HMCS Venture

HMCS Venture was a Three Masted Schooner built for the Royal Canadian Navy as a training ship in 1937. She served during the Second World War at Halifax. She was the second ship commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy to bear the name Venture.

Construction
Venture was designed by W. J. Roue and was laid down 4 January 1937. She was launched on 9 June 1937 by Meteghan Shipbuilding Company Limited at Meteghan. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 25 October 1937 and was based in Halifax.

Venture was a traditional schooner built from the same table of offsets as the Bluenose although there were a few differences: Venture had three masts, not two, her keel was slightly longer, and she was built to draw less water to sail up the St. Lawrence River into the Great Lakes. She was painted royal blue with a gold line and a white boot topping.

Service
Initially used as a training ship, Venture was paid off 1 September 1939 with war imminent. She was one of only thirteen RCN ships in service at the outbreak of the Second World War. She became an accommodation vessel at Halifax for Royal Navy ratings assigned to the 3rd Battleship Squadron. In November 1941, she was recommissioned as a guard ship at Tuft's Cove, which lies at the entrance to Bedford Basin.

Venture served as such until 13 May 1943, when she lost her name to the former yacht Seaborn. After losing her name the vessel was from there on known as Harbour Craft 190. She served as Harbour Hopper 190 until she was sold.

Post-naval service
Harbour Hopper 190 was sold to a Halifax firm on 10 December 1945. Upon being sold she was renamed Alfred & Emily and initially served as a sealing vessel. The vessel eventually became a coal carrier, which she served as until she was lost in an explosion/fire off of Bellburns, Newfoundland on 3 October 1951.