A To Z Challenge 2017 - C is for Class C Vessels

Class C

Modern rigged vessels with a length of less than 40 m and with a waterline length. The length of the point at which the vessel sits in the water, at least 9.14 m. They are not carrying spinnaker like sails.

Oriole was originally laid down as the Oriole IV, the successor in a line of vessels named Oriole that were in service as the flagships for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club of Toronto, Ontario. During World War II, she was chartered by the Royal Canadian Navy as a training vessel. In 1949 she was again chartered by the Navy as a new recruit training vessel, and subsequently moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1951. 

She was officially commissioned HMCS Oriole 19 June 1952, and two years later the navy moved her to CFB Esquimalt to become a training vessel to the Naval Officer Training Centre.

Class: D
Nationality: Canada
Length: 27.72 m
Height: 20.66m
Rig: BM Ketch
Home Port: Esquimalt

Year built: 1921

The Oriole will be sailing in Rendez-Vous 2017

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A To Z Challenge 2017 B is for Bluenose II

BLUENOSE II is an international sailing ambassador and is home ported in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The vessel’s main purpose is to promote tourism for Nova Scotia and make the ship available for short day cruises when in Nova Scotia. The mission is to promote the history and legacy of BLUENOSE & BLUENOSE II. To teach and promote seamanship and life skills in young Canadians.

BLUENOSE II is a replica of the original BLUENOSE, which was built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Under Captain Angus Walters, she became famous as winner of the International Fishermen’s Series of schooner races from that date until the last race in 1938. BLUENOSE was featured on a Canadian postage stamp in 1928 and on the Canadian dime in 1937, where it can still be seen. The original BLUENOSE was lost in 1946 on a reef near Haiti.

BLUENOSE II built in 1963 is owned by the Province of Nova Scotia.

BLUENOSE II is operated and maintained by the Lunenburg Marine Museum Society, which also operates the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.

Class: A
Nationality: Canada
Length: 43.60 m
Height: 40.24 m
Rig: Shooner Gaff-Rig
Year built: 1963



Home port: Lunenburg, Canada

Bluenose II will be sailing in Rendez-Vous 2017

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A To Z Challenge 2017 – A is for Tall Ship Alexander Von Humboldt II

ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II has been sailing the high seas since 2011. Like its predecessor ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT, ALEX-2 is a civilian square rigger offering tall ship voyages for everyone, regardless of previous experience. All you need is an open mind and a spirit of adventure!

ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II has been built with a traditional barque rig. That means the fore and main mast carry square sails while the sternmost, the mizzen mast, carries gaff sails. In total, ALEX-2 is driven by 24 sails with a sail area of 1.360 m2. In favorable wind conditions, she runs up to 14 knots. And if the wind does not blow at all, a 750 horsepower engine helps to reach the next port in time.

While the rigging resembles that of a windjammer built 150 years ago, the safety and rescue equipment of ALEXANDER von HUMBOLDT II is absolutely up to date. Radar, radio and satellite communication, electronic charts, life rafts, two high speed dinghys and many things more make her a modern ship and easy to navigate.

Alex-2 is owned and operated by Deutsche Stiftung Sail Training (German Sail Training Foundation / DSST), based in the barque’s homeport Bremerhaven. DSST is a non-profit, charitable organization. Its aims are to provide traditional high seas sailing for people of all ages, but especially for young men and women aged 15-25.

The Alexander von Humboldt II will be among the Tall Ships sailing in Rendez - Vous 2017

Class: A
Nationality: Germany
Length: 57.00 m
Height: 36.85 m
Rig: Barque 3
Year built: 1906
Home port: Bremerhaven, Germany

 

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A To Z Challenge 2017

 

My theme for the 2017 A To Z Challenge is 'Cathedrals of the Seas' to celebrate RDV 2017 (Rendez-Vous 2017)

More than 40 Tall Ships will be sailing Canadian waters to honour the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation in 2017. They are scheduled to stop at host ports in Ontario, Québec and the Maritimes, giving thousands of people the opportunity to admire the majestic beauty of these cathedrals of the seas.

