Skipper's Death Casts a Pall Over Tug Race Globe and Mail, 08/20/61 The death of a skipper threw a pall over the semi-comic race of wallowing tugboats at the Canadian National Exhibition last night. Capt. Willian Hatton, 51, of Port Credit was taking the Russell Construction Ltd.'s RCL 12 around the first turn when he slumped over the wheel... Lake Tug In Leaky Lifeboat Globe and Mail, 10/23/61 Captain loses second ship, first day out for deckhand. Three seamen were rescued from a lifeboat on Lake Ontario after their tug sank for no apparent reason six miles south of Toronto Sunday. Two of the crew claimed the lifeboat was leaking so badly they were forced to bail for their lives... Tug Sinks, 3 Rescued Near Toronto Source unknown The 48 ton, 65 foot tug, built at Owen Sound in 1958, is believed down in water at least 200 feet deep. The sinking occured in 5 foot waves while the tug was en route to assist a sister tug in towing dredging equipment through the Welland Canal toward Toronto... Tug Sinking Still Mystery Toronto Star, 10/23/61 Crew of "Jinx" Claims Lifeboat Leaky. A "jinxed" tugboat sank mysteriously in broad daylight six miles off Toronto yesterday two months after her skipper dropped dead at the wheel in the CNE tugboat race... Jinx Tug Sinks, 3 Bail Lifeboat Toronto Telegram, 10/23/61 Former Skipper Died The crew of the ill-fated RCL 12, owned by Russell Construction Ltd., were Capt. Benjamin Hillyer, 52, of McRoberts St., deckhand Arthur Jackson, 28, of Palmerston Sq., and engineer Gene Hesch, 26, of Owen Sound...

	Globe and Mail, Aug. 20, 1961 Skipper's Death Casts Pall Over Tug Race. Caption: Tugboat Paula M of Dunnville Crosses Finish Line First in Time-Elapsed Race on the CNE Waterfront. Close in her wake are two other diesel-driven tugs, Terry S. and Waterman, both of Toronto. The death of a skipper threw a pall over the semi-comic race of wallowing tug boats at the Canadian National Exhibition last night. Captain William Hatton, 51, of Port Credit was taking the Russel Construction Ltd.'s R.C.L. 12 around the first turn when he slumped over the wheel. Summoned by radio, Harbor Police Third Officer Ernest Morrey brought oxygen in a patrol boat, then rushed Mr. Hatton to a Department of Health ambulance waiting at the dock. Oxygen was administered on the way to Toronto General Hospital, but the captain was pronounced dead on arrival. Later, Coroner Fred Tickett said death was caused by coronary thrombosis. The captain leaves his wife, a daughter, 20, and three sons, one married, and two at home., aged 11 and 22 years. He had been employed by the Russell Construction Ltd. for about five years. Before that, he had spent most of his life as a fisherman working out of Port Credit. The collapse occurred when the little pack of six grey and red diesels - among them Captain Hatton's R.C.L. 12 - which had been held behind the steam tugs by a three-minute handicap, were jockeying for position on the first turn. The incident was temporarily forgotten, however, as the municipally-owned steam tug would take three of them, led by the Paula M. to top honours. At the end of one and a half laps the group of three diesels, Paula M., Terry S. and Waterman, in that order, had gained one half of a lap on the Ned Hanlan's initial lead, while the highly touted Billie M., a large diesel winner of 1958, lagged badly. Finally, when the Paula M. passed the Ned Hanlan on the first turn in the third lap, the final result was quite predictable. Winner of the Lake Ontarion Championship, with an elapsed time of 21 minutes, 47 seconds on the four-mile race, was Paula M., captained by Steven Powell and owned by McNamara Construction Ltd. Last year's winner of that championship, the Ned Hanlan, captained by Dallas Milne, took top steam honours.
	The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 23 Oct 1961, Page 15 Tug Sinks, 3 Rescued From Lake 48-Ton Vessel 300 Feet Down Off Toronto TORONTO (CP) Three sea-men were rescued Sunday after their tug sank for no apparent reason in Lake Ontario about six miles south of Toronto. Benjamin Hillier of Toronto, master of the ill-fated Russell Construction Limited tug RCL No. 12, was removed from a lifeboat by Toronto Harbor police with deckhand Arthur Jackson, also of Toronto, and engineer Gene Hesch of Owen Sound. Hesch was treated in hospital for a leg injury suffered in launching the lifeboat. The 48-ton, 65-foot tug, built at Owen Sound in 1958, is believed down in water at least 200 feet deep. The sinking occurred in five-foot waves while the tug was en route to assist a sister tug in towing dredging equipment through the Welland Canal toward Toronto. Capt. Hillier said he felt the bow lifting and on investigating, found the stern was rapidly filling with water. The crew radioed Toronto Harbor control who in turn warned the police. An aircraft sent out from Toronto Island Airport located the Lifeboat. Jack Halliday, vice-president of Russell Construction, said: there was no explanation for the sinking. He was unable to say whether the firm will attempt to salvage the tug. Police tried to leave a marker buoy where the boat went down, but their 200-foot line was too short.
	Ottawa Citizen Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 23 Oct 1961, Mon Page 2 Three Saved As Tug Sinks Near Toronto TORONTO (CP) Three seamen were rescued Sunday after their tug sank for no apparent reason in Lake Ontario about six miles south of Toronto. Benjamin Hillier of Toronto, master of the ill-fated Russell Construction Limited tug RCL No. 12, was removed from a lifeboat by Toronto Harbor police with deckhand Arthur Jackson, also of Toronto, and engineer Gene Hesch of Owen Sound.
