The mystery of the destination of GEORGE E. SEEDHOUSE when she left Humberstone on October 23 has been solved. She did not go to Bay City, Michigan, but rather to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where she is to be used as a floating steel storage warehouse by the Bay Shipbuilding Corp.

During the 1975 navigation season there have been many rumours circulating concerning the plans of Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd. for the stemwinder bulk carrier WHEAT KING. The 527-foot motorvessel was formerly the British tanker LLANDAFF, built in 1953 at Glasgow, and was converted to her present form in 1961 by Port Weller Drydocks Ltd. During the coming winter the lower section of the Welland Canal will be drained for maintenance work and during this period WHEAT KING will be incarcerated in the Port Weller drydock where she will be fitted with a new 173.5-foot midbody, a bowthruster, and a variable-pitch propeller. No self-unloader conversion is planned at this time. As a result of her lengthening, WHEAT KING will emerge with a length of almost maximum Seaway proportions and from then on she will be used solely on the lakes. In the past the vessel has made frequent trips to the east coast and has even crossed the Atlantic on occasion.

Recent visitors to the Port Weller drydock have included the cement-carrying canaller DAY PECKINPAUGH and the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker ALEXANDER HENRY, the latter being on the dock as this issue goes to press.

Several members of this Society were aboard TRILLIUM on November 1st to assist in getting the vessel ready for service by cleaning and polishing the engineroom brightwork. We had an opportunity to watch the engine being put through its paces and were very pleased with its performance, as smooth and sure as the day it was built. The departure of the vessel for Toronto has been delayed a bit and she will probably come home during the second week of November. Meanwhile, the Metro Parks Dept. has announced that the charter rate for TRILLIUM when in excursion service will be $250 per hour.

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