Canada’s oldest naval vessel visits the Sault
Crowds showed up by the thousands to view Canada’s oldest and longest serving naval vessel. HMCS Oriole spent the Canada Day weekend docked at the Port of Sault Ste. Marie, where the crew offered free tours of the 101-year-old sailing ship.
The Oriole was first launched in 1921, and was eventually commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in 1954. These days, Oriole serves as a training vessel, with a crew complement of 21.
Sailor 3rd Class Miguel Tremblay says unlike the RCN’s modern fleet, every task aboard Oriole is done manually.
“Nothing is mechanical, everything is done by hand,” said Tremblay. “Just to leave a harbour in comparison to our big warships, you undo the lines and it’s all by engine. Here, everything is done by hand. The anchor is the worst thing in the world. Any sort of anchor, that’s all done by hand.”
Tremblay says Oriole has undergone some upgrades over the years, giving the crew some amenities the ship wouldn’t otherwise have.
“We have outlets and plugs now, which is great, we have modern toilets, so that’s a nice feature to have at sea,” he said, adding the navy is also trying out wifi on the ship to give the crew a means to communicate with home.
Tremblay said Sunday over 3,000 people have toured the ship while it was docked in the Sault over the Canada Day weekend. Most remarked on how well the century-old vessel is aging, particularly the wood work. Tremblay says keeping the wood in good condition is in itself a full-time job.
“It’s a lot of work maintaining her,” he said. “One of the skills I’ve learned is wood work, something I never thought I’d (learn) on a navy vessel. Most of our ships are steel and paint. This one is wood, so it’s a lot of wood work, and care and love for sure.”
HMCS Oriole will set sail for Thessalon on Monday, with tours to be offered the following day. The journey from the Sault to Thessalon is expected to take close to nine hours.
Even at 101-years-old, the crew says Oriole will likely remain in service for some time to come.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.