La Grande Hermine

Shipwreck landmark along the QEW highway in Jordan Harbour

La Grande Hermine

Abandoned ship landmark along the QEW in Jordan Harbour

The fine art image is of an old abandoned Lake Ontario shipwreck that has run aground near St. Catherines, Ontario, a stop for travelers along the QEW from Toronto to Niagara Falls. This ghost ship, La Grande Hermine, is full of mystery and history. The boat is in good shape for an old abandoned ship. It was shot just as the sun was rising to give the sky a soft sunrise glow over Lake Ontario.

I lived 45 minutes from this great ship along our main highway to the US border and never went to shoot it. So, this past weekend, my wife and I were in Mississauga, and I finally decided to go. I envisioned a sky full of color at sunrise, and this old iron ship would disappear. I was satisfied.

History of La Grande Hermine

The Big Weasel, also known as La Grande Hermine, was built in 1914 and had a varied career as a ferry, cargo ship, and even a replica of the first ship to explore Canada. This three-masted sailing vessel replicates one of Jacques Cartier's ships. But it was also a haunted house. Since 1997, it has been moored in Jordan Harbour. Unfortunately, it was set on fire in 2003 and now sits as a rusty, two-masted hulk.

Jacques Cartier's 1535 expedition to Canada included three ships, of which La Grande Hermine was the largest and most important.

La Grande Hermine is an essential piece of Canadian maritime history. It was built in 1914 in Quebec, Canada, and was originally a ferry for the Quebec and Levis Ferry Company.

In the 1930s, La Grande Hermine was purchased by a Canadian businessman who converted it into a cargo ship. It transported coal, wood, and sand throughout the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

In the 1960s, the Canadian government purchased La Grande Hermine and converted it into a floating restaurant—a silly floating restaurant—to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Cartier's arrival in Canada. The replica ship was used during the Montreal Expo in 1967, but it was a failure as a business venture.

After that, La Grande Hermine was sold to a private owner and used as a tourist attraction in Montreal. Later, it was moved to Jordan Harbour, where it was a haunted house and a museum.

But in 2003, La Grande Hermine was set on fire by arson and was severely damaged. Since then, it has been moored in Jordan Harbour as a rusty and decaying piece of Canadian maritime history.

This ghost ship sparks the imagination of travelers and tells stories of adventure and mystery in its old bones.

Nicknamed the pirate ship, La Grande Hermine is now an excellent roadside attraction for travelers from Toronto to Niagara Falls along the QEW. Dominic Davison's work shows that the Vue toolset, combined with some postwork in Photoshop, can create fine art on par with the masters of past centuries.