Basin boats, and cars and boxes

There is no particular theme to today's post - it is more a random collection of my observations.

There was lots of room in Bedford Basin for various activities. HMCS Fredericton moved, with tug assistance, from HMC Dockyard to the Bedford Magazine (Jetty NN) and HMCS Moncton took up an anchorage position not far away.

Moncton is still wearing its commemorative paint scheme marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic in 2020. Bedford Basin played a critical role in that battle as it was a marshaling point for ship convoys. Naval escorts and some other ships were painted in a variety of schemes to confuse or mislead the enemy about the ship's position, direction of travel or speed. 

Also in the Basin for some form of trials was the newest vessel in the Fisheries and Oceans fleet based at the Bedford Institute. CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier was delivered earlier this year by Seaspan and has already conducted several scientific missions.

I earned a stern rebuke some time ago for stating in a previous post that new Canadian ships are too small, but they certainly appear stubby compared to the ones they replace. I am sure they are technically advanced, seaworthy and packed with all necessary equipment, but they are not as aesthetically pleasing as ships of yore. [I am a charter member, and currently the only surviving member (as far as I know), of the Canadian Committee on Aesthetic Responsibility and am therefore qualified to comment.]

On the west side of the Basin at Mill Cove the tour boat fleet has settled in for the winter. 

From left to right these are:

Kawartha Spirit - returned from Lunenburg and laid up. It did not operate in Halifax during 2020.

Theodore Too - laid up and apparently still for sale.

Harbour Queen I - did operate tours in 2020 and provided ferry service to George's Island.

Silva of Halifax - also operated in 2020 giving harbour tours.

Anchored in Mill Cove is the schooner Katie Belle . It appears that they crew went ashore without stowing sails. It made one trip to sea during 2020 - September 19 to October 19. See: September 19

It certainly did those sails no good if they were left that way for a month.

At the other end of the harbour the autocarrier Viking Queen made one of its periodic visits. The 55,775 gt, 16,890 dwt ship was built in 2007 by Ujanik, Pula, Croatia, with a capacity of 7,000 cars.

Outbound rounding Ives Knoll, the Viking Queen leaves lots of room for Dominion Bearcat doing some sort of work off Pier 20-23.

And as an update on the demolition work at the former Foundation Maritime dock (latterly Svitzer Canada) - the salvage pier has been completely removed, and the "cook house" has been removed from the main pier. Work has now started on dismantling the main pier starting with the guard rails.

The crane barge Canadian Argosy removes material and places it on the deck barge VM/S 87. 

(The name painted on the barge is "VMS 087" but that is incorrect.)

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Katie Belle underway

 After many months at anchor in Mill Cove, Bedford Basin, the schooner Katie Belle got under way today and made an impressive sight crossing the Basin.

Built over several years in Stewiacke, NS by members of the Cameron extended family it is an impressive vessel, particularly under sail. Completed in 2015 it arrived in Halifax in 2016, but has not been particularly busy since then.

Even more impressively the boat transited the Narrows under full sail - certainly the first time a boat of this size and rig has done so in a long time. Of course a good stiff breeze from the north was a big help. I could see seven people on deck, but they did not have to work too hard to keep the sails in trim.

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Small Craft - Part 1

This blog normally concentrates on larger ships that come and go in Halifax. However there are numerous small craft that work in the harbour and are often overlooked. These includes, work boats,  Navy, Coast Guard and research small craft.

Harbour tour boats are kept busy this time of year, not only with cruise ship passengers, but also the many "fall foliage" bus tour visitors and late season tourists who came after the summer rush.

Most of the boats have been here for many years, but some are relative newcomers.

Murphy's

Longtime tour boat operators Murphy's, founded by the Murphy family, was sold and in 2014 merged with the Ambassatours Gray Line bus operators. In September 2019 it was announced that Ambassatours has sold its bus operations to Coach Atlantic of Prince Edward Island, operators Maritime Bus. Murphy's, which also includes restaurants and shops, was apparently not part of the deal.

The longest serving vessel in the fleet is Harbour Queen One, the faux-Mississippi paddlewheeler is typical of similar craft operating in many ports of the world. They are out of keeping everywhere - except New Orleans, where they actually have a real one!

Another Murphy veteran the Summer Bay was retired at the end of last season and is reported to be for sale.

Back in Halifax this year after spending last summer in Saint John, NB, Theodore Too does nor seem particularly busy, but does put in an appearance at special events.

Acquired two years ago from Ontario operators, Kawartha Spirit has still not been renamed with a more local moniker. I suggest that it be named Haligonian IV as it is fourth in line of direct succession from the first tour boat operated by Murphy's.

Murphy's headquarters at the Cable Wharf is crowded with their fleet.

Murphy's also operate the stylish Peggys Cove Express built on lobster boat lines and providing very fast service and nature cruises. Its hull was painted blue in past years, but is now white in line with the rest of the fleet.

The amphibious Harbour Hoppers (there are upwards of five) are ever present in the harbour and on the streets - enough said. A Hopper was stationed in Sydney, NS last year but has not returned this year.

The "Tall Ship" Silva operates under sail or bare poles depending on conditions and continues to be popular.

