The RCMP schooner St. Roch, under the command of Sgt. Henry Larsen, departs from Vancouver bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia via the Northwest Passage. Following the same east to west route Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen made 38 years earlier, the crew reach Halifax on Oct. 11, 1942 and become the first to successfully make the voyage from the opposite direction. In 1950, she became the first vessel to circumnavigate North America, returning to Vancouver via the Panama Canal.
The St. Roch was declared a national historic site in 1962 and is currently on display at the Vancouver Maritime Museum.
