St. Roch

The "St. Roch" was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police schooner, the first ship to completely circumnavigate North America, and the second sailing vessel to complete a voyage through the Northwest Passage. (It was the first ship to complete the Northwest Passage in the direction west to east, going the same route that Amundsen on the sailing vessel Gjøa went east to west, 38 years earlier.)

The ship often was captained by Henry Larsen.The ship can now be found at the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is open to the public for scheduled visits.

History

* 1928 - constructed in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at Burrard Dry Dock Shipyards
* 1929-1939 - supplied and patrolled Canada's Arctic
* 1940-1942 - became first vessel to complete a voyage through the Northwest Passage in a west to east direction
* 1944 - became first vessel to make a return trip through the Northwest Passage, through the more northerly route considered the true north west passage, and also the first to navigate the passage in a single season
* 1944-1948 - patrolled Arctic
* 1950 - became first vessel to circumnavigate North America, from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, British Columbia, via the Panama Canal
* 1954 - returned to Vancouver for preservation
* 1962 - designated a Canadian National Historic Site at the Vancouver Maritime Museum

Construction

The "St. Roch" was made primarily of thick Douglas-fir, with very hard Australian Eucalyptus "iron bark" on the outside, and an interior hull reinforced with heavy beams to withstand ice pressure during her Arctic duties. Her length was 31.78 metres (104.25 feet). The St. Roch was designed by Tom Hallidie and was based on Roald Amundsen's ship the "Maud" [ [http://pwnhc.learnnet.nt.ca/research/archrep/central.htm Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre - Baymaud] ]

References

Further reading

* Thompson, John Beswarick. "The more northerly route : a photographic study of the 1944 voyage of the St. Roch through the Northwest Passage" (Ottawa, ON, Canada, Parks Canada. 1974)

External links

* [http://www.hnsa.org/ships/stroch.htm "St. Roch" page at Historical Naval Ships Association]
* [http://www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com Vancouver Maritime Museum]
* [http://www.rcmpmuseum.com RCMP Museum]