Sandra Mary - short tow line

Sandra Mary returned to Halifax last week from Digby, but had to wait several days for high winds to die down before setting out again with the spud scow VMS 087. (It is shown as VM/S 87 in the register, but is painted as VMS 087 on the hull.)

On April 2 the scow was retrieved from its winter resting spot, in the shadow of the MacKay bridge on the Dartmouth side - in the background of this photo, an area known as Turple's Cove. It took a bit of pulling in the high wind to get it over to the Halifax side to prepare it for sea.

On April 7, it was much calmer, and with the spuds guyed in place and pegged, they headed for sea. The pair reached Liverpool that evening where they will shelter from more high winds.
The scow's unusual name is derived from its first owners the St.Lawrence Seaway Corp (in French La Voie Maritime St-Laurent.) It was built in 1958 in Collingwood, ON as S.L.S.87 for use by the then new St. Lawrence Seaway system in maintenance work.