White Beavers and Wood Boats

I served on the Beaver Ash in around 1965. She was a very, very happy ship & the food was great best of any ship I served on & even for us on 12-4 they had food left out for us to have a fry up after the watch as long as we cleaned up afterwards, which we did. How good was that? Must say she rolled like a .... we reckoned as we had our ports bolted down all times it was like being in a Bendex washing machine as the green sea was right over the port every time she rolled your cabin side. We had some hilarious incidents on her up the Gt Lakes. One when the officer of the watch preferred to ignore a strong comment about "sir we are cutting to close" from the lookout hit a gas fuelled light buoy which exploded & sent a sheet of flame up the accommodation leaving a huge black burn mark. Capt. not best pleased (: The other was coming along side almost light ship in Detroit & same officer when asked to go astern to bring stern in to wharf went full astern! Well her stern kicked up then landed on the wharf on top of one of those large steel bollard sending it hurtling like a ping pog ball down the wharf in hot pursuit of some very large black US dockers. Talk about laugh. Big dent in hull so we named her Beaver Crash after that.

I did two trips as the Gt Lakes were just so beautiful as is Canada + the crew stayed as we were a tight knit team, all of us. Everyone got on & there were plenty of laughs all the time just one big happy family.

Had an interesting growler ice berg incident en route home on one of the voyages but that is for another time, scary but funny too. 2nd officer actually worked out how long it would take us to sink along with our time for survival in the water (: Gallaha!

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Originally Posted by John Arton

Hi
Anyone remember the white Beavers (Fir,Ash,Elm,Oak,Pine) and London docks, Antwerp, Montreal and St. Johns bars frequented by all CP personnel.
As a young cadet in the 60's coming from the countryside (Lake District), London in the 60's was certainly a eye opener. Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park, Carnaby Street,the Roundhouse plus all those down by the East India Docks if you ventured that far, the Station Hotel at Canning Town with strippers, drag artists in a pub near Vauxhall bridge and then onto Antwerp. Dannys bar, Ringos and Ermars all just across from where we tied up in Antwerp. Them Montyplonk, joe Beefs plus the Venus? bar (saw a guy get shot in that one) plus all the clubs up on St. Catherines where you were offered all sorts of strange substances by the doormen. St. Johns in the winter where parties went on till 0600 every morning, starting the night you tied up and only finishing the day you sailed (about 20 days later) with up to 50 guests at a time.
I was on the Fir when they changed colour and the Railway? Pub just opposite Silvertown station had its windows and doors painted CP green before the first ship even had a dab of it on (Elm was the first).
Thought I'd died and gone to heaven and had to be dragged off the Fir. Then got sent to a wood boat out to BC and realised that heaven did exist. Port Alberni (the Beaumon hotel), Nanaimo, Harmac etc. and all those parties.
Actually had half a dozen of the Alberni girls turn up at my mothers house in a camper van they had hired to tour the U.K. in, bit of an embarrassment that was.
Guess we could see the writing on he wall back then with all the theft in London docks and Labour problems in B.C. but who would not love to go back to those days.

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Hello John,

Please excuse the (very) late response to your post. I was a deck cadet on the Beaveroak during 1968 and my third ship was the NR Crump heading for the West Coast (Vancouver, Nanaimo - Harmac, Crofton and of course Port Alberni). I emigrated to Vancouver in 1972. I am very familiar with the "Alberni girls" you mentioned and have kept in touch with them over the years. They are all retired now (as am I) and still live in the area. Do you recall parties at the little green house.? They were all teachers at local elementary schools. They flew into Gatwick one summer on a charter, rented a Commer Van (converted into a motorhome) and travelled from Land's End to John o' Groats. On the same trip as you mentioned they also stopped by my home in Fleetwood.

My career in Canada was with the airlines for 33 years including CP Air, Canadian Airlines and finally Air Canada. When I retired 6 years ago, my wife and I moved to Ladysmith (just south of Nanaimo).

Unfortunately, I don't recall the names of those I sailed with but now I have found this web-site perhaps I will be reminded.

