HMCS ''Venture'' was a three-masted schooner built for the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...

in 1937. She served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. She was the second vessel commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy to bear the name ''Venture''. In 1943, the schooner was renamed ''Harbour Craft 190''. The schooner was sold to private interests following the war and renamed ''Alfred & Emily'' before being lost by fire in 1951.

Description

''Venture'' was a three-masted schooner that had a tonnage of and was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of .Macpherson and Barrie, p. 34 The vessel was equipped with of sail and a

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

auxiliary engine. The schooner had a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

of 40, including 24 trainees. The vessel was armed with two 3-pounder guns.

Construction and service

''Venture'' was ordered in 1935 as the Royal Canadian Navy began to expand. The vessel was constructed by Meteghan Shipbuilding Ltd. Co. at

Meteghan, Nova Scotia Meteghan is an Acadian fishing community along the shores of Baie Sainte-Marie in Clare municipality, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is 25 miles northeast of Yarmouth. History Founded in 1785 by Prudent Robichaud, Joseph LeBlanc, and other ...

. The schooner was launched in June 1937 and was commissioned into the

on 25 October 1937. ''Venture'' was based at

as a

. ''Venture'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on 1 September 1939 with war imminent. She was one of only thirteen Royal Canadian Navy ships in service at the outbreak of the

.Tucker, p. 6 She became an accommodation vessel at Halifax for

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

ratings assigned to the 3rd Battleship Squadron. In November 1941, she was recommissioned as a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

at Tuft's Cove, which lies at the entrance to

Bedford Basin Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. Geography Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the ...

. ''Venture'' served as such until 13 May 1943, when she lost her name to the former yacht ''Seaborn''. The schooner was renamed ''Harbour Craft 190'' and remained as such until sold on 10 December 1945 to a Halifax firm. Upon being sold she was renamed ''Alfred & Emily'' and initially served as a sealing vessel. The vessel eventually became a coal carrier, which she served as until she was lost in an explosion/fire off of Bellburns,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

on 3 October 1951.

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Venture Training ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Schooners Sailing ships of Canada Transport in Digby County, Nova Scotia Individual sailing vessels Ships built in Nova Scotia 1937 ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy