On my August 31, 2015 blog post I mentioned how surprised I
was to receive an email from Sheila U., the daughter of the nurse who helped
save Sergei Kourdakov’s life in Canada all those years ago. In her email she included photos, along with
her notes, of the area on Queen Charlotte Islands where Sergei was found. I was spellbound by the pictures and thought
about the day Sergei made his death defying swim to Canada—he was only twenty
years old, how desperate Sergei must have been to defect from the Soviet Union,
and how freedom was worth everything to him.
From The Persecutor (Chapter 2, Battle for Survival, pg. 20)
“I swam
strongly toward the sound. As the fog
and driving rain cleared for a moment, I peered through; there it was—a huge,
tall rock rising out of the water! A real rock! The noise I had heard was the roar of
the breakers crashing against it. It was
rock—good, solid rock! I had reached
land! I’ve made it! I’ve made it! My heart leaped for joy.” -
Sergei Kourdakov
"This is what the town-site of Tasu (British
Colombia, Canada) looked like when I lived there. It had a population of approximately
1000. To the bottom left are 2
tugs. Tugs pulling barges brought in all
of our food and supplies. The gravel
strip that meets the ocean, slightly to the right of the tugs is where the
sea-planes parked after landing. This
was the only way in or out of this remote community (no road access!). The hospital is not visible but is in the
bottom right hand corner. Sergei washed
up on a beach on the opposite site of the island (the top 1/3 of the
photograph, in the centre, where the houses meet the ocean)."
- Sheila U.
"This is what Tasu looks like now. It was abandoned in the mid-80’s due to a bad
mining economy. It was bulldozed and the
community is completely over-grown now.
This view is looking at the Island from the opposite direction (towards
the mine-site on Morseby Island). It is
the direction Sergei would have swum from and the beach he landed on is likely
the bald patch in the center, slightly to the left (in the trees)."
- Sheila U.
* * *
My
heartfelt thanks to Sheila U. for sending me these photos and for taking the time
to include notes with the pictures.
That is amazing! I remember trying to picture in my mind what it looked like when I read "The Persecutor", thanks for sharing the pictures the gal sent you of the island. That is incredible...
ReplyDeleteWow, I lived here when I was little, thankyou for posting
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome. :) Glad you enjoyed the post and photos of Tasu. What a beautiful place to have lived!
DeleteI lived in Tasu as a little girl from late 70s to 83 when it closed down my father was a millwright. I can’t believe I came across this blog. I will looking for both these books now
ReplyDeleteI ’m really glad you found this post about Sergei Kourdakov. You must have been surprised to learn that when Sergei defected from the USSR in 1971 that he was found on the beach in your hometown of Tasu Sound in British Columbia, Canada. I can’t believe your father worked at the mill in Tasu Sound at that time! Sergei’s story is quite fascinating, I love that you want to read The Persecutor and A Rose for Sergei. Thank you for leaving a comment.
DeleteBest, K. Kidd