View from the Deck

The View from the Deck is a personal account in which the adventures of the CGS C.D. Howe and those who sailed with her during the summer of 1959 were recorded. It is written from jottings recorded in a those recollections that remain as a testament in time of Canada's Far North Do Canadians see the North as a part of Canada, or a far-away place of the “land of the midnight sun, or those secret “tales that make your blood run cold...”? It is through books written by those who have visited, worked or explored in the North that unfold the enigma and spark curiosity of this nether region of Canada. Those readers who are unfamiliar with the Arctic harbour thoughts and images based largely on speculation or from infrequent and fleeting media coverage. And so, the mystery continues. Sponsored under the auspices of the Canadian government, the CGS C.D. Howe, named after a well-known Cabinet Minister, was the first and only Canadian-built ship designed specifically to carry out its primary role of providing medical and dental services to the inhabitants of the Eastern Arctic. A hospital ship with limited ice-breaking capabilities, forged into the northern waters annually to bring medical services directly to the multitude of scattered Inuit communities. Each voyage undertaken was an so much to accomplish and so little time or window for safe sailing/travel by sea in the very short summer. Many of the images captured in the “Recollections” remain today. It is those timeless images that appear in televised newscasts as well as depictions of the inhabitants and their interactions living in this inhospitable territory. As has often been said, “Once you have been there, your love and passion for the far northern reaches of Canada becomes a part of you – never to wane.