Douglas Hogarth  - hogie@vianet.ca

My cousin Doug sent me this

The People's Boat,

Author-Shirley Hewett

In June 2000, when Lieutenant-Commander Scott Crawshaw navigated HMCS Oriole to a first overall victory in the Victoria-Maui yacht race, it capped the 50-year career of the Royal Canadian Navy’s most endearing craft.

Launched in 1921 as Oriole IV, the ship was the prized possession of Toronto's Royal Canadian Yacht Club Commodore George H. Gooderham until 1941. Oriole then served as a training vessel for sea cadets; she was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1952. Two years later she sailed from Halifax to Esquimalt via the Panama Canal.

Forty-eight years later, she has earned the name “the people’s boat.” There may be no other sailing ship in North America that has touched the lives of so many people during her 80-plus years of existence. Oriole has toured the Pacific, trained thousands in the ways of the sea, raced with other tall ships and private sailing yachts, and become a fixture at nautical events in Victoria’s harbour. Her story reflects social, economic, cultural, and technical trends.

Author Shirley Hewett has long been captivated by Oriole. A scribe for the sailing scene, Shirley has invested years of effort to compile facts, interviews, and the grand collection of illustrations found in The People<'s Boat.

Check these links

 ww.navy.forces.gc.ca/oriole    www.bcbooks.com/peoplesboat.htm

Doug also has the original sample