HMCS Oriole

Isn’t this a beautiful boat?    Last night we saw her glide in front of our deck to anchor near Galiano.  Much before 7:00 AM this morning we heard the very loud clump clump of her bringing up the anchor chain, so managed to get to the deck with camera to catch her going out on the Salish Sea.   (Yes, I was up, but back in bed with coffee, soon to return there…:-))

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship, Oriole, is a Canadian Navy training vessel, based in Victoria, BC.  A ketch 31 meters long, she is the oldest commissioned vessel in the Royal Canadian Navy, launching in 1921 as Oriole lV as one of the flagships for the Royal Canadian Yacht club of Toronto.   She was commissioned in WWll by the Royal Canadian Navy as a training vessel and again chartered after the war by the navy as a new recruit training vessel.  IN 1956 she was purchased outright and moved to Victoria where she provides sail training to officers and also is a venue for teamwork and adventure training for all the Canadian forces.   She participates in many local events and we have seen her in Seattle at Opening day of Yachting season in May, part of the parade of boats through the Montlake Cut.  The extra is from May this year when she had a convenient north wind for that spinaker.


Enjoying the quiet here by ourselves on this long holiday weekend.  Broom patrol this morning before it gets too hot out, and then I get to work in the studio on projects and even indulge myself with a nap there in the loft some days.  A few more days of bliss...