Marc Guylaine
Encyclopedia
The Marc Guylaine was a Canadian herring seiner built in 1966, along with its two sister ship
s, the Lady Dorianne and Lady Audette. After its two sister ships both mysteriously sank in the Acadian peninsula
, drowning nine men, and the only two other ships built to the same specifications met identical fates, the Marc Guylaine became the subject of great fear that it would meet a similar end.
The government eventually agreed to purchase the "cursed" ship from its captain, and subsequently renamed it and moved it out of Atlantic Canada
, selling it to a fishing corporation on the Pacific Coast where it remains in service today as the Freeport.
built three identical 126T fishing trawlers named the Lady Audette II, the Marc Guylaine II and the Lady Dorianne II. The original engineering records for the Dorianne and Audette were obtained by the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston for their records-collection.
The Marc Guylaine was sold to Gélas Haché, and the Lady Audette was sold to A. Chaisson.
following a storm. It was alternatively reported as having five or six men aboard, including the captain Sylvio Noël, when it disappeared off the coast of Miscou Island
. Everybody aboard was presumed killed, although the ship and bodies were never found. In December, the Ministry of Transportation was urged to not give up its search for the ship, since the previous sinkings of two identical ships were still unexplained and it was hoped that the wreckage might provide a clue to its fate. It was never found, although searches turned up an uninflated life raft from the ship.
On April 23, 1971 the Lady Audette radioed the trawler Apollo III, addressing its captain Roméo Michon: "Roméo, come quickly to us, we are sinking." The Lady Audette is believed to have inexplicably sunk near the Rochers aux Oiseaux off Magdalen Islands
, and could not be found. Three men drowned but, unlike the sinking of her sister ship, there were also four or five survivors. Two years later, the wreckage was discovered.
fishing population demanded a public hearing into the safety of the Marc Guylaine, and 400 people met at the Saint-Raphaël
community centre
where an "action group" was commissioned to study the issue. Ultimately the last of the sister ships was found to be unseaworthy.
Federal official Bernard M. Deschênes was appointed as Commission Counsel to study both the Audette and Dorianne sinkings. In 1973, the Canadian Coast Guard
released its report entitled In the Matter of a Formal Investigation Into the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the M.F.V. "Lady Dorianne II" and the M.F.V. "Lady Audette II" in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Nov. 23, 1970 and Apr. 22, 1971 Resp.
Haché, the captain of the Marc Guylaine, subsequently found he could not hire any local fishermen to man his ship, and petitioned the provincial Ministry of Fisheries
to offset his financial losses incurred. The resulting battle took a year to wind its way through bureaucracy, as civil servants ruled that the Marc Guylaine was perfectly seaworthy. In May 1972, at the urging of the local population to consider Haché an "innocent victim", the Ministry agreed to purchase the boat from him.
Rather than scrap the ship, the ministry simply renamed the vessel to Jean Marc IV and re-sold it within the year. It was renamed the F/V
Freeport in 1974, and registered in Vancouver
on the Pacific coast three years later.
In 1992, it was one of two Pacific vessels to cooperate with the Simon Fraser University
research study "Decision Dynamics at Sea: An Application of Foraging Theory to the Study of Fishing Effort".
In 2005, it was cited by Sitka, Alaska authorities for failing to have an Automatic Identification System
aboard.
It remains in use today, registered through 2009, by the Kanata Fishing Company in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
.
wrote The Curse of the Marc Guylain, referring to the three sister ships as "three floating coffins on the sea".
The Lady Dorianne was also the subject of a song entitled The Tempest in 2005.
In 2008, Lighthouse Productions contracted filmmaker Paul Emile d'Entremont to film a documentary
seeking the wreckage of the Lady Dorianne, which was theorised to be sitting 240 feet beneath sea level, as the only known shipwreck in the area. The film is scheduled for completion in late 2009.
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s, the Lady Dorianne and Lady Audette. After its two sister ships both mysteriously sank in the Acadian peninsula
Acadian Peninsula
The Acadian Peninsula is situated in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick, Canada, encompassing portions of Gloucester and Northumberland Counties. It derives its name from the large Acadian population located there...
, drowning nine men, and the only two other ships built to the same specifications met identical fates, the Marc Guylaine became the subject of great fear that it would meet a similar end.
The government eventually agreed to purchase the "cursed" ship from its captain, and subsequently renamed it and moved it out of Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
, selling it to a fishing corporation on the Pacific Coast where it remains in service today as the Freeport.
