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9. Ship of the Month - cont'd. val. Capt. Leo Beaupre, owner of the Pyke firm, was in charge of the salvage operation, which was being done on a "no cure, no pay" basis. With him he had longtime Pyke employee Capt. George Bates, who was in command of SALVAGE PRINCE. Capt. Bates' logbooks (now residing at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston) provide a valuable insight into the difficulties they fa­ ced with this salvage attempt. Capt. Bates had departed Kingston on May 28 at 4 p. m. with S. A. QUEEN and HILDA in tow, arriving at the Welland Canal just after mid-day the following day. They spent the 29th and 30th canalling, tying up at the fuel dock in Port Colborne for the night. After fuelling the fleet, they departed Port Colborne at 10 a. m. and just before midnight they entered Port Stanley piers and anchored in the basin for the night. On May 31st, they moved into the piers. Repairs had to be made to HILDA'S No. 1 bulkhead. Starting on June 1, crews began work each morning at 7: 30. Divers were sent down from the S. A. QUEEN to do an underwater examination of the wreck, whilst the PRINCE did sounding from the wreck to the short north pier. The tedious job of removing 1 3/4 inch wire from the deadman and running it to the west breakwall began. Heavy timbers and rafts were also dropped on the pier. Gasoline was delivered for the air compressors and pumps. June 2nd, S. A. QUEEN took an air compressor out to the wreck and divers be­ gan removing silt from the bow of the wreck. June 3rd, S. A. QUEEN's forepeak was cleaned and its flooring was shored down. She was to be used as a pon­ toon for this lift. June 4th, debris was removed from around the wreck. June 5, divers buoyed the bow corners of the wreck. A heavy surge halted work, so crews began shoring up HILDA for the lift. The following day, the pumps were started and HILDA'S bulkheads were tested; leaks required repairing. Four wire roves were set up on a five-sheave block, these to attach HILDA to the wreck. A pair of six-inch diameter pumps were set up on HILDA'S deck, and a similar pair were set up on S. A. QUEEN. A heavy surge at the piers again prevented work on the wreck on June 7. On the 8th, the QUEEN took divers out to the wreck and they began placing lif­ ting chains under it. A heavy surge stopped work in the afternoon. Meanwhile crews repaired a broken brake band on the lifting winch. Later that evening, on a test pull, the bitts broke. On the 9th, the crew spent their time re­ placing a 1 1/2 inch wire with a heavier 1 3/4 inch wire, and repairing the previous day's damage. The heavy surge continued to halt progress. June 10th was spent surveying the wreck and "general work". Capt. Bates was starting to get a little tired of noting all the daily events in his logbook. Just after noon, SALVAGE PRINCE departed Port Stanley for Port Burwell to fetch a steel scow borrowed from the Department of Public Works. The PRINCE returned to Port Stanley that evening with P. W. D. SCOW 54 in tow. By June 11, the Pyke fleet was preparing to drag the hulk of the wrecked dredge within the protection of the harbour piers. Pumps were taken off S. A. QUEEN and placed aboard the dump scow. The QUEEN and HILDA were filled with water and pumping out began. The PRINCE was secured to the wreck and to the pier. The breaking of a new steel cable interrupted the initial attempt to drag the hull shoreward, but before the cable snapped, salvage workers mana­ ged to drag the hulk about four feet forward through the silt. Despite the initial set-back, Capt. Beaupre was confident that he soon would have the hulk inside the shelter of the harbour and ready for lifting. How­ ever, a heavy surge at the piers prevented another attempt for the next two days. HILDA was brought alongside the wreck on June 13 and about 50 tons of coal were removed from the bunkers of the sunken dredge in an attempt to lighten the hulk. On Monday, June 15, the ballast tanks on S. A. QUEEN and HILDA were filled with water to settle them alongside the wreck. Steel cables were slung under the wreck and preparations were begun for pumping out of the tug and barge. SALVAGE PRINCE was anchored by a heavy cable to the rear of the pier, and