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Editor's Notebook - cont'd. you would prefer a fish or chicken dinner. 173 Glenrose Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4T door for all who have reserved. 2. Please remit to William R. Wilson 1K7. Tickets will be held at the Please N o t e : We must confirm the number that will attend and also their choice of dinner, so reservations, accompanied by payment and dinner choice must be received by Tuesday, May 16th. We regret that there can be no re funds after that date. Please reserve early to ensure that there will be space for you and your party, and remember that those wishing to attend the programme must also attend the dinner. * * * * * * * MARINE NEWS Last issue we mentioned the acquisition by Canada Steamship Lines and Tril lium Bulkships Ltd., Montreal, of the big hopper barge PACNAV PRINCESS. In fact, the barge was renamed CSL-TRILLIUM, and on October 15th, she was towed out of Quebec City by the tug HEBRON SEA, bound for Bull Arm, Newfoundland. Apparently she will be used in connection with the Hibernia oil drilling gravity base structure project. Meanwhile, it is reported that C. S. L. has acquired two salt water vessels for west coast service. They are identified as CABO SAN LUCAS and BAHIA M AR GARITA, although at this time we have no other details concerning them. For the record, the 1994 navigation at the Soo finished with the official closing of the locks on January 15th. There were no passages that day, how ever, the last boat of the season being JOHN G. MUNSON, which cleared the Poe Lock downbound on the evening of the 14th. Conditions permitting, the Soo Locks are to open for 1995 on March 25. The Welland Canal is scheduled to open on March 24th, and first upbound boat will be either' CANADIAN ENTER PRISE or CANADIAN OLYMPIC, both of which are laid up at Hamilton. The 1995 navigation season at the Canadian Soo opened at about 1: 15 p. m. on Tuesday, February 21st, when the Socanav tanker A. G. FARQUHARSON arrived from Sarnia with a cargo of fuel oil for Imperial Oil. Interestingly, it was only two days before, on the 19th, that the tanker's namesake, Andrew Gray Farquharson, passed away at Lancaster, Ontario, at the age of 87. He had retired as President and C. E. O. of Texaco Canada Inc. in 1972 after 41 years of service with the company. Over the past several years, it has been suggested that the USS Great Lakes Fleet Inc. intended to replace the transverse shuttle unloading booms on its 1, 000-footers EDWIN H. GOTT and EDGAR B. SPEER with more traditional hinged booms so that they could unload at more shore facilities. We are given to understand that the first of the conversions, on the GOTT, will be done by the Bay Shipbuilding Corporation at Sturgeon Bay during the winter of 1995-- 1996. During the present winter, one of the vessels wintering at the BayShip yard at Sturgeon Bay is the steam-powered Inland Lakes Transportation Inc. ce ment carrier S. T. CRAPO, the last coal-fired freighter active on the Great Lakes. Although it had been suggested that her owner might have the CRAPO repowered with diesel machinery, the decision was made instead simply to convert her to burn oil fuel, and we understand that the work is being done during this lay-up. Much as we would like to have seen the CRAPO continue as a coal-burner, the fact remains that the conversion should serve to increase the life-expectancy of the 68-year-old vessel. Over the years, there have been rumours that certain old lakers which were sold for overseas scrapping actually saw some service on salt water before going to the breakers. It recently has been suggested that one former laker, the C. S. L. self-unloader HOCHELAGA, might be working in the Caribbean under the Panamanian flag. It will be interesting to see whether the report proves