New2view's Blog   Life on The Blue Marble

Seaway experience:

Just as most of my posts are about personal experiences, likewise this one.  

This was just following completion of the joint U.S.-Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway navigation project linking the Great Lakes region to global markets in 1959. In other words it created access all the way from Atlantic to Canada’s great lakes for major shipping!

It was not long after several locks were created when I was blessed to travel aboard a RCN frigate, HMCS Lauzon as a junior ‘ordinary seaman’ all the way to Lake Ontario. 

Starting from the RCN base in Halifax we traveled North in good weather, in itself a blessing to mouth of that major seaway. It was all eye opening candy for a West Coaster like me at age 17. In fact I wrote a poem about it at the time, (see my poems posting).

Although I was enlisted in the ‘engineer trade’, meaning I spent hours a day in the engine room, I still had opportunity between times to drink in many spectacular natural views.

Memory of that trip is limited now, but certainly the absolutely stunning beauty of the historical ‘thousand Isaland’ area is indelible!

The purpose of our trip was to complement, not only Seaway completion project, but also to show the flag at the Canadian National Exposition in Toronto, actually anchoring offshore there!

Even ordinary sailors like me, were treated like visiting dignitaries, especially by boaters who surrounded our ship. As planned we stayed for some days, so crew had leave to go ashore, which I did. There was a ship’s duty boat, but in my case I was given a ride in a small sail boat passing by alongside to take me ashore, another new experience for me.

Not only did the two crewmen take me ashore but I ended up attended the CNE with other of my crew members and were (ahem) well accepted by local girls and carnival rides. Some memories you don’t forget..