HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-09-02, Page 1414 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Two brothers from Seaforth devoting their lives to sailing
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
The 1973 STV Playfair
crashes through the open
water of the Great Lakes.
The only Canadian ship to
be commissioned by a
reigning monarch, for
three years, two brothers
from Seaforth had the
honour of sailing the
60 -footer.
Built in Kingston Ont.
and specially christened
by Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II in 1974, the
ship is one of two sea ves-
sels used in the Toronto
Brigantines adventures for
its youth programs.
During the summer,
other than its captain, the
entire ship consists of
youth from 13-18 years
of age.
Shaun Morton, the
mother of the two broth-
ers, said by the time they
returned home every
August from sailing, they
had grown up a little
more.
"Big change, they've
become sailors, they went
away as young teens and
came back men," Shaun
Morton said about her two
sons in an interview last
week.
A brigantine, which
comes from the Italian
word brigantine meaning a
pirate ship, is a program
that has seen more than
18,000 young men and
women from all over the
world. The program at
times Morton admits does
worry her.
"When we have pretty
dark clouds or they have a
bad forecast, I know
they are on a very safe
boat and the crew have
enough knowledge," said
Morton. "As long as I don't
get a phone call, it's all
good."
Bruce Morton remem-
bers when his oldest son
Macaulay completed a
two-week course that
ended in Windsor Ont. He
said his sons first words
off the ship were "can I do
it again." The excited
father described his first-
born's passion for sailing
as a "snowball" effect.
After Macaulay finished
his first summer on the
two ships, his younger
brother Cameron decided
to sign up.
"I didn't want anything to
do with sailing. After my
brother brought me on a
loft, I loved it from that
moment on," said Cameron,
18, from Seaforth. "It's a
nice kind of peace because
you're on open water. Eve-
rything I usually have done
was on the water. It's a sec-
ond positive life. You have
your at home life then you
have a life where you are at
sea."
Macaulay Morton, 20,
refers to the experience on a
ship as a life far more differ-
ent than most people have
on land.
"You go out there and
any social media and
RITZ RITZ LUTHERAN VILLA
k'ILLA NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of the
Members of Ritz Lutheran Villa, a charitable corporation,
will be held at Mitchell Legion, 175 St. Andrew St., Mitchell,
Ontario on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 7:30 pm to:
• Receive Reports including financial statements,
together with the Auditor's Report.
• Elect Directors as required.
• Appoint Auditors.
•Transact other business as may be properly presented at
the meeting.
Annual members are cordially invited to attend this meeting.
A reminder that previous "Patron" or "Lifetime" members that
have applied for a waiver of fees must also renew membership
annually to attend.
To begin the evening, guest speaker Liz Garant R.P.N. will be
sharing her experience with Teepa Snow training where
positive approaches are used in response to behaviours often
seen in Dementia and Alzheimer's Care.
Annual memberships may be purchased up to and including
Friday, August 28, 2015 at the business office at Ritz Lutheran
Villa during regular business hours.
Contributed photo
On the left is the TS Playfair, and the right ship is the STV Pathfinder. Macaulay and Cameron sailed on both as trainees and Petty
Officers. As Officers they served as crew on Playfair.
anything of the outside
world is past -tense,"
Macaulay said.
This September,
Macaulay enters his sec-
ond year at Georgian Col-
lege in Owen Sound, Ont.
as he furthers his sailing
career by studying marine
navigation. His younger
brother is also expanding
in sailing and will be join-
ing the marine navigation
course in Owen Sound for
his first year this Septem-
ber. When they have fin-
ished school, the two sail-
ors plan to be captains on
oil tankers, bulk carriers or
a crew ship.
Since this year is the offi-
cial ending of the sailing
program for Cameron
because he's now at the
age limit, for a memory of
the time the two brothers
spent sailing with the
Toronto Brigantine, their
parents recently purchased
a large drawn image of the
With the Playfair painting in the background, from the middle is Cameron Morton, 18, from Seaforth
with his captain Liam Fraser to the left and his other captain on the right, Patrick Shorey.
Playfair, which hangs on
the wall in their living
room.
"We just saw it and we
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liked it (the Playfair
drawing), because to us
we know most of the peo-
ple in the picture," said
Bruce.
The framed ship is a
reminder of when the boys
were young. Now, they have
a whole new journey of
adulthood and both said
they plan to be sailing the
ocean or Great Lakes for
years to come.
"The program gave them
a real direction in life,
which is ultimately what
you want from every pro-
gram. It's nothing like I ever
thought it would be," their
father said.
GODERICH 519 S 4 m11
.FOf{hiOV1EINFORMATION....; k` t
w w.m Melinks ca. 1- OO -2 -343Q