Happy Tuesday all! Sorry for the delay in posting. Continuing on with our theme from last week, I decided to go with another lesser known ocean liner from my favourite era. Back in the day, Canadian Pacific not only had a railway, but had ocean liners that left from both coasts. At one point, Canada had transportation that covered over half of the world, being able to get from Liverpool to Singapore without changing the shipping line. One of their ships was the elegant Empress of Scotland, coming into the fleet in 1921. Leading up to that however, she had a long career.
Read MoreI've decided to take a bit of a departure this week from smaller vessels. Since my first love is ocean liners, I decided to look to my larger ships, and tell the story this week of the RMS Queen Elizabeth.
Read MoreUsually, when people hear the name White Star Line, their minds go to the RMS Titanic and then maybe to her sister ships, Olympic and Brittanic. Before this steel giants sailed the seas, however, they had a number of predecessors. One of the most important of those is the SS Atlantic.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreThis week I decided to feature a wreck from my home province; one that anyone who has visited the Niagara region is probably familiar with.
Anyone who has visited Niagara Falls (either the Canadian or American side, though your vantage point for this would be better from Canada) has probably seen the large, rusting wreck in the middle of the rapids leading the way towards the Horseshoe Falls. I remember being a kid and having my grandfather point it out to me, saying it was a barge that had broken free of its moorings and got stuck in the middle of the rapids. But what's the real story? Not to say my granddad was lying, but there's a way you explain things to an eight year old and a way you explain things to an adult. So, for this week's "Over the Waves", I decided to research the history behind this hulking wreck, referred to in publications as "The Niagara Scow" or "The Old Scow".
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 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 MoreHappy Tuesday everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting. I was in Montreal this past weekend and upon returning to my hotel last night the best you folks would have gotten was "hfsuifgdskbfsdj zzzzzzzzz". And so, I opted to postpone my Monday entry so I was in a better headspace to tell you all about the HMCS West York.
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.
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