Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Scanner, v. 29, no. 9 (Mid-Summer 1997), p. 14

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Marine Museum - cont'd. 14. We wish Heritage Toronto all the best in its new project. We appreciate its hopes to have an "active, zippy, participatory sort of museum" but we wish that the plans included an archival and research facility as well. We have a wealth of marine photographs and historical data here in Toronto, and it would be unfortunate to see it dispersed eventually to other areas for want of a place to keep it here. Perhaps this is a problem to which we, of the Toronto Marine Historical Society, should now turn our attention... * * * * * MARINE NEWS - CONTINUED In previous issues, we have commented upon the coming to the lakes this year of the new Hapag cruise ship COLUMBUS. Response on the European market has been so great that when COLUMBUS returns to the lakes in 1998, she will be doing seven cruises. The June issue of the World Ship Society's "Marine News" reported that Socanav Inc. 's tanker HUBERT GAUCHER, (a) L'ERABLE NO. 1 (82), had been acquired by Gorse Down Tankers Inc., Panama, and renamed (c) RODIN. It will be recalled that efforts had been made to spin off the entire remaining So­ canav fleet to Gorse Down, but they were not successful. Meanwhile, after the sale of the last members of the fleet produced no higher bidder than the bank which held the company's notes, the 1961-built LE CHENE NO. 1, (a) J. EDOUARD SIMARD (67), (b) EDOUARD SIMARD (82), was sold to Enerchem Transport Inc. She fitted out at Sarnia this spring in Enerchem colours, and bearing the new name (d) ENERCHEM TRADER. An interesting parade of sailing vessels has appeared in the Toronto area this summer. We have seen the film replica of H. M. S. BOUNTY, the brig U. S. S. NIAGARA, and passing through was BLUENOSE II. PRIDE OF BALTIMORE (II) went up the Welland Canal in July, but did not, as far as we know, come to Toronto. Coming to Lake Ontario on a more permanent basis was the boxy wooden restaurant ship LA GRANDE HERMINE, which was towed up from Montreal and moored at the Beacon Harbourside Inn at Jordan Harbour. She was billed in the press as "a replica of Columbus' NINA" but any resemblance would seem to us to be purely the figment of some peculiar imagination. She was built for Expo '67 World's Fair. An old vessel with a real pedigree was unearthed early in July as work pro­ gressed on the Air Canada Toronto Raptors arena site at the old postal deli­ very building at Bay and Lakeshore in Toronto. Appearing briefly were the bones of the old wooden steamer COMMODORE JARVIS (C. 116267), best known in this area as a V-bowed sand digger which hauled sand into the West Market Street slip for many years. She had a number of incarnations during her life and her derelict hull finally was buried in fill when the harbour line was extended south to its present position in the 1920s. We hope to say more about this interesting vessel in a future issue. H. M. C. S. ATHABASCAN (see page 2) arrived at Port Weller Dry Docks on August 12th for her extensive refit. Press reports on August 14th indicated that Shaker Cruise Lines had discon­ tinued LAKE RUNNER's stop at Niagara-on-the-Lake (begun August 1st). Pending resolution of wharfage problems, Niagara-on-the-Lake passengers will be bus­ sed from the LAKE RUNNER's usual destination of Port Dalhousie. Canada Steamship Lines' self-unloaders NANTICOKE, ATLANTIC ERIE and ATLANTIC HURON all have been used on the east coast to carry magnetite, a very heavy iron ore being used to ballast the Hibernia drill rig's gravity base struc­ ture. NANTICOKE was the first to enter the special service; after only a few hours of pumping the magnetite in slurry form through deck piping, the abra­ sive mixture wore through the piping, requiring extensive alterations to the unloading gear.

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