Fun on the water

Yup – just a bit of fun…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kingston Bound

A chance encounter with a beautiful ship bound for Kingston.

The St. Lawrence II was designed in 1952 by Francis MacLachlan and Mike Eames expressly for youth sail training. The hull was built at Kingston Shipyards in 1953 and she was finished by local craftsmen, the Kingston Sea Cadets, and enthusiastic amateurs, many donating their time. Originally attached to the “Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps St. Lawrence”, her program was soon opened to other youth groups and now any teen, 13 to 18 years of age, can apply to join her crew for a summer training cruise.

 

The video gets a bit bouncy as we were doing about 35 knots while closing to intercept and I’m hanging out the front.

 

The ship is built of all welded steel to very high safety standards, with an overall length of 72 feet, a deck length of 60 feet, a beam of 15 feet, and a draft of 8.5 feet. The rig is that of the traditional brigantine with square sails on the foremast and for-and-aft sails on the main. The total area of her working sails is about 2,500 square feet. She is also powered with a 125 horsepower diesel engine which will give her 8 knots under power. Electricity is supplied by a 12.5 kilowatt diesel generator. Navigation and communication equipment include GPS and VHF radio. There is accommodation for 25 officers and trainees in three cabins, separated by watertight bulkheads and doors.