St Roch needs your help
The RCMP schooner St Roch was the first ship to travel the treacherous Northwest Passage in both directions, as well as the first ship to ever circumnavigate North America. Visitors to the Vancouver Maritime Museum can take a self-guided tour of the ship (restored to exactly how it looked in 1944) and view an informative video about its history and adventures.

St Roch was built in 1928 as a supply ship for isolated, far-flung Arctic RCMP detachments. St Roch navigated the Northwest Passage from west to east between 1940 and 1942 becoming the first ship to do so and only the second ship to traverse the Passage after a three-century quest to find and navigate across the top of the world. In 1944, St Roch traveled the more northerly route of the Northwest Passage from east to west, becoming the first ship to do so in both directions.

The RCMP retired St Roch in 1948, and sent it to Halifax by way of the Panama Canal in 1950. This voyage made St Roch the first ship to circumnavigate North America. After a voyage to supply RCMP outposts on Hudson's Bay, the ship lay idle until 1954. That year the City of Vancouver bought the ship for display as a museum piece. Returning to Vancouver ship in 1954, St Roch languished until hauled ashore at the site of the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1958. The ship acquired a permanent indoor home in 1966. Parks Canada restored St Roch to its 1944 appearance between 1967 and 1974.

For more information about how you can help preserve St Roch or if you have questions, please call 604 734-8914 or email corporate@vancouvermaritimemuseum.com

Dry Rot onboard the St Roch - click for more

For more information or if you have questions about the St Roch Preservation Fund please call 604 734-8914 or corporate@vancouvermaritimemuseum.com