Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
Hay River (Jun 25/01) - The blessing of the fleet has been a part of Hay River's Heritage Days for nearly ten years now, but this year, there was a special ceremony to remember on of the most charismatic captains to sail Northern waters.
One of the Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) favorite captains, W.C. "Billy" Kirkland or "Captain Kirk" as he was also known, passed away in September 1991. His wife Angie was reunited with her captain last September.
Their son Bill and his family returned to the North for Heritage Days, to lay his parent's ashes on Great Slave Lake.
"They wanted to be up here, because they both loved the North," Bill said. "It's only fitting that we did this."
Bill, his wife Carrie, Justin and Katarina now call Edmonton home where Bill works as a computer programmer. He but admits he's spent a lot of time thinking about a job at sea like his father and also his grandfather Cecil.
Cecil Kirkland worked for Yellowknife Transport in the 50s and when that company was bought by NTCL in 1965, he went stayed with NT until he retired in 1982.
Bill says the life of a sailor is different form most and demands that he be away from his family for much of his time.
"It can be tough when one member is gone working for half the year, but if you have a strong family you'll get it together," he said.
Myrtle Graham, who now works for NTCL as the manager of marine administration, said Captain Kirk used to treat his ship with a soft touch.
"I was working at terminal six when Bill was captain of the Kakisa," Graham recalled. "He was very smooth with the Kakisa; there were quite a few captains who would tend to run it in the wharf, but he was very gentle."
She got to know the captain when he started to stay over winters in Old Town.
"He had running water at his house, so he was a popular friend to have, because I didn't have any," she laughed. "He had a big heart; if you ever needed anything of any sort, he would be more than willing to do what ever he could to help."
When the ashes were scattered the family threw roses and more than a few tears were shed in fond memory of the captain and his wife.
"This was his place," his son said later. "He was always at peace out here, that's for sure."
The tradition of the blessing
Captain Doug Camsell, Manager of Marine Operations at the Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) said the blessing of the fleet began in 1992 at the request of the fishers in West Channel.
"It was the 100th year anniversary of when people first started to reside in Hay River full-time," Camsell said. "The blessing of the fleet is an old tradition in fishing communities and someone suggested we should do that here."
The ceremony is primarily for fishermen but the RCMP and Coast Guard also have boats participate in the ceremony.
"It's to recognize the people who lost their lives at sea and to bless the fleet, so that won't happen again," he said.
Pastor Haydn Schofield performs the solemn ceremony and a local elder will lay the wreath from the bow of the ship. This year it was Jim Thomas from the West Point First Nation who performed that duty. Thomas later sprinkled tobacco on the water, as a personal traditional touch.
