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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 12. and provisions, which were loaded into MANDARIN and OLD SQUAW. Meanwhile, an RCAF helicopter from the Great Whale River radar station was sent to the scene, and the 373 ton Hudson's Bay Company freighter FORT SEVERN was diverted from her Fort George destination to the wreck scene. An RCAF Canso amphibian and other aircraft were put on alert. The motor launches, with lifeboats and dories in tow, set out for the near­ est land, which was Grey Goose Island, about three nautical miles southeast of the newly discovered shoal. Hydrographer Earl Brown recalls arriving at Grey Goose Island in a miserable drizzle with two polar bears waiting on shore to greet them. Nevertheless, they landed and gathered driftwood and tore wood from the lifeboats in order to build a fire. They set up make­ shift tents from sailcloth salvaged from the lifeboats and spent a totally nasty night on an otherwise uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere, 22 miles from the Quebec shore and 100 miles from the nearest port. On the 15th at 11: 30 hours, FORT SEVERN found the survivors, after having located the abandoned wreck. The NORTH STAR IV crew and the hydrographers spent that night aboard FORT SEVERN sleeping on deck, as she was fully laden with supplies for Fort George, and the deck was the only space available. FORT SEVERN lay at anchor while the hydrographers awaited instructions from Ottawa. FORT SEVERN was not designed for passengers; there were no cabins available and the decks were crammed with cargo and anything that had been salvaged from the sinking NORTH STAR IV. A lucky few shared bunks emptied by their normal occupants on watch. The others slept fitfully on deck in their parkas, sheltered as best they could manage from the rain and the wind. The next morning, they returned to the wreck site, where they found that the locals already had arrived to remove anything left worth salvaging. By this time, NORTH STAR IV had pounded severely and pieces of the hull were drif­ ting away as the vessel settled lower on the rocky ledge. On August 16th, hydrographers Earl Brown and Ted Brignall took the launches south to Moosonee. The rest of the hydrographers and the NORTH STAR IV crew were taken by FORT SEVERN to the Great Whale River (now Kuujjuarapik) mili­ tary base, where they were berthed in barracks awaiting (in the base night­ club) orders from Ottawa. Eventually, they were flown to Montreal, where the unshaven, rag-tag crew, wearing hip waders, sou'westers and parkas, looked a tad out of place. They chatted with reporters before heading for home. Earl Brown, Ted Brignall, Herman Teed and Howard Greencorn were assigned to bring the motor launches across James Bay to Moosonee. They loaded fuel, food and supplies, then anchored for the night behind Big Loon Island. At daybreak on August 17th, they started off for Moosonee an what would be an unpleasant trip. The sea was rough and spray constantly came over the bow. It was overcast, cold and drizzly, and the charts were not good. They were not always sure of their location. On many occasions they could see waves breaking on uncharted shoals. All they had was a VHF radio out of rage of any other ship, a depth sounder, and a magnetic compass by which to steer. They carried 45-gallon drums of fuel on the aft deck, as there were no re­ fueling stations on the route. They anchored in the lee of South Twin Island on the first night and they cooked supper and slept in the engine room. The departure the next morning was delayed due to weather; the wind had shifted and rain started at daybreak and continued hard all day. That night, the wind shifted in their favour and, although visibility was poor, they hoisted anchor and motored through the night, stopping in mid-afternoon in the lee of Weston Island. They cooked soup, toast and coffee on a Coleman stove, and then rested. On August 19th, the weather cleared. Under a clear, starry and moonlit night, they hoisted anchor and, by noon on the 20th, they were off the Moose River, reaching Moosonee at 15: 30 hours. After cleaning up, the hydrographers got very drunk before calling it a day. Earl Brown remained in Moosonee to join