Erie, Pennsylvania has applied for the former USS HALYBURTON, FFG-40, as a museum ship. HALYBURTON is one of the seventy-one OHP (OLIVER HAZARD PERRY) frigates commissioned, thirty-four of which are still active in eight different navies. HALYBURTON served for thirty years from 1984 till 2014 and has been at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia ever since.

Although Erie, PA is 257 km from Hamilton, it already hosts the reconstructed brig USS NIAGARA from the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, and an excellent museum, which are in themselves well worth the drive.

One of HALYBURTON’s sisters, SAMUEL ELLIOT MORRISON FFG-13, visited Hamilton in 1992. Acquiring and maintaining a museum ship is a costly and labour intensive experience, as those acquainted with HMCS HAIDA can attest, but we wish them well in their efforts.

From the Naval Association of Canada Naval Affairs team. A must-read!

In March, author Ron Thompson was our guest and spoke about the history on which The Wind From All Directions is based: the exploration of the Pacific northwest, the maritime fur trade, the Nootka Crisis, the Spanish Armament, and the impromptu diplomatic confrontation between the RN’s George Vancouver and Spanish commodore Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra in Yuquot, Friendly Cove, in 1792. A great discussion ensued (this week, as well as in 1792!).

The Wind From All Directions is set in 1792 in the Pacific northwest. It is published by Double Dagger Books and is available on Amazon around the world, Barnes and Noble in the United States, and Waterstones in the UK. Ask for it at your local bookstore or library.