Winstar

Winstar Cruise operates from Alderney Landing in Dartmouth and caters to Asian visitors with seafood meals and service in Chinese. The boat was new to Halifax last year. See previous post: http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-halifax-tour-boat.html

Others

There are other smaller boats in the harbour tour and Northwest Arm tour business. This is a boat I have seen only once and unable to identify by name. Vessels under 15 gross tons are not necessarily registered by name, but by number. However they commonly have unofficial names. They are also required to display the registration number. They can also be registered by name. If so the name is to be displayed.
The operators have a web site: https://halifaxharbourtours.ca

The 60 minute tour for six people, is billed as quietly "all electric" in a classy thirties "European river boat" style replica. The 30 footer is new this year and runs from Purdy's Wharf.


The Cameron Brothers of Stewiacke, NS built the schooner Katie Belle themselves and brought it to Halifax in 2016 with the intention of operating harbour tours, but the boat has remained idle in Mill Cove again this year.

Several boat operators in Eastern Passage offer fishing trips outside the harbour, but that is the subject of a future post.

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Arrivals, auspicious and otherwise + Sunday update

There were three notable arrivals in Halifax today - some making more of an impression than others.

The first was the Canadian owned Zélada Desgagnés, arriving from Freeport, Bahamas, under the Barbados flag. Like several of her sister ships in the Transport Desgagnés fleet, the ship spends a portion of the year trading internationally under foreign flag. Come summer however the ships return to Canadian flag and prepare to service northern Quebec and arctic ports during the July - October resupply season.

Zélada Desgagnés dates from 2009 when it was built by Qingshan Shipyard in Wuhan, China as part of a large order of heavy lift general cargo ships initiated by Beluga Shipping. Launched as Beluga Freedom, it was renamed Zélada Desgagnés on delivery. It was initially registered in Canada in January 2009 but reflagged to Antigua and Barbuda to work for Beluga Shipping  until June 2009 when it arrived in Canada. Despite the failure of Beluga Shipping, the ship has continued to work bareboat charters for much of the year.
The 9611 grt, 12,850 dwt ship is equipped with two 180 tonne cranes. Fleet mates Rosaire A. Desgagnés (ex Beluga Fortification) and Sedna Desgagnés (ex Beluga Festivity) are fitted with two 120 tonne cranes but are essentially sister ships.

The port of registry of Bridgetown (Barbados) is offset to port, but welded letters ''Quebec'' are centered under the ship's name. A few brush strokes will return them to prominence, while Bridgetown will be painted over.

The ship tied up at pier 26 where it is expected to be handed over to a Canadian crew and reflagged in the next few days.

Updated on Sunday:

Despite fog and rain the foreign crew was busy returning the ship to its pre-charter condition. This also included painting QUÉBEC as the port of registry. The ship is still flying the Barbados flag, so the actual handover has not yet taken place.

  
Captains J. Henri-Zélada Desgagnés (b.1880) and his son Joseph Artur Zélada ''Mick'' Desgagnés (b.1903) were, among the founding fathers of the current Desgagnés fleet, which is no longer family owned, but nevertheless pays tribute to its roots by continuing to honor the family name.

A pair of new vessels to Halifax made their arrivals today:

Kawartha Spirit is the latest acquisition of the Ambassatours fleet, as a replacement for Haligonian III. Of essentially the same design, and built by the same builders, Hike Metal Products Ltd of Wheatley, ON, Kawartha Spirit  is in fact eight years older, built in 1964. However it has spent its entire existence in fresh water, first as Miss Muskoka. It has also been upgraded with a more modern wheelhouse and other amenities.

Its last owner, Randy Hinton of Bobcaygeon, ON operated the boat for 26 years until accepting the offer to sell to Ambassatours. He also undertook to deliver the boat down the Trent Severn Waterway, across Lake Ontario to the New York State Canal  system to New York City, then hugging the coast to Halifax.

I am hopeful of a name change, but so far Ambassatours is using the Kawartha Spirit name in its advertising.

The most noted, but perhaps least auspicious arrival today was the debut of the Katie Belle, the product of amateur boat building cousins from Stewiacke, NS. They captured the imagination of many with their five year home build project schooner, which has already this year sailed as far as Charleston, SC where it was rigged and outfitted with sails.

Construction of a 23m schooner is no doubt a singular achievement, but the boat's graceless lines and high freeboard show little reference to Nova Scotia schooner tradition. 

 

Its much anticipated arrival in Halifax nearly resulted in tragedy however, when it cut across the main shipping channel, without warning or communication forcing the auto carrier Zenith Leader to stop engines to avoid a collision. Later tacking about in the harbour caused some concerns among other vessels as well, most notably the harbour ferries.

Failure to maintain VHF listening watch, failure to adhere to navigation lanes, failure to give way and general inattention are among the most common  misdeeds of pleasure sailors in Halifax, giving commercial shipping fits on an almost daily basis in the summer season. I have never heard of any  consequences for violators however. So it seems unlikely that carelessness and ignorance of the rules of the road is likely to change without police or Coast Guard enforcement. Someday an accident will happen.

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