North Star of Herschel Island

The Vancouver Maritime Museum has embarked on a campaign to purchase North Star of Herschel Island so that future generations can tour her as well as have educational programs aboard in order to tell the story of the hardworking Innu whom originally worked the ship. For more information and perhaps to donate please click on […]

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My grand-nephew, Jaxon Murray, age 8 painted a beautiful image of North Star of Herschel Island with text by his younger brother, Seth.

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I am writing to you with the very sad news that my wife and partner of 38 years, Sheila Macdonald, died unexpectedly aboard yesterday evening aboard ship, March 9, 2021. Sheila devoted her life to helping others. She worked at such places as the CNIB, March of Dimes, Group Homes for people with severe mental […]

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In October 2018, North Star of Herschel Island was inducted into the NW Passage Hall of Fame at the Vancouver Maritime Museum’s Arctic Awards Gala in the vessel category. The individual award went to North Star’s previous owner, Sven Johansson and the expedition award was to the Hudson’s Bay Company.

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SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who participated. We had to replace a piece of North Star’s aft capping rail this year. We were hit while alongside last summer and the railing was destroyed. We managed to salvage a chunk and working around the old screw holes, caulking, epoxy, patches etc.. and cut out a […]

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Elizabeth Giannotti was going through her late father’s papers and came across his personal logbook when he was part of the MS Padderson’s crew that delivered North Star from San Francisco to Herschel Island. Her father, Jim Hussey, illustrated his writing with photographs. She writes: ” Thought you might be interested in reading his first person […]

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We were very happy to host a wedding aboard for Helena & Ricardo and their guests.  The couple happened across North Star and as Ricardo had spent a few years sailing aboard the Chilean sail-training ship, Esmerelda, she looked like home to him. After the ceremony the happy couple and their guests turned up the […]

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George Donald worked at the weather station at Sachs Harbour, Banks Island in the late 1950’s. His son, Paul Morgan Donald, kindly shared some of his photos with us. Paul writes, “He was a Scottish merchant seaman, and the dreamy look he would get speaking of the North Star years later makes me very happy […]

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An icy, foggy day at Heritage Harbour at the Vancouver Maritime Museum starts off the year. We are making plans for our 2016 sailing season and continuing on working on some exciting options for 2017. Thank you to all of the ship’s supporters!

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In the late 1970’s North Star of Herschel Island was hired by the International Boundary Commission to deliver supplies and workers to the field and act as a floating base camp on the west coast. The IBC was blazing a trail demarking the USA/Canada border which involved chopping down any and all trees in the […]

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