A ‘tall ship’ sailed into Southampton harbour on Friday, July 15th, for a brief layover.
The St. Lawrence II brigantine, one of the vessels of ‘The Tall Ships Expeditions Canada’, was sailing from Bayfield on its way to Midland for the Tall Ships Festival when it chose Southampton harbour for a stopover for the weekend and a crew changeover.
The ship originating out of Kingston is a summer teaching vessel for students ages 13 to 18. Prior to stopping in Bayfield, it was in Cleveland, Ohio.
The students aboard are from across Canada, including on this trip five from Nunavut. Also on board is a handcrafted Inuit seaworthy kayak.
It’s an opportunity for students to learn sailing and to explore the Great Lakes and the communities along the shorelines.
There are 24 in total on board with 15 as students. While in Southampton Harbour, the crew will disembark to be replaced by a second crew of students who will leave on Monday at approximately noon to sail for Midland.
One of the Inuit students, Reuben Quanas will remain as it’s his second year sailing in the program as a Petty Officer. From Arctic Bay in Nunavut, he is completing his Grade 12 and is applying to Queen’s University in Political Science. “My grandfather was mayor of Arctic Bay and my mother is a Community Development Officer. I would like to eventually become the MP for Nunavut.
Among the new recruits that will board this weekend are the MacLachan grandchildren of the father who helped design the ship and the legendary Francis MacLachlan, their grandfather, who built it. She is a custom-built Tall Ship that was constructed in the Kingston Shipyards and was launched in 1953. The ship was originally built for the Sea Cadets in Kingston and today she operates as an outdoor adventure program. Since her launch, more than 10,000 students have sailed aboard her learning the science of sailing, teamwork and overcoming challenges.
MacLachlan is considered the father of traditional youth sail training in Canada and also built the Pathfinder and Playfair ships that are used by Toronto Brigantine to teach young sailors at the western end of Lake Ontario.
The MacLachlan descendants – (L) Keith MacLachlan, Ewan MacLachlan, Callum Smith, Christine MacLachlan and Frances NewmanNone of the MacLachlan grandchildren have sailed aboard their Grandfather’s legacy ship but said they are looking forward to it.
