Page 28 - Icebreakers around Cape Breton

ISSUE : Issue 45

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1987/6/1

the boat bodily. There was a senior engin? eer, Mr, Troke, he lives here in Sydney, Gordie Troke, and the chief officer--and as the boat came up, they would grab an in? dividual and bring them in over the rail. When the boat came up, we'd grab 2 more. And that's how we took them all out. Then we abandoned that lifeboat. And we started looking around for the second boat with the ship's crew on board, and a lot of ship's officers. We got everyone. And the only one we didn't get was the chief officer. He stayed on board the after section of the Kurdistan. And he was picked off later by a helicopter from Search-and-Rescue. (Does that then end your responsibility with it?) No. She was loaded with oil. And we had to go searching for the oil. It was pumping up on the beaches. We went along the shore of Cape Breton and up towards Halifax. And then, of course, the cleanup. When the people ashore would scrape the oil or shov? el the oil into plastic bags, we would go in and put a barge ashore and load up with these plastic bags of oil and sand, bring them back on board, and bring them into Sydney here, and discharge them on trucks. So that kept up until--well, I guess a- round September. They sunk the bow of the Kurdistan. They took it out in the deep water. It was no problem there, because the oil was so heavy, it congealed, and did not come up. But the stern section--in fact', the Kurdis? tan is now sailing with a new bow section. I can't give you the name, but I know she is sailing again. The Sir William Alexander's done so many jobs"j so many different types of jobs, that it's really hard to recite: jobs of landing supplies to light stations, and aids (to navigation), search-and-rescue, icebreaking. Harbour breakouts. She does a lot of work in the Gulf (of St. Lawrence)-- but she can't take the heavy ice like this one (Labrador) and the John A. MacDonald. Canadian Coast Guard vessel ALERT stands by the bow of the KURDISTAN; the icebreakers LOUIS S. ST. LAUR- ENT and EDWARD CORNWALLIS escort the stern section under tow. Destination: Port Hastings, Cape Breton. I /' We invite you to stroll at your leisure through an on-site woolen mill - II perfectly located for your picnic - overlooking the Bras d'Or Lakes! Cape Breton Woolen Mills Mill Store and Craft Shop 1 * OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK * 1 100% Wool Yarn Hand Knits Madawaska Weaving 1 and a Variety of Maritime Crafts 1 Cape Breton Woolen Mills Ltd. 1 R. R. No. 1, Irish Cove, 1 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia BOA IHO 1 (902) 828-2776 Se Fu I /DCO FUELS 1 rving Homes and Businesses 1 throughout Cape Breton 1 mace Oil Stove Oil Diesel Fuel 1 Gasoline Lubricants 1 24-Hour Emergency Service Distributor of Petrocan 3 BURNER iYDCO lUELS !l' 38 Lewis Drive, Sydney River 539-6444 MDA? 1

Cape Breton's Magazine