Page 79 - "Cap" Cowley - A Salvage Tug Captain

ISSUE : Issue 54

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1990/6/1

But after a year of no vacation, and to be asked to go up to Newfoundland--which is a terrible place in the wintertime--St. John's. I did 5 years up there. I don't want to do any more. Especially when I was due for a refit. And I had 5 kids at home (in North Sydney,) who I hadn't seen for quite a time. And they wouldn't even give me time-- they wanted me to sail the next day, after arriving in Halifax. And it was a New Year's Eve. Jesus, there's no way--I was mad. Well, I'll tell you, there was another rea-' son, too. I had already taken my ship, the Foundation Josephine, back to England. And they didn't renew the charter because the silly asses in the Foundation Company didn't read the terms of the charter right. And if they'd wanted the ship for another 5 years, they could have had her by applying and giving notice to the Admiralty by a cer? tain date. And they didn't bloody well read their charter and didn't apply for it, un? til it was just about time the charter was up. Then they wrote and said they wanted her for another 5 years, (but) the Navy wanted her. So that got my goat to start with. So, I took the Foundation Josephine over and handed it back to the Navy. And when I came back to Halifax, Foundation Maritime gave me another ship. And, I didn't like it--I didn't like the other ship at all. I ran her for a year. And I came back to Hal? ifax on New Year's Eve. And I said, "Well, now I expect to have a couple of weeks' leave at any rate." And they said, "Oh, we want you to take the Foundation Lillian, and go up to Newfoundland for the winter." So I thought to myself, I said, "Okay." I said, "I'll take her up. Double my pay!" And one fellow agreed to it. And this Sul? livan guy, who was just down from Montreal to take over from the other guy which died --he wouldn't agree to it. So that's when I told them to stick it. Do you blame me? (Leaving the Foundation Company, though-- have you ever had any regrets about that?) No, no. No regrets at all, no. The Company folded shortly afterwards--after I left. They only lasted another 2 or 3 years. Then they went bust. (Oh, so there is no Scrapbook: "A fine-weather hook-up in the Azores, July 1947. e towed the Liberty ship Robert Watchorn 2664 miles. Foundation, today.) No. It was a big com? pany at one time. She had the highest credit record you could have, you know. When I joined the Foundation Company, it was just after the war. And the casualty amongst ships was very, very high, owing to the fact that during the war years they had not been drydocked and serviced as much as they normally would have been. The conse? quence was that there were any number of ships losing their propellers--or wheels, as they called them--or suffering from dam? aged rudders. And also, ships breaking down in their engine rooms, that couldn't be re? paired at sea. This would not normally have happened. But during the period after the war, it was very frequent. But, as the N0.1 HEATWG • state of th? art heating equipment • Trained heating technicians • Largest Fleet of Home Heating delivery vehicles • Ways to save you money • Budget Payment Plan • FREE Furnace Efficiency Tests IN SYDNEY CALL: STEVE BLUNDON 564-6293 Nova Scotia Cape Breton ''' Health Unit Department ot Health 5??'-Q5'o="

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