Carlz Boats: Icebreaker CCGS EARNEST LAPOINTE

Carlz Boats: Icebreaker CCGS EARNEST LAPOINTE: Though the locks and channels of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Welland Canal and at the Soo were closed for winter for rehabilitation, it ha...

Veteran Icebreaker CCGS ERNEST LAPOINTE

Graham Grattan of Pointe Louise on the upper St. Mary's River was a navigation cadet on the 730' Algoma Central bulk carrier ALGOCEN when he captured the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker ERNEST LAPOINTE below the Beauharnois Locks in April 1970. Nice pic and thanks Graham c):-D  

Though the locks and channels of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Welland Canal and at the Soo were closed for winter for rehabilitation, it has been business as usual for shipping along the St. Lawrence River from Montreal to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and beyond thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Canadian Coast Guard which was created in 1962.

For over 50 years, the Coast Guard's red hull icebreakers with a transverse white band and white funnel with maple leaf have been tasked with maintaining the navigation channels allowing the passage of ocean-going freighters to maintain commerce year-round, and as spring approached avoid the formation of ice jams which may cause flooding in Montreal and other St. Lawrence River Valley communities. Maintaining shipping lanes over the winter on the St. Lawrence sector has consisted of Medium Gulf/River Icebreakers CCG Ships PIERRE RADISSON, AMUNDSEN and DES GROSEILLIERS, the Light Icebreaker CCGS MARTHA L. BLACK, a newer version of CCGS GRIFFON (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/05/ccg-ice-breaker-griffon.html), which I snapped in Port Colborne in 2006 (below), and Atlantic division resources like the Heavy Icebreaker CCGS TERRY FOX. With the exception of the TERRY FOX, each has a landing deck and helicopter, and are responsible for icebreaking and escort operations on the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers. Also available are two powerful and heavy hovercrafts, CCGS SIPU MUIN and CCGS MAMILOSSA which are used for flood control activities by breaking up ice covered rivers and shores along the St. Lawrence, where conventional icebreakers are unable to operate.

Currently the Welland Canal is open, and the GRIFFON is heading east to her homebase at Prescott and is currently breaking up channels near Picton and Kingston, and the Lake Ontario entrance to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Based in Parry Sound, the Light Icebreaker CCGS SAMUEL RISLEY in cooperation with the United States Coast Guard Cutter KATMAI BAY, has actively been clearing channels in Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and the St. Mary's River through the Soo to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior. Clearing the channels of ice jams prevents flooding and damage to ships which may result in a oil spill or loss of life, so the Canadian Coast Guard's motto "Safety First, Service Always" cannot be taken lightly.

During our drive up the St. Lawrence in the fall of 2010, I came across the former icebreaker CCGS ERNEST LAPOINTE perched proudly in tall grass on a gravel-filled dock at the Musee Maritime du Quebec in L'Islet-sur-Mer PQ. The 172' LAPOINTE was built for the Department of Transport in 1941 at the Davie Shipyard in Montreal. During WWII, she was used to ferry supplies to the airbase in Goose Bay NL and service the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Trois-Rivieres along with the larger icebreaker, N.B. MCLEAN until 1978. Instead of being broken up into scrap like so many other hard working ships of the past, the ERNEST LAPOINTE began her second career as a museum ship in 1980 along Canada's former navy hydrofoil, HMCS BRAS D'OR (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/05/hmcs-bras-dor.html) shown below in the background. Both can be seen resting easy and going nowhere fast.

Carlz Boats: Self Unloader JOHN B. AIRD

Carlz Boats: Self Unloader JOHN B. AIRD: Since the end of December, lakers of all sizes, dimensions and appearance berth for the winter at a variety of ports along Great Lake...

Self Unloader JOHN B. AIRD (Revisited)

Since the end of December, lakers of all sizes, dimensions and appearance berth for the winter at a variety of ports along Great Lakes and Montreal. During this approximate 3 month lay-up period a revitalization occurs for the ship and her crew as any repairs or servicing that maybe needed without actually being put in dry dock, gets completed by an army of contractors and company maintenance experts, while most crew members receive a well earned rest and relaxation time with their families. This appeared to be the case for the 730' Algoma Central self unloader JOHN B. AIRD which I snapped above Lock 8 in Port Colborne, Ontario last February.      

