It was very good to see a picture and letter about the schooner/tallship Niska in the last issue of Downhome. More needs to be written about this epic undertaking. The last I saw of the Niska she was departing St. Anthony on a mausy, dreary day last September headed down the Northern Peninsula towards Twillingate, her final destination. I had flown in from Ontario intending to get back on and help sail her the last few days of her journey. I was deeply disappointed when supplies and weather kept us in port beyond my window of opportunity. Hurricanes Ike and Hanna were scudding up the coast of North America. It seemed like it blew a gale all of September in NL and I didn’t have the time to get stuck in a little cove along the coast hiding from the weather. Along with engine troubles that’s what happened. I drove back down the peninsula with my brother very despondent I couldn’t complete the trip. I wanted so badly to sail this schooner into Exploits on the way to Twillingate. It is in my genes, both my maternal (Manuel/Sceviours) and paternal (Collins/Gosse) ancestors were schooner captains and owners. My great great grand uncle Josiah Manuel had upwards of 100 schooners attributed to him and his business. He was one of the leading merchants based in Exploits in the late 1800's. I am still part owner of our family home in Exploits. The voyage of the Niska started back in the spring of 2008. My brother Don Collins, who lives in Gambo NL, met Heiko and Cynthia Bank in Twillingate at their bed & breakfast, the Rumrunner’s Roost, and learned of their plan to sail the Niska from Midland Ontario, where they used to live, to NFLD. It didn’t take much for Don and I to tentatively sign on as crew. As it got closer to departure we enlisted my sailing friend Tom Wager from Belleville, Ontario. Most of the sailing I have done has been with Tom. Don had actually put a crew together for the Niska. Around the first of June, Tom and I went to Midland to meet Heiko and see the Niska which was on drydock. That very day the adventure began when we committed ourselves to the voyage by digging in and painting the hull. A week later Don flew up from NL, we drove back to the boat and spent an arduous week making her seaworthy. Finally, after putting her in and out of the water a few times, she was as ready as we could make her. We sailed Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair (where two storms converged on us and rattled us somewhat), then the Detroit River, Lake Erie (which we sailed a portion of through the night under a glorious bowl of stars), then through the Welland Canal. We got hit by a laker in the Welland Canal. The laker Halifax sideswipped us and broke the main boom and wiped the davits and dinghy right off our stern. The Niska is a 25 ton ship but might as well have been a canoe when facing this gargantuan lake freighter. Nevertheless the hull was sound and we continued to the pilot’s slips at the Lake Ontario end of the Welland Canal. Don, Tom and I were tired and very shook up so went home for a couple of days. Heiko, after a few days, singlehanded the Niska to the Belleville area where I live. We derigged her, took the boom and gaff to my place and spent three or four days repairing everything. We got her ship shape again. Time had run out for Tom and Don though. Both of them had jobs and family to return to and they had given a month of their lives to this adventure. Don flew back to Newfoundland and Tom went back to work although he did manage to sail with us one more weekend from Belleville to Gananoque. I stayed on the Niska for another couple of weeks to help get Heiko and the Niska through the St. Lawrence Seaway locks to Montreal. I too had other commitments and got off when we got close to Montreal. I had done one thousand miles in a month and a half on this magnificent vessel. After that Heiko and the Niska were crewless. I tried very hard to get him crew by canvassing friends and using the internet. I did get him a fellow that accompanied him from Montreal to Tadoussac. Heiko managed to enlist a few people enroute and made it to the Lower North Shore and the town of Blanc Sablon on the Quebec-Labrador border. He then singlehanded her across the Straits of Belle Isle to Quirpon and the next day to St. Anthony. He went through many trials and tribulations but finally made it to Newfoundland. That is where I made my attempt to get back on board for the last few days' journey. In the Great Lakes we had the joy to actually sail the Niska. If there was a useable breath of wind, Tom lobbied for sails and we did. We had all her sheets up a few times. I will never forget those days: they were magnificent, sailing this vessel out of sunrises and into sunsets. After I got off in Montreal, Heiko motored the rest of the way. Without crew, motoring was more do-able. This was the longest journey the Niska and her skipper Heiko had ever attempted. It was a four month, 2000 mile journey that, if everything goes well, he will take a few days in the spring to finish. When the Niska arrives at her new home in Twillingate I am sure it will be a spectacular addition and tourist attraction for the area. Having it as part of the Rum Runner’s Roost Bed and Breakfast is perfect. It’s been no small feat for Heiko and Cynthia to realize their dream. I’m still hoping I can do a day sail in Notre Dame Bay to Exploits Islands with Heiko on the Niska and fulfil my ancestral dream. What an adventure.   Submitted By: George Collins