Columbia (CL 56) - Naval Cruise Book

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on that high school French with some seductive little mademosielle from Quebec. It soon became obvious that this was going to be like no other spot we had seen. With the citizens babbling their sibulant French, it was like being in another nation, and yet it seemed to epitomize the whole tour: the antiquity of Charleston, the greenery of Bermudan or Maine countryside, the Hne stores and restaurants of New York, the neighborliness of Nova Scotia. The lust for local scenery had many men wear- ing their shoeleather thin as they tramped about town seeing such famous spots as the Chateau Frontenac where Roosevelt and Churchill held one of their historic meetings, the Church of Notre Dame des Victories, the Ramparts, with its old muzzle-loading canon standing guard ,,, Q over the city and menacing our ships, the Hrst Navy pilgrimage to Sainte Anne de Beaupreg Montmorency Falls, higher than Niagara, Dia- mond Cape and the Citadel, all these made Qqebec a fairy city for their wanderings, and for those who could find pretty feminine guides -and word has it that this was not impossible- it was even more enjoyable. iffy But with more of the generosity and for- sight already seen in Canada, there was much more available for us than roaming aimlessly about: dances, where we learned at least the very pertinent bits of French, and were relieved to find that the young ladies divined that we wanted to dance when we approached with something gleaned from our pocket dictionary which probably meant, I love you passion- ately, will you marry me? We are happy to state that there have been no breach of promise suits. Not all things were changed in the French language, however 3 cab drivers knew what dol- lar meant, and Scotch and gingeralen was still Scotch and gingeralefl Also arranged were a picnic at Lake St. Joseph, baseball games at the municipal stadium, and the pilgrimage to Boswell's Brewery and that delightful feeling

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1 -m4nm..k. Reluctantly preparing to leave the hospitality of Halifax and the slightly alcoholic atmosphere of the Warrior wardroom and the RCAF Offi- cers' Mess, we watched the third repeater leave the yardarm, and heard the orders for engine tests. Still burping from our morning beans, we stood at quarters and saw the John L. Sulli- van sidle up to us like a fat water beetle to a stick, and critically followed Pat as he directed casting off the lines from the fantail. Then away from the pier, free of the tug's blunt bow, past the harbor forts and lighthouses-next stop Quebec, and as the sun rose over the fog banks of the Atlantic, we, in our own fogged up way, bid adieu to the wonderful land of Nova Scotia. As usual, CRUDIV 14- was in no hurry to reach the next port, so there were four leisurely days spent following the jagged line of the navigator's chart: northward along Nova Scotia, where we passed the Queen Mary,', with her three huge stacks like hitching posts on the hori- zon's gateway, by Cape Breton Island, where we crowded the lifelines to watch whales blow- ing and splashing off our starboard beam, along Prince Edward Island and north around Mag- dalen Island, where the steep shores and high plateaus made us think we were in a sea of sand and gazing at Nevada buttesg south by Newfoundland, cursing the wind which made us wear foul weather jackets rather than bask under the bright northern sun Without a shirt on, past green Anticosti Island and into the eighty mile wide mouth of the St. Lawrence River, creeping slowly down to the southwest by Cap Chat, and Father's Point, where we picked up our pilot, beyond the river towns of Rimouski, Tadoussac, Baie St. Paul, and finally to the Plains of Abraham-Quebec, we are here! Arriving on the afternoon of the 18th, we were met with our usual convoy of tugs, and escorted to our Wolfe Cove berth. No sooner had the gangplank been brought up and the rat guards put on the lines than about 700 officers and enlisted men-starboard section, that is--were crowding the quarterdeck waiting to spend some of those Canadian shekels im- ported from Halifax, and longing to polish up wx is s 'F f ,git A viwlfx as 4 QV mf ,Q l T' , l 6 K, l ,V aqui J! 3 ., J Lx .li p C 0 X. -. l fx ' 2' v A-A--A l , -5 FX -A ,fx X A A If . A f - l -fs or 4 ,N A fa Knock of? HHS l20'2 g5b Cl'C'lIE'T 5qH0qjfmA nag, qef HNJQVWGL1-

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of being surrounded by more beer than you could possibly drink. A further item of acute interest to USN transferees was the fact that civilian clothing was somewhat cheaper and more plentiful than in the States, and more than one eager Ensign was soon with arms loaded with slacks, sport coats, and tan-and- white oxfords-in preparation for the next twenty years in the Navy, no doubt. But as always in port, tempus fugits. Had it not been for the fact that we were leaving Quebec for home, either through a leave or discharge, we would have been sorry to go. As it was, when we Hnally pulled out into the river on the 24th, it was with gratitude to the people of this beautiful city, and particularly to the oilicers and men of the Canadian Armed Forces, who had made our stay so comfortable and helped us see the town. The next few days were spent in the limbo of boredom, waiting to reach port, passing through the dayis routine, listening to the squawk boxes blaring, with automatic reactions and mechan- ical reflexesg only the mind geared up, and that far ahead, in Philadelphia . . . but all comes to those who wait, and we waited, and we came to Philly. As we walked off the quarterdeck of the COLUMBIA for that last time that day in the latter part of June, could it be that there were a few fond memories with us?-Of the Ber- muda beaches, the Hoods down in B-3l2L, the companionship in travails that came as the squad cursed as they 'heaved to and triced up' to scrub the deck, the fun at the Charleston dance, cranking in a five mil correction at Casco Bay so that we would actually hit the target, the derisive chuckles we had at Navy efficiency, the watches, the fantail sun club, the beans for breakfast, the Class Z movies, the laundry with its little machine that tore buttons off the shirts and fired them through the socks . . . Could be, could be. it -l 1 y N g 2 1 1 Va 1 i , l fifty-one