The early freight boats on Lake Winnipeg were made of wood. They were powered first by steam engines. The steam engines burned wood as it was inexpensive and readily available. Later, to cut down on the labour intensive practise of loading cord wood and subsequently feeding the furnace, the freighters turned to coal. The danger of fire was always present. History records many good ships being destroyed by fire on the great lake

During the 1950’s the fish companies turned more and more to steel hulled boats. This was immediately accepted as superior by all. In early spring when ice flows were still present, the danger of punching a hole in the hull was greatly diminished. General maintenance was reduced as well, no replacement of rotting or damaged planks was necessary. With this in mind, Booth Fisheries rescued an old harbour tug from Thunder Bay. They had the tug cut up, then loaded the pieces on flatcars. The jig-saw puzzle was delivered to Purves Boat Works in Selkirk for assembly. The result was a trim lake freighter with a wooden superstructure named the M.S. Red Diamond, so called after Booth Fisheries Red Diamond logo. She was well powered, and well captained by amongst others Reuben Marsh. I can well remember being a shore-hand at Georges Island during the '50's and setting my pocket Timex watch by the Red Diamond’s arrival. She carried general freight such as gasoline, boxes, groceries and hauled our fish back to market in Selkirk. She brought mail, newspapers and was our official link to the towns to the south. This went on for a number of years until the lake was closed due to the mercury scare in 1969.

After the scare, the Freshwater Marketing Corporation took over the freighting and marketing of the fish to market. The M.S. Red Diamond was no longer needed. She was subsequently declared surplus and sold. A group from Poplar River acquired ownership. She subsequently hauled general freight to various settlements on Lake Winnipeg. On one of these trips she was caught in a vicious storm south of Berens Island. The wooden superstructure of the bow was constructed of 7/8 plywood, being weakened by years of service was stove-in by a rogue wave. The wave was so strong it tore away some propane tanks and flattened them against the bulkhead. The water and now fire made their way to the engine room, where it started a huge blaze. The engineer could not stop the engine as he had to a leave his post. The captain subsequently gave the order to abandon ship. The Red Diamond was not ready to go quietly into the stormy night. At full throttle she started going in a circle. The crew were trying to launch the life boat, but due to inexperience, lack of proper fire drills or just old age, the life boat would not budge. With the ship in imminent danger of exploding an axe was produced, the davits were slashed and the lifeboat was launched. All the while the Red Diamond continued blazing and travelling full speed in circles. The crew were spotted by fishermen from Catfish Point and rescued.

In control of her own destiny she continued to drift, ending up several miles north on Pigeon Point, an inglorious end to a proud lake freighter.

Ken Kristjanson
2021