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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 14. from the starboard side of the tug in order to get her on an even keel for the tow to the shipyard. Pyke Salvage had contracted to salvage the tug within 12 days; the job was accomplished in 11 days! While DALHOUSIE ROVER reposed in the shipyard, undergoing repairs and the major refit she needed after spending 18 days submerged in the muddy canal waters, the provincial inquiry into her sinking was convened by Mr. Justice J. Keillor Mackay of the Ontario Supreme Court. (Keillor Mackay in later years was to serve as Lieutenant Governor of On ta r i o . ) Evidence was heard from every available source and some of it was very interesting indeed. For instance, divers had found that the engine telegraph in the pilothouse was set at full ahead, indicating that the tug was moving at a brisk pace when she ran into the mudbank. Canal officials testified that only the previous spring the mudbank had been cut back farther than before in order to allow upbound vessels to turn into the drydock, whereas before only downbound ves sels could approach the shipyard. Soundings after the accident showed 14 1 / 2 feet of water beside the spar buoy marking the end of the mudbank, and 12 feet over the buoy's anchor; the tug was known to have been in good, sea worthy condition and did have a searchlight which the master could have used to locate the spar buoy. Testimony was that all the tug's doors and ventila tors were open at the time of the accident due to the warmth of the night, and that Capt. Ahern, superintendent of the drydock, had personally informed Capt. McLean of the location of the spar buoy and the proper channel to follow when leaving the shipyard. Mr. Justice Mackay praised the efforts of Harry Lemon in saving the survi ving crew members, but was definite in stating that the tug was not in the proper channel when the accident occurred. He further stated: "It was the inescapable duty of the Master to see the spar buoy and use all precautions until he did see it ... " DALHOUSIE ROVER was ready to resume service for Boone in October of 1946, and went back to the towing of the Maritime Commission scrap steamers. It was thought, however, that the tug's name should be changed in order to relieve the stigma of her two sinkings, and so when she went back into opera tion it was as (b) TOWMASTER. An unsourced clipping dated July 3, 1946, had stated: "The HERMAN C. STROM, another freighter from the U . S. Maritime Commission graveyard at Erie, Pa., has arrived at Port Colborne on the first leg of her journey to Hamilton for scrapping. It is not known when she will proceed down the canal, as it re quires two tugs to move her through. The sinking of the tug DALHOUSIE ROVER has made it necessary to get another small tug for the job. " The "Toronto Telegram" on July 11th reported: "Replacing the wrecked DALHOUSIE ROVER, the tug HELENA joined the A. M. MACAULAY in towing the condemned freighter H E R MAN C. STROM from Port Colborne to a 'boneyard' at Hamilton". Also on July 11th, the "Tely" reported that "The strike at the Stelco plant has effectively stopped the movement through the Welland Canal of over-age lake vessels... Of three hulks which were tied up at Port Colborne after the sinking of the convoy tug DALHOUSIE ROVER, two were towed to Hamilton by the tug HELENA just before the strike was called. These were the SATURN and H E R MAN C. STROM. The condemned freighter TAURUS is still at Port Colborne. " The big HELENA ( better known in later years, after dieselization, as DANIEL McALLISTER) worked the scrap tows with the A. M. MACAULAY until TOWMASTER went back into service. A "Telegram" report of October 12, 1946, indicated that "Difficulty was experienced yesterday when the CLARENCE A. BLACK, another of the U . S. over-age vessels, was being towed from Port Colborne to Hamilton... She was towed by the tugs MACAULAY and TOWMASTER, the latter being the former DALHOUSIE CITY (sic) which sank at Port Weller early this year with the loss of several of her cr e w . " Unfortunately, the report did not tell what kind of trouble it was that befell the BLACK tow!