Love to hear from anyone who sailed on the Beaveroak (1968), Lord Strathcona (1969) NR Crump, 1969/70
and JV Clyne (1971)

kindest regards, Steve Wareing

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Originally Posted by Steve Wareing

Hello John,

Please excuse the (very) late response to your post. I was a deck cadet on the Beaveroak during 1968 and my third ship was the NR Crump heading for the West Coast (Vancouver, Nanaimo - Harmac, Crofton and of course Port Alberni). I emigrated to Vancouver in 1972. I am very familiar with the "Alberni girls" you mentioned and have kept in touch with them over the years. They are all retired now (as am I) and still live in the area. Do you recall parties at the little green house.? They were all teachers at local elementary schools. They flew into Gatwick one summer on a charter, rented a Commer Van (converted into a motorhome) and travelled from Land's End to John o' Groats. On the same trip as you mentioned they also stopped by my home in Fleetwood.

My career in Canada was with the airlines for 33 years including CP Air, Canadian Airlines and finally Air Canada. When I retired 6 years ago, my wife and I moved to Ladysmith (just south of Nanaimo).

Unfortunately, I don't recall the names of those I sailed with but now I have found this web-site perhaps I will be reminded.

Love to hear from anyone who sailed on the Beaveroak (1968), Lord Strathcona (1969) NR Crump, 1969/70
and JV Clyne (1971)

kindest regards, Steve Wareing

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Hi Steve,
First time Ive seen the name Lord Strathcona on any of these sites. I sailed on her later than you though. It was 1972 as Purser/CS but a good trip signed off in south of france I recall Port Du Bou ? Was on Cunard cargo boats fifteen years and loved the Canadian run despite harsh winters.
Stuart

Around 1961 I was in a yacht based at Oak Bay near Victoria. Our favourite watering hole there was the Lord Strathcona Hotel. Mine host anxious not to have the walls in the WC defaced placed a black board over the urinals with a piece of chalk.

Several poets indulged and one piece I remember went.

"It's no use standing on the seat

The crabs in here can jump six feet."

John,

I sailed on the Beaverlake March 1954 to June 1954 and the Beaverburn January 1955 to May 1955 as a Wiper. Outwardbound we had two major incidents but I can not remember on which ship. The first was a crankcase case explosion which nearly injured an Oiler who had just checked the overheads. The second was in the Gulf of St Lawrence when we hit wreckage or some said a SUB.
The first incident required us to lay off Falmouth to alow the Insureres Representative to inspect and clear the ship for the trip without a standby unit.The second resulted in us having to drydock in Halifax to replace the screw and stern gland. On my first trip on a Beaver Boat , I was amazed at the quality and amount of the food,quite outstanding.I was given a tour of the bars in Antwerp two fellow Wipers Ricky Sayers and Ray Deluze. As I recall Maria`s Bar was the RINGO BAR and she had an attractive daughter who had her favourates, at least one on each of my ships.

We also called at the WHITEHOUSE BAR and looked in at DANNY`S BAR. I passed thru Antwerp in 1970 on the way to Germany and the RINGO BAR was still there but Maria had left for Spain the day before and it was closed. In 2006 I was on a Fred Olsen Cruise ship and we stopped in Antwerp at the old CPS Berth going ashore I could find no trace of the old haunts as there had been quite a lot of redevelopment work in the area. There was however, a Bar opposite the berth called THE BEAVER BAR which I do not remember and it had pictures of the old ships on the wall. It was closed while we were in port so I was unable to check it out.

Montreal was like visiting another planet for me after wartime and post war Britain with all the shortages again I had the advantage of an escorted tour taking in China Town and the 42 Club.
Where was the Rodeo Bar ?

I have had occasion to visit the old Victoria Docks which now houses an exhibition centre. The old haunts have now been replaced by upmarket winebars frequented by members of the self admiration society who have no concept of what it is like to do a days real work. On that happy note I will sing off. Any background on the two incidents mentioned in Para One would be interesting.

Regards,

John Nicholson

I sailed for CP for about five years from 1965-1970. Met a lot of great people on quite a few ships Beaverelm, Beaverpine, Beaverash, maiden voyage of the Lord Strathcona and my last ship the Pacific Logger. I am going to attemp to attach a photograph that I took of "Captain Boots" real name Captain Aikman in the bar onboard the Beaverpine in 1968 when we got the Golden Cane for being the first ship up to Quebec,
Sorry guys could not upload it
Geoff Bray

I guess I did attach the photo

Pub just up the road fron The Steeps was the Free Masons, all Irish bar maids.
Was not the Seamans Mission next to the Steeps known as "Stornaway Castle"".