The Nauticapedia

Featured Articles:

Tracking Down the Members of the University Naval Training Division

07/05/2012 Bill Clearihue has taken on the daunting task of tracking down all the former members of the University Naval Training Division - 8,000 young Canadians who trained with the Canadian naval reserve from 1943-1968. He has created a Nominal List which begins the process of sharing the huge body of information on this little-known unit that he has uncovered. He also shares a list of examples of former members who achieved career successes (which many of them attributing it to a good grounding gained during their naval training).

The Tradition of Crossing The Equator

28/04/2012 The ceremonies for Crossing the Line have come into disrepute in recent years. At one time this ancient and entertaining tradition served a useful purpose for maintaining morale at sea and creating esprit d’corps. The ceremonies were colourful, clever and entertaining.

The Script of a Crossing The Line Ceremony

28/04/2012 The complete script for a typical Crossing the Line Ceremony as carried out on a ship of the Royal Canadian Navy in 1957.

Early Days in the Rainbow Sea Cadets Corps, Victoria BC

21/04/2012 The Navy League of Canada is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1895 and incorporated in 1918. The Victoria Branch was founded in 1901. The Navy League of Canada sponsored the establishment of the Rainbow Sea Cadet Corps in Victoria BC some time after 1920. Generations of boys who were members of the Rainbow Sea Cadets went on to careers in the navy and the merchant marine.

Featured Extraordinary Maritime People:

Bill the Collie (Friend and Lifesaver) and Philip Cox (Lightkeeper)

07/04/2012 One of the most unlikely British Columbia lighthouse heroes was a small collie companion to the Cox Family at Cape Beale Light Station. Philip Cox began keeping the light at Sisters Island in 1921. The Humane Society rewarded Bill the Collie with a medal and he received special praise in the newspapers for his part in the rescue of the crew of the fish boat Sea Wolf. Bill later won a second medal for his part in preventing a ship from running onto the Cape in heavy fog.

Featured Gallery Images:

The Tugboat Anne Carlander

14/05/2012 The Anne Carlander is a steel-hulled tug (a sister ship to the Edith Lovejoy) built in 1972 at Marine Construction & Design Co., Seattle WA USA (MARCO Shipyard) for Puget Sound Freightlines. She is seen in the Fraser River twoing for AMIX Heavy Lift in New Westminster BC.

Big Barges on the Fraser River

10/04/2012 There are some excellent locations for shipwatching around Greater Vancouver BC. Beyond the harbour with its obvious attractions the Fraser River offers opportunities to see ships close-up. It takes some effort though, and the best locations are not obvious and require personal exploration. Our Vancouver Waterfront Correspondent, Dave Shirlaw, took me ship watching down below the Patullo Bridge on the Surrey BC side of the Fraser River. Dave knows his way around the best locations for watching vessels in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Featured Arctic Article:

The Anglo-American Polar Expedition 1906

10/04/2012 In 1906 Ernest de Koven Leffingwell and Ejnar Mikkelsen searched for new lands in the Arctic ocean from their ship base in the Duchess of Bedford departing from Victoria B.C. In Mikkelsen's words the scientific results of the expedition "had ascertained the extent of the Continental Shelf, and even if we had not found the land we had so implicitly believed in, it was a consolation for us to know that to prove the absence of land was of as much scientific value as to find it!"

Angus Brabant – Fur Trade Commissioner and Canadian Arctic Commerce Pioneer

05/03/2012 Angus Brabant joined the Hudson’s Bay Company as an Apprentice Clerk in 1886 and after serving at Manitoba House, Cumberland House and Fort Smith he became Inspector of the Athabaska District. In 1905. He was serving as the Manager of Mackenzie River District. From 1908-1920 he established HBC fur trade posts on the Arctic Coast. In 1920 he became Fur Trade Commissioner.

Featured Reference Tables:

• UNTD - Nominal List 14/04/2012 (pdf).
• UNTD - Deceased List 14/04/2012 (pdf).
• UNTD - VIP List 14/04/2012 (pdf).

Bill Clearihue has developed a Nominal List of the University Naval Training Division (UNTD) of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve which contains the names of almost 6,000 former members and details of their service. Other lists available from him detail the former members known to be deceased and a list of former members who achieved positions of note in their civilian or military careers. Clearihue will update these lists from time-to-time and they will be updated on this site.

Canada's Admirals & Commodores

07/11/2011 Canada has a rich naval heritage which tends to have a low public profile. To the detriment of the Navy and our awareness of our national culture and history, Canada's naval contribution in two World Wars, the Korean conflict and the many United Nations and NATO operations is hidden from public view. The great contribution of the navy is both interesting and important - but it is difficult for history lovers to access the information. In 1994 I published Canada's Admirals and Commodores (ISBN #0-09693001-2-3). Since that time I have been maintaining updates to the entries in that publication as well as tracking names of new appointments.