	Globe and Mail, Oct. 23, 1961 Lake Tug in Leaky Lifeboat. Captain Loses Second Ship; First Day Out for Deckhand Three seamen were rescued from a lifeboat on Lake Ontario after their tug sank for no apparent reason six miles south of Toronto Sunday. Two of the crew claimed the lifeboat was leaking so badly they were forced to bail for their lives. Captain Benjamin Hillier, of McRoberts Ave., master of the Russell Construction Ltd. tug RCL 12; deckhand Arthur Jackson, 28, of Palmerston Sq., and engineer Gene Hesch, 26, of Owen Sound were taken from the lifeboat by Toronto Harbour Police. Mr. Hesch, who hurt his leg in launching the lifeboat from a stern awash with heavy waves, was treated at St. Michael's Hospital. It was his first day on the job for the company and his first assignment on a tug. The 48-ton, 65-foot-long tug, built at Owen Sound in 1958 and valued at $100,000, is believed to be lying in more than 280 feet of water. The tug was in the Canadian National Exhibition tugboat race in August, but coming around the first turn Captain William Hatton, 51, of Port Credit, slumped over the wheel with a heart attack and died. She chugged out of the company's Villiers St. yard near Cherry St. yesterday under bright morning sunshine and headed through the Eastern Channel bound for Port Colborne to help a sister tug tow dredging equipment through the Welland Canal to Toronto. Capt. Hillier was at the wheel fighting a heavy sea with waves about five feet high. He cut the twin diesels down to investigate why the bow was lifting and found the stern rapidly filling with water. He and the others had to wade through deep water to get to the lifeboat. A heavy swell knocked the engineer against a towing bit and hurt his leg. There was time to send an emergency radio message to Toronto Harbor Control, who alerted marine police. An aircraft from Toronto Island was dispatched and the sailors were located in their bobbing lifeboat. Robert Dunlop, in charge of the police launch, said they reached the seamen in about 35 minutes and were in time to see the tug slide beneath the waves. The shivering men were about 300 yards from the doomed ship at the time. Mister Jackson said, "We found the lifeboat leaking and we were getting a bit worried because it was coming in as fast as we were throwing it out." Jack Halliday, company vice-president, said there is no explanation for the sinking and he was unable to say yesterday whether the company would try to salvage the submerged vessel. The police tried to leave a marker buoy at the spot where the tug went down, but their 200-foot line was too short and it may even be difficult to find the RCL 12 again. Captain E. C. Hopkins, of the Toronto Harbor Commissioners, said last night it is unlikely the lifeboat was leaking. He suggested instead that since on of the boat's oars was damaged in the launching and useless the men could not keep the craft into the heavy waves and were shipping water. The weight of the men in the small boat would add to their difficulty, he said. He added that these dinghies are used frequently when the tugs are tied up, and they are examined annually by Department of Transport inspectors. And it may have been damaged in the launching, he added. "If it was leaking, though, it is a serious violation of the regulations."
	Monday, Oct. 23, 1961, Toronto Star CREW OF 'JINX' CLAIMS LIFEBOAT LEAKY Tug Sinking Still Mystery. Police Save 3 Men A "jinxed" tugboat sank mysteriously in broad daylight six miles off Toronto yesterday two months after her skipper dropped dead at the wheel in the CNE tugboat race. Yesterday, the $100,000 tug almost took three men - one her new skipper - down with her. Toronto Harbor Police saved the three men from the tug's foundering lifeboat. Two of the crew claimed the lifeboat was leaking. Gene Hesch, 26, of Owen Sound, engineer on his first day aboard the tug, suffered injuries to his left leg as he battled the five foot waves to help launch the the dinghy. Captain Benjamin Hillier of McRoberts Ave, Toronto, master of the Russell Construction Ltd.'s tug RCL 12 could give no explanation of the sinking. The 48-ton 65-foot tug was built in 1958 in Collingwood (n.b. - obvious mistake here), it was used in the CNE tug boat race in August but coming around the first turn Captain William Hatton, 51, of Port Credit, slumped over the wheel with a heart attack and died. Sends SOS Capt. Hillier said he was at the wheel yesterday when he noticed the bow lifting and the stern going down. He cut the twin diesels, investigated and found water pouring through the wall of the engine room. He sent a distress call to Toronto Harbor Police on the ship to shore telephone. Then he, the engineer and a deckhand, Arthur Jackson, 28, of Palmerston Sq., had to wade through deep water to get to the dinghy. The engineer was injured when a wave slapped him against a towing bit. One oar was smashed. Capt. Hillier estimated the men, wet and shivering, were in the lifeboat about 30 minutes before the police located them 300 yards from the doomed tug. "That leaky lifeboat was almost too much for us," said Mr. Hesch in St. Michael's Hospital. Buoy Pulled Down "We found the lifeboat leaking and we were getting a bit worried because it was coming in as fast as we were throwing it out," said Mr. Jackson. Harbor Police said they watched the tug slip under the water and then tried to leave a marker buoy. They put 200 feet of line on but even this wasn't enough and it sank out of sight. Why the RCL 12 sank may remain a mystery. In that depth of water and without even a marker "it will be up to our insurers whether salvage will be attempted," said Jack Halliday, company vice-president. Washed Ashore But, he said, the dinghy will be investigated by company officials today. It was swamped when the men were rescued but drifted ashore at the Humber. Capt. Hillier said the tug left Cherry St. docks about 8:30 a.m. and sank about 10:30 a.m. It was bound for Welland to help a sister tug tow dredging equipment through the Welland Canal.

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