Happy 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 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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The SS Charcot was a whaling vessel owned by the Hawke Whaling Co. She and her four sister ships, the SS Southern Foam, the SS Sposa, the SS Stoika, and the SS Sukha, sank in this area in the 1960s. The Southern Foam and Sukha were deliberately scuttled by their owner. The Charcot was destined for the same fate, but bad weather pulled her from her moorings and drove her onto the shore. For years some locals discussed pulling her out and sinking her entirely, but for now she and her sister ships are being marketed as underwater tourism attractions.
Read MoreAs I mentioned in my introduction, the diversity of the ships that come through the Narrows is something that keeps drawing me back to the harbour. This week, I'm doing a breakdown of some ones I found particularly interesting.
Read MoreThe SS Alexandria was a steam paddle boat that travelled along the Great Lakes from 1866-1915. She was originally constructed as a freight vessel, but was then refitted and extended to allow for passenger travel, making runs all along the Canadian shores with the occasional trip across to the United States. Towards the end of her career, however, she was changed back into a freight ship, moving goods from one port to the next.
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