OLD BUT GOLD
HMCS Oriole is the oldest ship in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).
She was built in 1921 for the Gooderham family and sailed out of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto, until World War II. She was loaned to the RCN during the war as a training ship, then became formally comissioned into the RCN in 1952. She displaces 92 tonnes, has a beam of 19.5 feet, and her length overall is 100′. HMCS Oriole has sleeping accommodations for a ship’s company of 22. HMCS Oriole is ketch rigged and despite her age, holds speed records achieved while racing.
When fully rigged, HMCS Oriole sets 13,133 square feet of Dacron sail. These tremendous sails are all manhandled; there is not a winch on the ship. HMCS Oriole’s hull is steel, however its decks, cabin house, skylights and hatches are all made of teak; it is a sturdy ocean cruiser and valuable for team work and seamanship training. Its participation in racing is primarily to give inexperienced crews further opportunities for training.
- Nationality: Canada
- Year built: 1921
- Home port: Esquimalt
- Rig: Bm Ketch
- Height: 16.83 m
- Length of hull: 12.90 m
(Dates and locations are subject to change)
Port Visit | Arrival | Departure |
Charlottetown | 15-Jul | 18-Jul |
Gaspé | 21-Jul | 24-Jul |
Chicoutimi | 28-Jul | 31-Jul |
Québec | 3-Aug | 6-Aug |
Montréal | 7-Aug | 10-Aug |
Brockville | 12-Aug | 14-Aug |
Kingston | 14-Aug | 17-Aug |
Port Dalhousie | 18-Aug | 21-Aug |
Amhurstburg | 23-Aug | 28-Aug |
Sarnia | 1-Sep | 5-Sep |
Hamilton | 9-Sep | 14-Sep |
Toronto | 15-Sep | 18-Sep |
Trois-Rivieres | 22-Sep | 25-Sep |
Charlottetown | 28-Sep | 1-Oct |