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3. Thunder Bay finally reactivated the drydock at the facility it acquired a few years ago, and Canadian fleets undoubtedly will be very happy about this d evelopm ent. On the U . S. side, Bay Shipbuilding did a very quick job on the completion of the Lafarge barge INTEGRITY, while Marinette Marine commissioned the U . S. Coast Guard tenders JUNIPER and IDA LEWIS, and is building more boats for the U. S. C. G. There developed some strong indications that U . S. operators may be interested in letting contracts for more 1, 000-foot self-unloaders in the near-future, and we will watch this situation with great interest. There were a number of groundings during the 1996 season, but fortunately the year was blessed in that there were no really major marine accidents on the lakes in 1996. We hope that the final weeks of the season remain as un eventful as those preceding them. And now, in bringing these comments to a conclusion, it is time for us to pass along the same words which we say every year at this time. Repetitive they may be, and they even may seem unimaginative, but they are truly sin cere in that they come straight from the heart and because, in reality, they mean so very much. We can think of no better way to speak of the coming of Christmas, and of our inevitable passage into a new calendar year. Many of our members are closely attached to the lake shipping industry, and it is our hope that the 1996 navigation season was, for them, as pleasant, safe and profitable as could be possible. Despite uncertainty as to whether the local economy really is on track at last, or whether this is all just another aberration, we wish all our sailors and vessel operators the best for 1997. Indeed, we hope that the coming year will be a very good one for all of our members and, of course, for the Toronto Marine Historical Society itself, and for our publication, "Scanner", now in its 29th season of pro duction. But now, as our memories of summertime (unfortunately sandwiched between a cold and wet spring and autumn) fade away, as the skies and waters of these Great Lakes of ours take on that familiar grey pallor of winter and we labour to secure the storm windows that we hope will keep the nasty weather on the outside, as the winds rage and the blowing snows obscure the hori zons, and as the haze rises from the cold waters, the lake ships scurry to collect and deliver their last cargoes of the year before they are obliged to seek the calm and safety of winter quarters in snug ports. We wish them all safe passage. And to all of the many members of our large and steadily renewing family, the Toronto Marine Historical Society, we take this opportunity to extend to all of you our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas and for all possible Happiness in the New Year. Take care, dear friends, and may 1997 bring to us all a full measure of love, warmth, good health and success in all of our en d e a v o u r s . * * * * * MARINE NEWS A collision occurred in Port Weller harbour at about 8: 45 a. m. on November 25th, but fortunately the damage to the ships involved was not as serious as it might have been. The upbound salty MALLARD was making the wall below Lock One but took a sheer toward the laker CANADIAN ENTERPRISE, which had just left the lock, downbound. The port bow of the salty hit the self-unloader midships, damaging the laker's companionway, deck rails, struts and venti lators, as well as doing some damage aft as the ships scraped together. The ENTERPRISE went to the wall below Lock One for repairs, while the salty con tinued on up to Port Colborne. The MALLARD sustained a twelve-foot gash in her port bow.