More than 30 years after The Beachcombers went off the air, a homecoming of sorts is underway for the iconic Canadian TV series. The show, which followed the adventures of a group of marine log salvagers was filmed in Gibsons on B.C.
’s Sunshine Coast for nearly two decades and naturally featured plenty of boats. One of those boats, the Persephone — operated by protagonist Nick Adonidas (Bruno Gerussi) — has long been a feature of downtown Gibsons. Now the ‘HiBaller II,’ a jetboat operated by Adonidas’ beachcombing rival and fan favourite character Relic (Robert Clothier) is coming back as well.
When the series ended in 1990, the boat passed through several hands before it simply disappeared. Sunshine Coast resident and self-described Beachcombers “superfan” Deano Fatovic spent more than a decade searching the coast for the vessel. “I’d go to all the commercial docks because that’s where the working boats would always be, and I just asked the guys, the old timers that were there, and they’d been there for years with their old fish boats and work boats and stuff like that,” Fatovic told Global News.
“It’s Canadian history, right? And, you know, that’s what I thought all the time ...
this is too iconic for the West Coast. It has to be brought back and restored.” Fatovic ultimately located what he believed to be the HiBaller II on Vancouver Island, and taking a chance, he bought it.
He then got in touch with the builder’s son, who confirmed it .