The ''STV St. Lawrence II'' (Sail Training Vessel) is a

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Older ...

designed for youth

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

training and is operated by a crew of 14- to 19-year-olds. It was designed in 1952 by Francis MacLachlan and Mike Eames, designed for the sole purpose of youth sail training. The hull was built in 1953 in the Kingston,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

shipyards, with the rest of the ship finished by local craftsmen, Kingston sea cadets and enthusiastic amateurs. When the ''St. Lawrence II'' first started out she was affiliated with the

Royal Canadian Sea Cadets The Royal Canadian Sea Cadets (RCSC; french: links=no, Cadets de la Marine royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Navy League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, t ...

Corps St. Lawrence, but eventually her program was opened to any participants ages 12–18 for a summer training cruises. The ''St. Lawrence II's'' home port is

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. The ship sails mostly in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, but sometimes will venture as far as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The success of the ''St. Lawrence II'' was the inspiration for the construction and launch of her Toronto-based sisterships STV ''Pathfinder'' (in 1962) and TS ''Playfair'' (in 1973), with both training vessels also being designed by Francis A. MacLachlan. Aboard the ship there are three watches: red, white and blue. Each watch is under the direction of a

watch officer Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as ''watches'', are constantly active as they are considered essential to the safe operation o ...

; the remainder of the watch consists of a

petty officer or chief petty officer Petty may refer to: People * Bruce Petty (born 1929), Australian political satirist and cartoonist * Bryce Petty (born 1991), American football player * Dini Petty (born 1945), Canadian television and radio host * Eric D. Petty (born 1954), Amer ...

and up to 6 trainees. Those who sign on to the ''St. Lawrence II'' for a course during the summer become trainees who comprise the basic unit of the ship and who complete most of the tasks, directed by petty officers. On each

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

the watch officer is the senior officer and is usually at the helm or plotting a course so it's up to the

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

s to get the trainees to do their part. Other positions on the ship are the

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

, the

bosun A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

, the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

and the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. The captain and the executive officer are usually the only people on the ship who are over 18 years of age, and they are the most qualified. The watch officers, cook, bosun and petty officers are often under 18 but they will have participated in multiple training cruises and completed further training during the winter training program.

External links

{{Commons category, St Lawrence II (ship, 1953)
Brigantine, Inc home page
Individual sailing vessels 1953 ships Brigantines