Construction
In 1969, Saint John ShipbuildingSaint John Shipbuilding
Saint John Shipbuilding was a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Saint John, New Brunswick. It operated from 1923-2003.-History:Numerous shipyards were located on the shores of Courtney Bay in the east end of Saint John Harbour where extensive mud flats dried at low tide.In 1918 it was...
built three identical 126T fishing trawlers named the Lady Audette II, the Marc Guylaine II and the Lady Dorianne II. The original engineering records for the Dorianne and Audette were obtained by the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston for their records-collection.
The Marc Guylaine was sold to Gélas Haché, and the Lady Audette was sold to A. Chaisson.
Sinkings
On November 23 1970, the Lady Dorianne departed from Havre-Aubert en route to ShippaganShippagan, New Brunswick
Shippagan is a Canadian town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Located in the northeastern part of the Acadian Peninsula, a combination bridge-causeway connects the town with Lamèque Island to the northeast. Approximately 99% of the town's residents are Francophone.The town was founded by the...
following a storm. It was alternatively reported as having five or six men aboard, including the captain Sylvio Noël, when it disappeared off the coast of Miscou Island
Miscou Island
Miscou Island is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick.It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both islands forming Miscou Harbour....
. Everybody aboard was presumed killed, although the ship and bodies were never found. In December, the Ministry of Transportation was urged to not give up its search for the ship, since the previous sinkings of two identical ships were still unexplained and it was hoped that the wreckage might provide a clue to its fate. It was never found, although searches turned up an uninflated life raft from the ship.
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....
, and could not be found. Three men drowned but, unlike the sinking of her sister ship, there were also four or five survivors. Two years later, the wreckage was discovered.
Aftermath
In May 1971, an anxious AcadianAcadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
fishing population demanded a public hearing into the safety of the Marc Guylaine, and 400 people met at the Saint-Raphaël
Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël, New Brunswick
Sainte-Marie—Saint-Raphaël is a Canadian village in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Located on the Acadian Peninsula, the community is an amalgamation of Sainte-Marie-sur-Mer and Saint-Raphaël-sur-Mer and is located on Lamèque Island.In May 1971, an anxious Acadian fishing population demanded a...
community centre
Community centre
Community centres or community centers or jumping recreation centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole community or for a specialised group within...
where an "action group" was commissioned to study the issue. Ultimately the last of the sister ships was found to be unseaworthy.
Federal official Bernard M. Deschênes was appointed as Commission Counsel to study both the Audette and Dorianne sinkings. In 1973, the Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
released its report entitled In the Matter of a Formal Investigation Into the Circumstances Attending the Loss of the M.F.V. "Lady Dorianne II" and the M.F.V. "Lady Audette II" in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Nov. 23, 1970 and Apr. 22, 1971 Resp.
Haché, the captain of the Marc Guylaine, subsequently found he could not hire any local fishermen to man his ship, and petitioned the provincial Ministry of Fisheries
Ministry of Fisheries
Ministry of Fisheries may refer to:* Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries * Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, United Kingdom * Fisheries and Oceans Canada* Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan...
to offset his financial losses incurred. The resulting battle took a year to wind its way through bureaucracy, as civil servants ruled that the Marc Guylaine was perfectly seaworthy. In May 1972, at the urging of the local population to consider Haché an "innocent victim", the Ministry agreed to purchase the boat from him.
Rather than scrap the ship, the ministry simply renamed the vessel to Jean Marc IV and re-sold it within the year. It was renamed the F/V
Fishing vessel
A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing....
Freeport in 1974, and registered in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
on the Pacific coast three years later.
In 1992, it was one of two Pacific vessels to cooperate with the Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
research study "Decision Dynamics at Sea: An Application of Foraging Theory to the Study of Fishing Effort".
In 2005, it was cited by Sitka, Alaska authorities for failing to have an Automatic Identification System
Automatic Identification System
The Automatic Identification System is an automatic tracking system used on ships and by Vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and AIS Base stations...
aboard.
It remains in use today, registered through 2009, by the Kanata Fishing Company in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
.
In media
For several years, the legend of the "cursed" ships became a regular report in the media. In 1973, Stompin' Tom ConnorsStompin' Tom Connors
Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...
wrote The Curse of the Marc Guylain, referring to the three sister ships as "three floating coffins on the sea".
The Lady Dorianne was also the subject of a song entitled The Tempest in 2005.
In 2008, Lighthouse Productions contracted filmmaker Paul Emile d'Entremont to film a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
seeking the wreckage of the Lady Dorianne, which was theorised to be sitting 240 feet beneath sea level, as the only known shipwreck in the area. The film is scheduled for completion in late 2009.