Black Ball contacted the owner of the vessel and tried to appeal to him to change the name, but he would not be moved. Begrudgingly, the Roman numeral II was added to the end of the Chinook's name, but the company never referred to the boat by that name on schedules or promotional materials. It is always printed simply as "Chinook."
For the next five years the ferry sailed alongside the Kahloke, but the end of the decade was marred by labor strife. When the Canadian government approached Captain Peabody with a buy out proposal, Peabody was agreeable to the sale. Having single-handedly brought modern ferry operations to Canada, Peabody was ready to retire. Black Ball Line became a memory in 1961 when Peabody handed over the entire operation, vessels, terminals, to the newly formed British Columbia Ferries Corporation.
CHINOOK PAGE 3
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