Rod Anderson’s family got an unexpected message from him Wednesday, more than 10 years after the boat broker died.“I just almost fainted,” said Sandy Webb, one of Anderson’s four sisters, of seeing a news story and photo in the Times Colonist about a carving that once belonged to her brother.
“Today, Rod has come back to say ‘Hey, don’t forget me!’” she said.
The large carving depicts a man in a sou’wester hat, pea coat and gum boots. Sidney paramedic Mike McGregor found the wooden statue bobbing in the water off Pender Island in 2011. Spurred by the words “in memory of Rod Anderson” carved on the base, McGregor wanted to find Anderson’s family and return the statue to them.
Online searches failed to turn up a connection, so the carving became a conversation piece in the McGregors’ backyard. Recently, Mike’s wife, Lori, realized she’d seen the carving somewhere. On the family’s computer, she found photos of it on a small island off Sidney. That sparked a fresh search, and when it failed, the McGregors turned to the newspaper for help.
Anderson’s family is thrilled McGregor was so persistent in tracking them down.
Webb said her brother was amazing and deeply loved by his four sisters.
“We could never get enough of him. We always pined for his love and affection. When he died, it just left such a hole,” said Webb, her voice quavering.
Anderson, then 51, collapsed and died on July 18, 2002, while skippering a 68-foot boat to Alaska for American clients. The sudden loss devastated his family and friends who knew him through his passions of diving, boating, flying and running.
Dave Brownell, who co-owned Advance Yacht Sales with Anderson, recalled “a great guy … a fitness instructor, dive instructor and probably one of the best boat brokers on the West Coast that I’ve ever met.”
Ray Weisgerber wrote in an email that he knew Anderson as owner of Advance Yacht Sales: “He loved to fly and his Jack Russell dog was always with him.”
Al and Linda Bennett, good friends of Anderson, said in an email that the news story solved a mystery for them: “We wondered why we couldn’t see the statue anymore from the ferry.”
Dustin Creviston recognized the carving from its place on Arbutus Island.
“I saw it when I was kayaking,” said Creviston in an email.
After Anderson’s death, his brother-in-law Dave Pink and a friend retrieved a wooden statue from Anderson’s backyard. They carved a memorial to Anderson on the base and cemented it in place on tiny Arbutus Island, a favourite diving spot.
Pink, who works on B.C. Ferries, saw the carved figure with each passing of the ferry he was on.
For many other boaters, kayakers and divers, the carving was a landmark. Then, one day, it was gone. Anderson’s family often wondered what became of it. Then they saw the story and photo in Wednesday’s paper.
Linda Pink, another sister, said she is “just amazed” by the story. “It gave us goosebumps this morning when we opened the paper.”
McGregor said Wednesday he’s elated to hear from the Anderson family that they want the memorial carving back. “It makes me happy. I’ve been sitting there looking at [the carving] for the last couple years, thinking ‘Argh, I wish I could find out who [Rod Anderson] was.’”
When McGregor found the carving, it was damaged, missing its right hand which held a telescope and a chunk from the hat. The carving will get fixed up and go into Webb’s backyard.
It will be lovely to have it, but Webb said she doesn’t need a visible reminder of her brother: “He’s in my mind everyday.”
