Sept 10, 2020
Beloved sailing training programs ties up in The Hammer’s historic port
One of the Great Lakes’ best known tall ships, sail training vessel TS Playfair, will soon be making her home berth at the Hamilton harbour thanks to the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports) and a hard working group of volunteers.
Playfair, specially built in Kingston as a sail-training vessel and licenced by Transport Canada, has been taking generations of 13 to 18-year olds on sailing training courses for the past 48 years.
The volunteer run charity, Brigs Youth Sail Training, formerly known as Toronto Brigantine Inc., that owns and operates TS Playfair, has been looking for a new home for the past two years. “We have watched the tremendous redevelopment of the Hamilton Harbour for years and couldn’t think of a better port for TS Playfair where Great Lakes maritime history is celebrated in Canada’s busiest Great Lakes port,” said Brigs Board Chair Francis Clegg who spent five years as a teenager on board TS Playfair and rose to the rank of Watch Officer.
“We think TS Playfair is a delightful addition to Hamilton’s vibrant and changing waterfront,” said Ian Hamilton, HOPA Ports President & CEO, who is himself a former sail-training participant.
TS Playfair is a 33 tonne, steel hulled, two-masted, square-rigged, 72-foot brigantine. She was christened in Kingston, where she was built in 1972, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II making her the only Canadian ship to be commissioned by a reigning monarch.
A unique feature of the Brigs program is that young people between the age of 13 to 18 manage and operate the vessel. On board are 28 people: 18 new sailors, called trainees, 10 youth officers and two adults, the First Mate and Captain. First Mates and Captains are licensed by Transport Canada. Most Captains and First Mates are graduates of the program.
Information about 2021 courses on board TS Playfair, the organization and people behind it, its history and more, www.brigs.ca, instagram/brigs.sailing, facebook/brigs.sailing 416 596-7117, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TS Playfair will be in Hamilton starting September 1, berthed at Harbour West Marina, close to the Leander Boat Club and Pier 4 Park, adjacent to the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club. The area is easily accessible by the waterfront trail.
- You are here:
-
Home
-
DIY & How To
-
Seamanship
- TS Playfair Coming to Hamilton Harbour
Related Articles
Hamilton Harbour is getting gorgeous
Tuesday, 10 April 2018 23:07Suddenly the once forsaken city of Hamilton, Ontario is booming for at least two good reasons.
Boat Reviews
CY Virtual Video Boat Tours
We all love boats and nothing can break us up! So, what better way to spend our time than looking at interesting boats and going aboard in a virtual ride or tour. We have asked our friends at various dealers and manufacturers to help us assemble a one-stop online resource to experience some of the most interesting boats on the market today. Where the CY Team has done a review, we connect you to that expert viewpoint. If you can’t go boating, you can almost experience the thrill via your screen. Not quite the same, but we hope you enjoy our fine tour collection.
Read more about the CY Virtual Boat Tours....................
Hanse 418
By Katherine Stone
Optimized sailing performance and comfortable living – a sweet ride
The expression that came to mind immediately was “Sweet Ride” – and I wasn’t referring to the latest ride at the CNE, a chairlift, or a new Mercedes – it was the new Hanse 418, as it cleanly cut through the water in a gusty 15-20 knot breeze averaging 6-8 knots on Lake Ontario. She was easy to steer and manoeuver even in the big gusts. The extra length over the 388 has made a big difference, with German architects Judel/Vrolijk focusing on updates to the deck layout, cockpit and stern.
Destinations
Chemainus—the Little Town That Did
By Marianne Scott
The approach to the Chemainus Municipal Dock from Stuart Channel is straightforward and is protected from all but strong northerly winds. The only obstacle may be some large log booms often anchored in the harbour. The Dock is immediately south of the B.C. ferry terminal; the ferry runs to Thetis- and Penelakut Islands.
Harbourmaster Harmen Bootsma, who has been the cheerful, welcoming presence here for a couple of decades, is ready to catch your lines.
Lifestyle
Plominski tries again
Skipper John “Drew” Plominski is hoping that lightning doesn’t strike twice. Plominski, whose boat was destroyed by lightening two years ago, was first in line to register for the 39th biennial Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean race to take place this summer.‘We’re thrilled to see Drew back for another try,” said Richard Hinterhoeller, RNSYS co-race director Plominski’s 30-foot vessel, named Perseverance, was just about ready.
Along with his wife and three friends, he planned to compete in the 363-mile biennial race to Nova Scotia.The South Boston resident left his boat moored at the Columbia Yacht Club the night before the big race and was at his house...
The Association provides a forum for exchanging information, tips and access an advocate on behalf of the membership. Their Directors work with members to find solutions to issues in British Columbia. Members receive quarterly newsletter, with contributions by other members all along the BC coast.
The Association and its members continually update the list of marinas that allow little board moorings. This is a list of known and reported marinas that allow marine residents in British Columbia. We need your help to build and keep this list up-to-date. Please contact us with any additions or edits.
Marine Products
Bold Sea Stories – Prizewinning Nonfiction
By Katherine Stone
There are places and things that we read, hear and dream about, that are on our “bucket list” to cruise. Lake Superior was not one of those places for me and I’m not sure it ever will be, as I remember all too well chipping ice out of the bottom of a Lightning there in early August before we went sailing in a championship regatta.
However, I feel that I have truly been there when I read of the many stories that Marlin Bree artfully describes in his book Bold Sea Stories. Hitting the bookshelves for the first time during the Covid-19 outbreak getting Bold Sea Stories might not be a bad idea, as you can easily acquire it on-line now from Indigo or Amazon for under $20.
