The M/V Christmas Seal was a medical ship that provided medical services and screenings for isolated outport communities in Newfoundland from 1947 to 1970. She was originally an American Naval Crash Rescue Boat, used to rescue air crews and pilots from crashed airplanes.
Read MoreDeanna Dean
She was actually here last week, but i didn't have a chance to wrote about her. This fishing boat is actually from the Bay Verte area, and doesn't make trips into St. John's very often.
Her fishing trips usually have her at sea for four or five days, returning to port to offload their catch of turbot, shrimp or crab, and then heading out again until the season ends. She's 14 years old, but has been so well cared for that you wouldn't know it to look at her.
Read MorePortugal has a very rich fishing history, especially off the shores of Newfoundland. For hundreds of years, Portuguese schooners brought their fishermen to the grounds of the Grand Banks, lowering their small dories into the water. These men would fish all day using hand lines (or later, small trawl nets), returning to their ships at night to offload, salt, prepare, and store their catch. While it seems like it would be a simple life, it was dangerous. You could get trapped between your dory and the hull of your vessel, lost in the fog, or if a storm came up, you could be swept away. Some men just disappeared.
Read MoreWe are finally getting into cruise ship season! That time of year when downtown is filled with tourists from all over the world, and ships tower over the city's skyline. This week saw a couple of these vessels arrive in our harbour, starting with...
Read MoreNOTE 2018: I posted an updated copy of my Florizel article here for the centenary commemoration of the wreck.
In 1909, the Red Cross line, owned by Bowring Brothers commissioned the construction of their flagship vessel, the SS Florizel. She was built to replace the SS Silva, and would act as passenger vessel, troopship, and sealing ship. The Florizel lead a proud career until the fateful night when she sank off the coast of Cappahayden. She has a bunch of stories to tell, but right now, let's look at her stats.
Read MoreThis week saw an assortment of ships come along. I've picked three that I thought were particularly cool to feature this week. Additionally, the featured picture is of a tug moving a platform across the harbour, which happened early this week. I know the tug was strapped to the side of the platform for ages before it went to work this month, but that's about all I know. If you have any more information about it, please let me know!
Now, for our first ship, we have...
Vizconde de Eza
Read MoreAt the turn of the century, Newfoundland did not have a standing military force. They had many cadet groups, such as the Church Lads Brigade (CLB) and the Catholic Cadet Corps (CCC), but none of these were sanctioned protection groups. In 1902 the decision was made to change this, and the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve was born. Now, all they needed was a vessel to train their new sailors. Thats where the HMS Calypso came in.
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After covering an Eastern Newfoundland wreck last week, I decided to go right across to the West Coast for this week. The SS Ethie was a ship of the Alphabet Fleet, a series of vessels that were commissioned by the Reid Newfoundland Company. The vessels were named after Scottish places that ended in 'E', and each was christened with the next consecutive name in the alphabet.
Read MoreIt was a beautiful week of hot Canadian summer weather! St. John's doesn't usually get weather like this, so it's definitely been welcome! And in port to enjoy this fine weather were the following Canadian ships and their crews...
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