The jewel in the crown of the RDV 2017 Tall Ships Regatta is the arrival of the international fleet into Québec and Lévis up the St Lawrence River. As well as the tremendous Tall Ships, thousands of visitors from across Canada and internationally, will enjoy free land activities, colourful crew parades and street artist performances.   

Let me take you traveling with me...

A transatlantic race to six countries

The Québec City and Lévis rallying point is one stop along a transatlantic race of 7,000 nautical miles taking place over the course of five months in 2017. The race starts at the port of Royal Greenwich in Great Britain on April 13 and finishes in the port of Le Havre, France, which will welcome the grand winner between August 31 and September 3. There will be stops in Portugal, Bermuda, the United States and Canada along the way.

The Tall Ships Regatta comprises five legs of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty.For each leg, there is a main rallying point where thousands of visitors can take part in the many activities organized for the event.

Event from April 13 to 16, 2017
Royal Greenwich, United Kingdom
Start of the race
The borough of Royal Greenwich, with its proud seafaring history, is the ideal location for the start of the first leg of the RDV 2017 Tall Ships Regatta. This UNESCO world heritage site is home to the world-renowned ship Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum.

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The Tall Ships Regatta

An exciting transatlantic race of 7,000 nautical miles taking place over the course of five months in six countries. At their arrival in the Gulf of St Lawrence, the Tall Ships will start the Guest Port Program portion of their trip and will stop in more than 35 Canadian ports.

The Tall Ships Regatta comprises five legs of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty. For each leg, there is a main point where thousands of visitors can take part in the many activities organized for the event. Meet the Tall Ships taking part in RDV2017 Class A, B, and C ships as well as ships from participating national navies will be in port.
  

Class A

All square rigged vessels, with sails at right angles to their length, as well as other vessels longer than 40 m.


The Empire Sandy was laid down in the shipyard of Clelands (Successors), Willington Quay-on-Tyne England on Dec 22, 1942. She was built as an Englishman/Larch class Deep Sea Tug with the added provision for mounting two Hotchkiss Anti-Aircraft guns. She was completed and went into service on July 14, 1943. 

Her first voyage commenced July 30th sailing in convoy to Iceland. Voyages were usually done in convoys for protection against the German U-Boats. The Empire Sandy sailed in a total of sixteen convoys to her destinations, the exception being the voyage to Sierra Leone in Dec 1944 where she traveled ‘Independently’.

She served in the North Atlantic from Iceland to Sierra Leone, the Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

Class: A
Nationality: Canada
Length: 61.89 m
Height: 35.36 m
Rig: Topsail Schooner 3
Year Built: 1943
Home Port: Thunder Bay, Ontario
Official Website: Empire Sandy


This has been a preview of my subject for this years 2017 Blogging from A to Z Challenge, join me, won’t you?
 
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Settling the American West: the Role of the Canadiens and Métis-part 1

Maple Stars and Stripe Podcast



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HMCS Ville de Quebec (K 242)

 

 

Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy

Type
Corvette

Class
Flower

Pennant
K 242

Built by
Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Co. (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)

Ordered

Laid down
7 Jun 1941

Launched
12 Nov 1941

Commissioned
24 May 1942

End service
6 Jul 1945

History

Decommissioned 6 July 1945.
Sold into mercantile service in 1946 and renamed Dispina, renamed Dorothea Paxos in 1947, Tanya in 1948 and Medex in 1949. She was listed on Lloyd's Register until 1952.

 

Notable events involving Ville de Quebec include:

28 Oct 1942
HMCS Alberni (Lt. I.H. Bell, RCNVR) and HMCS Ville de Quebec (T/Lt.Cdr. A.R.E. Coleman, RCNR) together pick up 81 survivors from the British whale factory ship Sourabaya that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day in the North Atlantic in position 54°32'N, 31°02'W by German U-boat U-436

13 Jan 1943
German U-boat U-224 was sunk in the western Mediterranean west of Algiers, in position 36°28'N, 00°49'E, by ramming and depth charges from the Canadian corvette HMCS Ville de Quebec (T/Lt.Cdr. A.R.E. Coleman, RCNR).

 

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