Page 25 - Life and Death of the "Aspy"

ISSUE : Issue 14

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1976/8/1

~,-y?'??''p "Aspy" at South Gut; the wharf at North River; the "Aspy" at White Point. If the weather was bad, you'd take your run from Cranberry to Point Aconi and keep up under the shore to Breton Cove • then you get out of bad weather and wind and can run down along the shore to Sraokey. Capt, York didn't think it was as bad as it was going to be* He kept right straight for Smokey. When we got right off of Bird Islands, we knew then that she couldn't raake it. Storra and wind. Beat every window out of one side of her. Roy Bennet and 1 got out with battens, nailing canvas on the windows to keep her from flooding. Loaded with passengers. We were all day out there, five hours trying to get in far enough to run in St. Ann's Bay • then we run in around Big Bras d'Or Channel and tied up at the wharf at New Campbell? ton about 4 o'clock in the afternoon • af? ter leaving North Sydney at 9. Next morn? ing we left Big Bras d'Or and made the trip north. Lida: I have seen one morning when we left Dingwall • there was a terrific storm- sheep on board and everything, some on the deck. The boat was rolling so much the cook Angus Hines lashed the pots and everything on the stoves • iron bars to keep the pots on • the water coming in everywhere and finally we had to leave down below. The cook was up to his knees in water. Another morning, he just had to close the kitchen right down • it was full of water • bedroom and hallways downstairs all full of water. That's the worse in four years that I was on. Pottie was cap? tain. Said to me, "The worse storm that I've ever been on. We just had nip and tuck." But he never gave in at the time. Said there were times he went down he never expected us to come back up. Ihose waves. And people in Ingonish were out with glasses, watching her come across. Ihey said vrtien she went down they couldn't see her, only get a glimpse of the smoke? stack or soraething. They never expected her to get back up out of those terrific? ally deep waves. And by that tirae, the boat was getting bad....(How long after that was she condemned?) Capt. Smith: It was a little better than a year after that. Lida: She was taking water that day. And we had a crowd of passengers, going to Dingwall • and raany were Catholic. I got into their stateroora soraehow but it was hard slugging to get even in the door • and they had their beads out and they were praying. And some of them were so sick they couldn't even pray. Capt. Smith: I'll tell you, we had sorae queer old nights. Go to the v'arf at White Point and then the wind would corae off and you'd have to get the hell out and you'd run up then under Sugar Loaf • anchor there and roll all night, rail in and rail out. Lida: Great way to sleep. I love to go to bed on a ship. I always went to bed every afternoon • after the dinner was over • and I could sleep, oh boy • just roll back and forth. Capt. Smith: I was on 1935 to 1944 • then back

Cape Breton's Magazine