Canada's Last Fairmiles B

peter simundson · #1 20-02-10, 03:10

...that was in Toronto was eventually bought by Howard Hughes and the entire hull was fibreglassed, It is now a houseboat on Lake Erie. The Sarnia one was used as a tour boat there for many years and is now being refurbished, There is another at Black Creek Marine on the North Shore of Lake Erie. It is beached and used for storage. The Collingwood one disappeared to parts unknown. It too was a tour boat. There is another sunk in Georgian Bay. For the real enthusiast two are in the breakwater on the North shore just west of the Burlington Bridge.
Finally the Dundas Fairmile was cut up and burned by the Cadet Corps using it in 1965. It was just beside the Dejardins Canal.

Peter Simundson

David Dunlop · #2 20-02-10, 04:18

Peter, that wouldn't happen to be the Black Creek Marine in the Port Dover area would it? Was in that area a few years back, but maybe the Fairmiles had not been beached then and if it had been but was extensively reworked, I may not have recognized it if it rolled over on me!

David

Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP) · #3 20-02-10, 15:33

Peter Simundson Wrote:

That's the one, The Fairmile is in a trailer park area about 500 yards east. It's beached on the creek edge. The guy who owns it was about 30 and lived in a drydocked boat in Hamilton Harbour. He wouldn't sell it because "One day it would be worth a million dollars". They are all of their 110 feet when you get on them and poke around.

Peter

Ken Hughes · #4 20-02-10, 20:14

There is about 3 of these still in New Zealand as far as i know.
They were in Auckland and i remember one being moored near the harbor bridge.

David Dunlop · #5 21-02-10, 08:35

Not that I would pay a million for a wooden clunker, but wouldn't a Fairmiles make a great restoration project, if one won a lottery...like that ship would ever come in for me!!! But think about it, you'd be covering all three elements of the armed forces. The navy is the obvious element, but you can also factor in the roar and smell of two R/R Merlin engines and the hearty thump of light cannon fire and cordite. HHHhhhmmmmm!!!

David Dunlop · #6 18-04-10, 18:05

Just spent another lunchtime browsing the local magazine shop and read an interesting article in the current BEST OF BRITISH PAST AND PRESENT Magazine.

Seems the city of Portsmouth is now the proud home of a pair of fully restored British built boats, both with very impressing, documented war records. One served as an RAF Rescue Launch and looked stunning in it's dark blue glossy paint job with the large RAF roundels painted on either side of the prow, as it was cutting through the water, coming out of the harbour abeam of it's harbour mate!

The second boat, Code '107' is in full Royal Navy livery as it looked when guarding the flanks of the US Forces landing at Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day.

If anyone is down that way this summer, the plan is that for 25 GBP, one can go on a patrol on one of these boats. They plan to keep their history alive and well for as long as possible.