Erin
Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Fri 30 Aug 2019 16:00
The Titanic and Halifax gallery is one of the highlights. It had some poignant exhibits - children’s shoes not paired to a body, in particular. Forensic techniques used to identify bodies in 1912 were reused a few years later after the HalIfax explosion.
Shocking that there were empty places left in the lifeboats and although legend has it “women and children first”, there were more men from First Class than children in the lifeboats!
The “Halifax Wrecked” gallery was very powerful, recounting the devastating effects of the 1917 explosion. On Dec 6th the Mont Blanc, loaded with hundreds of tons of TNT and other explosives collided with the Imo in Halifax harbour. Fire broke out, all abandoned ship and the largest man-made explosion in history, at the time, occurred. 2000 killed, 9000 wounded, many blinded , 20000 homeless. Shockwaves felt 400 km away on Cape Breton Island.
Back to the boat in good time to prepare for Tropical Storm Erin, due to wreak havoc at 3am. Everything tied down, bimini folded away, fenders repositioned, mooring lines checked.
Woken at 2am- torrential rain and high winds but, on the fuel pontoon relatively sheltered. By this time Erin had weakened to a post tropical system.
Halifax got off lightly compared with some areas, a mere 53 mm rain. It has been exceptionally dry so water levels have now increased. Always an upside.
Pleased to report the leaks were definitely fixed. Phew, again!