CCG Laurier
No discussion concerning the discovery of Franklin’s ships can ignore the vital contribution of the crews of the Wilfred Laurier. She served as an essential element of the search in 1997, and from 2008-16, providing support to search teams in various essential ways. These included transport of gear to the Arctic, including survey launches, accommodation of survey teams, support from deck work to bottom survey using hull-mounted sensors, launch driving and helicopter operations. The Laurier also provided essential command and control to the operations, overseeing the deployment and safety of other units, and providing a communication nexus between vessels and with the overseeing authorities in Ottawa. Marc-Andre Bernier, chief of the Parks Canada UAT, was explicit: “The Laurier was the flagship of the expedition, if you want. The coordination was done by the Laurier.”
This simple enumeration of the tasks performed is not adequate to describe the experience of working with the Laurier crews. Every job was done with an unfailingly professional and cheerful attitude, whether deckhands launching and recovering the survey launches at strange hours in cold and rough conditions, galley crew keeping us overfed while onboard, providing launch crews with packaged lunches, and always having warming food available for the beaten launch crews on their untimely returns. In every case the ever-friendly and smiling crew did their utmost to see to the comfort and happiness of their “guests,” contributing in every way to make us feel as if we were the most important people onboard (which we weren’t).
Laurier operates from her base at Victoria on the west coast of Canada, annually venturing into the Arctic to perform her normal duties of search-and-rescue, patrol, icebreaking and ice escort for government and commercial ships, community support, navigation marker maintenance, and scientific research support. To these tasks are added, as directed, aid to other government departments and priorities such as hydrography or, as in the Franklin search, archaeology. She has two crews, designated Red and White Crews. In alternate years one crew sails the ship from British Columbia to Cambridge Bay in the early summer, and returns her in the autumn, while the other spends the summer on Arctic operations. Both watches provided excellent support during the entire search period from 2008-16. White watch was the delivery and return crew on odd-numbered years, while Red Crew had those duties on even-numbered years. Both crews contributed to the survey effort throughout the exploration period, but luck of the draw meant that in practice it was Red Crew that was primarily involved on-scene in the discovery of Franklin’s ships (Erebus 2014, Terror 2016).
Also of note are the contributions of other government departments that accompanied the crew on their arctic missions – the Underwater Archaeology Team (UAT) from Parks Canada, the Department of Fisheries (DFO) and Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS).
White Crew Laurier – 2015
Commanding Officer – Aldridge, Stuart
James Garret
Piper Harris
Spencer Weisgerber
Jordan Barca
Kristoffer Mantta
Devin Ramos
Sophie Slakov-Crombie
Melanie Gendreau
Xenia Wiens
UAT:
Ryan Harris
Thierry Boyer
Chriss Ludin
DFO: Theresa Nichols
CHS:
Tim Janzen
Benoit Thibault
Christine Delbridge
Adam Zamperin
Michael Black
Arthur Wickens
Rudolfo Cutillo
RCN: HMCS Moncton
Capt. Michael Eelhart and crew.
R2Sonic LLC: Mike Brissette
(R2Sonic loaned the RCN model 2026 multibeam echosounder system was operated by the CHS on HMCS Moncton)
Ice Observer – Denis Lambert
Electrician – Laurie LaPlante
Red Crew Laurier – 2014
Commanding Officer – Noon, Bill A
Chief Officer – Marriott, Richard
2nd Officer – Rose, John WR
3rd Officer – Salisbury, Brian S
Boatswain – Miller, Rhett
Boatswain’s Mate (Winchman) – Glencross, Cory T
Leading Deckhand – Frith, Nicholas A
Leading Deckhand – Giguere, Gabriel JM
Leading Deckhand – Graham, Keith WM
Deckhand – Mackin-Lang, Robert
Deckhand – Koosel, Jaan
Deckhand – Skjelstad, Shelby A
Deckhand – Hildebrand, Jaimie L
Chief Engineer – Rinas, Barry
Senior Engineer – Bursaw, Stuart E
Electrical Officer – Healey, William
2nd Engineer – Steel, David H
3rd Engineer – Roy, Tarpan
Engine Room Assistant – Loranger, Daniel
Engine Room Assistant – Tom, Scott
Engine Room Assistant – Richter, Reinhard
Logistics Officer – Locke, Gregory Alb
Chief Cook – Boisseau, Bertrand
Clerk/Storekeeper – Elliott, Mathew
Cook/Steward – Buruck, Manfred (Gerd) G
Steward – Campbell, Alison
Steward – Slakov-Crombie, Sophie
