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Editor's Logbook - cont'd. 2. held at the door for all those who have reserved. Please Note that space is limited and this will be a popular programme. We must confirm to the restaurant the number of persons attending AND their dinner choices, so reservations, accompanied by payment, must be received by Tuesday, May 3. We regret there can be no refunds after this date. Please plan to attend and reserve early for you and your party. The dinner meeting always is a high point of our season and an evening enjoyed by all. Won't you please join us? And remember that the dinner price includes taxes and gratuities, so you get excellent value for the price. * * * * * * * MARINE NEWS The 2005 navigation season got underway, as scheduled, on March 23rd. The Welland Canal opened that day with the upbound passage of C. S. L . 's PINEGLEN. The interesting part about this passage was that PINEGLEN wintered at the Port Weller Dry Docks shipyard, where she received winter work. As far as we are aware, this is the first time that the first transit award was given to a vessel that wintered within the canal rather than entering from outside the canal system. The St. Mary's Falls Canal season opened on March 25 and vessels from the same fleet were the first transits in each direction. The American Steamship Company rang both bells, with its INDIANA HARBOR upbound at 1: 30 a. m. on the 25th. The next transit was the downbound AMERICAN SPIRIT, which was through the Poe Lock at 6: 00 a. m., but which required icebreaker assistance in the lower river. CSL TADOUSSAC also passed downbound on opening day, whilst CHARLES M. BEEGHLY, LEE A. TREGURTHA, COLUMBIA STAR, PAUL R. TREGURTHA, PHI­ LIP R. CLARKE, STEWART J. CORT and GREAT LAKES TRADER/JOYCE L. VAN ENKEVORT also made upbound passages on opening day. The St. Lawrence canals also opened opened on the 25th, the first transit being made by the downbound CSL NIAGARA. At the time of this writing, no up­ bound salties had yet passed through the canals, although several vessels had been lined up to do so and the wood carrier MENOMINEE was generally ex­ pected to be first inbound. During mid-March, whilst she was in winter lay-up at Sarnia, the Grand River Navigation Company's seIf-unloader RICHARD REISS was renamed (d) MANISTEE, a name that had been rumoured for her during the 2004 season when she ran in only partial Grand River colours. She was repainted in full company livery in a late-season drydocking. At the time of this writing, she was still in lay­ up at Sarnia, although several other company vessels already had entered service. It has been confirmed that internal work is being done on Grand River Navigation's 1929-built MAUMEE so that she will be able to re-enter service after spending the entire 2004 season in lay-up in the North Slip at Sarnia. Once the necessary restorative work is done, the ship will be towed to Sturgeon Bay for drydocking. This is good news, as it had been anticipated that MAUMEE would be scrapped and another vessel purchased to replace her in the Grand River/Lower Lakes Towing fleet. After spending the 2003 and 2004 seasons in idleness at Toledo, the Oglebay Norton Marine Services' 1953-built steamer COURTNEY BURTON, (a) ERNEST T. WEIR (ii)(78), was placed on drydock by Toledo Shipbuilding in mid-March. It would seem that this drydocking heralds a return to service of the handsome vessel. It has been suggested that Great Lakes Associates Inc. may be going to drop its five-year charter, after two years, of the Oglebay Norton 1925-built JO­ SEPH H. FRANTZ, although it is not certain which vessel might be acquired to replace her. It has been said that Lower Lakes Towing/Grand River Navigation