CSS Acadia

The second and older ship to protect Halifax’s bay these days is the CCS Acadian.
It’s a smaller ship than the Sackville it is parked next to, but it has a lot more interesting stories to tell.
Right from the Acadia’s site:
«Acadia also holds the distinction of being the only surviving ship to have served the Royal Canadian Navy during both world wars. She served as a patrol and escort vessel from 1916 to 1919. She received minor damage in the Halifax Explosion in 1917 while acting as a guard ship in Bedford Basin, making her the only vessel still afloat today to have survived the Halifax Explosion. Acadia was recommissioned as a warship in 1939 serving first as a patrol vessel and later as a training ship until the war’s end in 1945.»
And once the world decided to cool the war for a while. the Acadia then played an integral role in mapping out the ocean floor as a Hydrography vessel.
This little beauty has seen plenty of action in her day, and now you are encouraged to take a tour. Once again, the mostly self guided tour is a cheap option, and once again, like the Sackville gives you a taste of what life was like on this ship, remembering of course that you get to walk off the ship and away from claustrophobia while the men and women aboard were there for weeks at a time.
A beautiful addition to the Halifax waterfront and an enjoyable piece of history to explore.

An old ship
with a lot
of stories
The CSS Acadia is a rather unspectacular museum ship located right on the broadwalk in Halifax. I’m sure thousands of people walk by it without even noticing the venerable old vessel. That’s really too bad because the old girl has lots of stories to tell if you take the time to listen.
The Acadia was built way back in 1913 and is one of the best preserved ships from that era. I was actually amazed to learn that she was that old and she looks like she could sail right out of the harbor anytime she wanted.
The Acadia served with distinction in both World Wars and even survived the cataclysmic explosion of 1917 that devastated most of Halifax and killed over 2,000 people. This blast was the largest man made explosion until Hiroshima and left many parts of the city in ruins. I believe the Acadia is the last surviving ship from the disaster.
After serving Canada during the wars the Acadia wasn’t quite done. She became the nation’s first hydrographic surveying ship and mapped much of the surrounding ocean as well as doing other important oceanographic research. Definitely a long and extremely productive life and even now she serves to educate and entertain the public.
The tour is very casual and pretty much self guided. Someone is there to answer questions but there are enough plaques and information that a guide really isn’t needed. You can just wonder around and get a great feel what it must have been like serving and working on this ship There was even a cool story about a kitty that the ship adopted.
Not the biggest or most impressive ship I have ever been on or the most famous. I must have wonked my head and tripped at least a dozen times blundering about but it was definitely worth it.
This ship is literally dripping with history and pride and by the time you are done reading and exploring this unassuming vessel starts to fill you with a sense of awe. Hopefully she is enjoying her well deserved retirement.
An old ship
with a lot
of stories