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5. Marine News - Cont'd. McKeil Marine Ltd. has been expanding its fleet of tugs and barges so rapid­ ly in recent years that it has been difficult to keep track of all the addi­ tions. One of them, the tug DAWSON B., formerly GAELIC CHALLENGE, is being renamed DOUG McKEIL (II) and, with a raised pilot house added, will be hand­ ling the tank barge OCEAN HAULER. Meanwhile, we have learned that McKeil has acquired Waterman's Services (Scott) Ltd., the small firm which, for many decades, has operated the pilot tug service at Toronto. Waterman's has operated a number of little tugs over the years, many of them built specifically to the company's order. At pre­ sent, the fleet has two tugs: DUCHESS V (C. 198470), ex ANGLO DUCHESS, 48 feet and 24 Tons Gross, 11 Net, built in 1955 at Owen Sound, and COLINETTE (C. 169974), 65. 0 x 16. 5 x 17. 8, 64 Gross and 27 Net, (a) OTTAWA (57), (b) LAC OTTAWA (66), also built at Owen Sound but back in 1943. McKeil also has put the passenger vessel MACASSA BAY back in service, even though it had been advertising her for sale. She has been doing charters and excursions in Western Lake Ontario, and was in the Toronto area for the Symphony of Fire in late June. We have, however, heard nothing about the status of McKeil's other excursion boat, GARDEN CITY. Toronto's excursion boat fleet has seen some changes during 1998. ALISON LAKE, the sailing cruiser made from the former U. S. C. G. tug SAUK, made an excursion on July 1st, with "porta-potties" placed on deck; she was supposed to be destined for east coast work. The diminutive STE. MARIE I has been lengthened and broadened aft but still looks like a toy. HARBOUR STAR has come down off the pier outside the Cherry Street bridge and is back in ser­ vice after a year of idleness. YANKEE LADY (I) now sports a new flying bridge, while OBSESSION III has new colours. ISLAND PRINCESS III has moved from Parry Sound to Toronto. ENTERPRISE 2000, an even more weird but new version of GALACTICA 001, which has been built for the same owners, remains atop Pier 35 where she was built, several proposed "launching" dates having passed with no action. MISS TORONTO hit a breakwall near Ontario Place on July 10 when caught by the wind; the boat wasn't damaged, but a number of passengers were taken away by ambulance bus. And RIVER GAMBLER, which was brought down from Windsor early this season, has had a fake "western style paddlebox" built aft between her Harbourmaster propulsion units; housing a galley, it has been nicknamed the "Thunderdome". The name fits, because RIVER GAMBLER has become the loudest boat in the area, disturbing the peace with sound that would wake the dead miles away. MATTHEW, which came to the lakes in 1997 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's voyage of discovery of John Cabot's original MATTHEW, left the lakes for the U. K. early this season after wintering on Lake Ontario. However, her exit voyage from the lakes was not without incident. At about 1: 50 a. m. on June 15 th, three km. below Cornwall, MATTHEW grounded on a shoal after passing on the wrong side of Buoy Delta 81. Some nine hours later, a Coast Guard auxiliary boat was able to pull MATTHEW free by pulling her over on her port side by means of a line attached to her mainmast near the crow's nest. MATTHEW was not damaged in the incident. MATTHEW was not the only boat to run into trouble in the Seaway during 1998. A number of salties have run amok in the Seaway, but their troubles have been too many to mention here. We will try to recount them all in the Octo­ ber issue if we have the space. The historic Maritime-Class self unloader CUYAHOGA, (a) J. BURTON AYERS (95), has been active all around the lakes during 1998. On June 5, however, she suffered a grounding in the Saginaw River and it took all weekend before GREGORY J. BUSCH could pull her off. Oil slicks seen near Alexandria Bay recently are thought to be coming from ROY A. JODREY, wrecked on Pullman Shoal in 1974. Officials are investigating. Continued on Page 11