 Also during this period when the system is shut down due to severe winter weather and ice conditions, the canal's equipment gets re-energized too. Any greasing or lubrication that's needed on bridges, arresters and gates are completed by canal workers all along the seaway from the Soo to St. Lambert Lock. Many locks are emptied so that valves and sections of gates that are normally submerged throughout the season, gets a thorough inspection and repaired if required.  Hey look, there's the RT HON PAUL J. MARTIN (https://carlzboats.blogspot.com/2012/04/right-honourable-paul-j.html) also laid up above Lock 8 during the winter of 2005.

One winter after church my dad allowed me a lock inspection of my own. That's me dressed to the nines while standing in a puddle at the bottom of the emptied Lock 8. Does life get any better? That was one of the cool things about having a dad who worked on the canal. However, that was then and this is now as another winter lay-up has ended and a new shipping season began on March 22.

Yesterday at 1403, the JOHN B. AIRD, which is named after a former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, let go her lines and got under way for Thunder Bay located along the north shore of Lake Superior. For whatever reason the AIRD was built in two sections. The 610' stern section was constructed at Collingwood Shipyards on Georgian Bay and then towed to Port Arthur Shipyard in Thunder Bay where her 120' forward section which included an ice-strengthened bulbous bow was welded on. I'm certain her unique bow will be taken to task more than once as the JOHN B. AIRD makes her way through several ice fields and jams during her long journey to the Lakehead and her partial birthplace. I'm sure her crew is looking forward to that. 

Update - January 18, 2018:

She's now gone but not forgotten.....

My last opportunity to photograph the JOHN B. AIRD was on April 3, 2017 as the hardworking lady entered the Port of Ogdensburg while on her last downbound passage. As others like her rested in ports throughout the Great Lakes, the AIRD continued to work the ice fields off Goderich and the Strait of Mackinac to deliver road salt to U.S. ports until mid-February. After a short winter layup in Sarnia, it was also road salt that needed to be discharged at Ogdensburg and then Johnstown across the St. Lawrence River before making her way to Montreal and the end of her sailing days. To read more about her final transit, check out: https://carlzboats.blogspot.com/2018/01/self-unloader-john-b-aird-final-voyage.html       

Carlz Boats: Self Unloader CANADIAN OLYMPIC

Carlz Boats: Self Unloader CANADIAN OLYMPIC: It was much like today with its biting wind and blowing snow when I photographed the 730' Upper Lakes Shipping self unloader CANAD...

Self Unloader CANADIAN OLYMPIC

It was much like today with its biting wind and blowing snow when I photographed the then 730' Upper Lakes Shipping self unloader CANADIAN OLYMPIC berthed for winter along the old furnace plant wall in Port Colborne ON. The difference though is, it was January 2, 2011 when I took the picture, while tomorrow is the first day of Spring. The late winter blast that dumped an extra 20 centimetres of snow and a -15C wind chill factor wasn't appreciated by anyone east of the Detroit River, I'm sure. What was the groundhog's prediction this year? Oh yeah, 'An Early Spring'. Wrong-O Puxy Phil and Wiarton Willie!!
Like so many other ships that sailed for Upper Lakes after the the mid-60's that were uniquely named to commemorate a special Canadian event or profession, the launched in 1976 CANADIAN OLYMPIC was named after Canada's first Olympics which were summer games held in Montreal in 1976. There's been two winter games since, in Calgary in 1988 and Vancouver in 2010. Like her sister, the CANADIAN PROGRESS  http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2013/03/self-unloader-algoma-progress.html), the OLYMPIC was also built by Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines ON, and virtually shared the same overall dimensions, along with the cargo trades of coal (for Ontario's power generation plants), taconite pellets, grain and salt products. She also had the word "CANADIAN" removed from her name shortly after Algoma Central took over Upper Lakes in February 2011. In February 2013, I snapped the then ALGOMA OLYMPIC tied off for winter below Lock 8 in Port Colborne ON making herself ready to go for gold in her 38th shipping season. Regardless of her name and the rusting from dragging up her anchor, she still looked proud and willing to take on any competitor that cames her way, like any true "CANADIAN".

Carlz Boats: Container Ships MELBOURNE STRAIT & INDUSTRIAL EDGE...

Carlz Boats: Container Ships MELBOURNE STRAIT & INDUSTRIAL EDGE...: Pretty impressive snap by my friend Kevin from Stittsville ON who on the starboard side of the cruise ship CARIBBEAN PRINCESS caught the...