How do you put on paper 38 years of life experiences?  My name is Julianne Hull and I was the wife of Robert Hull. We have two sons, James and Caleb which were the apple of Roberts eye.  He was a very special man, and yes, it is hard to write about so many experiences he had in his career and what we had in our lives together.  Unfortunately, Robert passed away in 2014. He is truly missed.  

So here is a small synopsis of his working career……sailing, teaching and home life.

Robert was in the first graduating class of the Marine Technology program at Georgian College, Owen Sound.   He was one of five that graduated in 1976. As a cadet he sailed for Upper Lakes and then Misener Transportation.

As he started his career, he had a goal (Master Mariner) which he wanted to work towards but knew that it would take many hours of sea time and exams for each level.  Along with his career he had a home life which consisted of building a home in Wiarton, getting married and eventually having two sons.  

It was like a balancing act to try to meet expectations at work, to support us at home, but also to continue with his schooling.  For many years he taught winter marine courses.  If it wasn’t at the college in Owen Sound, he found a place in the St Catharines area to hold classes. (We had moved to St Catharines for 4 years)  He knew that there were men and women who lived outside of Owen Sound that would take courses if the courses  were available closer to their home.  It saved the students money on not having to rent a place to live but also saved on fuel.  We received a lot of support from Sheila Kazarian and Carol Record (assistants) at the college so that he had the proper textbooks, curriculums and lists of students etc.

Many years he was teaching in the winter but also studying at night to prepare for his own exams.  Collingwood had a Transport Canada Office where  sailors went to write exams.  Exams were only offered every other week so if he  wanted to finish his own exams before shipping out in the spring, he had to write every other week.  It seemed at times we didn’t get to see him much due to his schedule. 

Robert loved teaching.  He loved to see others learn and use the knowledge they had acquired.  Even when he was on a ship, foreign or on the lakes, and a cadet was needing assistance with a navigation problem he would help.  Often I remember him leaning over the chart table asking the cadet questions……trying to figure out what the cadet knew and what was the problem asking of the student.  

Two things really stick out in my mind that Robert taught.   Firstly, when coming to the bridge, go and look out around the ship.  What do you see?  Look with your eyes before just heading to the radar to see what other ships or land was near. 

 The second important point he used to stress, I used while I was instructing students in the Nursing program at Georgian.  When answering a question, answer with confidence.  Don’t answer if it was a question but with confidence.  If you don’t know the answer say you don’t know.  

As a a Captain he wanted to know what his navigational team knew and what they didn’t know.  He wanted to have confidence in each of the mates since in the end it was his responsibility for the safety of all the people on board but also the ship and cargo.  

Working towards his Master Mariners ticket, he needed deep sea time.  It was arranged that he would sail with Harrisons (Clyde) out of Glasgow Scotland to get his 12 months sea time.  He went on board as second mate joining in Toronto.  We didn’t know anyone, didn’t know much about the company nor what the ships schedule was for the next year.  Robert did take a few weeks off for his sisters wedding but when the ship came back up the lakes he joined and finished his time.  

He got a lot of experience as he sailed to Brazil, Europe, Russia and also on the Lakes.

He helped to fit out the three ships that Misener’s had commissioned out of Govan Shipyards in Glasgow.  So he lived in Scotland, worked on the ships, did sea trials and then when they were ready he was first mate bringing each of them to Canada…. Selkirk Settler, Canada Marquis and the Saskatchewan Pioneer.

Robert did obtain his goal. He was able to obtain his Master Mariners ticket writing all but one exam in Collingwood.  The one exam they were not offering in Collingwood which he needed, so he flew to Halifax, wrote the exam and flew home again.  We had to wait till they marked his paper before he did his orals.  It was a joyful time as I saw him walk out of the oral exam with a smile on his face.  All those hours of sea time, studying and travelling back and forth to Collingwood for the exams….He had obtained his ticket.

In 1994 he was offered a job as a Canadian Marine Pilot.  He worked in two of the districts.  He started out in District 3 which is Port Huron and above.  He would be away from home for 21 days, home for 7 and then back to work.  Since we had children, when the opportunity to move to District 2 came he moved to that district so that he would have more time with the children.  

While in District 2, unfortunately he was involved in a marine accident in the Detroit River which would change our lives.  I won’t go into details, but we had two years of court cases and just the unknown.  

Because the accident happened in the District 2 area, when an opening came up in District 3 he made the decision to move back up there.  The children were older now and understood a bit more why Dad was away etc.  

We loved District 3 since for three weeks at a time we would stay in a cabin on the St Marys River at De Tour Village.  It became like home for us since I would often go with him for those three weeks every other month.  I would be able to watch and feel the ships going by Watsons Reef.  The vibrations could be felt as the ships maneuvered down the river.  We also got involved with the community in many ways.

Sailing is an unique life.  Hard to put into words what we as a family went through in the 36 years of marriage.  I tried to support him as much as possible through all the levels but he did the work towards his career.  There is a lot more I could mention about his 40 year sailing career and I have only touched on a small part of his life.  But I wanted you to know a bit about him.   

Robert believed in the Navigational program at Georgian College, he loved to teach, he was excited when students succeeded, when they asked questions.  He saw a lot of changes at the college.  Above Campus Connections there is a room that was used for classes.  Radars were taught up there along with other courses and instruments.  The simulator used to be in the basement, then moved upstairs into the E wing, and then to where the simulators are now.  He made all of the wooden desks in the ECDIS room so that charting could be taught along with the instruments, like on a bridge of a ship.  He also made a DVD movie of wire splicing assisted by a student.  You can see this informative movie on YouTube. (Wire Rope splicing by Robert Hull)  Robert saw some of his students become instructors at the college, saw many succeed in their own careers of which he was very proud of.  

When Robert was home he was involved with the Wiarton Propeller Club.  He tried to fill in where it was needed since the life style of a sailor was not a nine to five, five days a week job.  He was President from 1978 to 1980.  

He was also involved in the community when he was home …..Parent helper for Beavers and Cubs, assistant ball coach, Parent helper at AWANA (Hepworth Baptist Church), International Ship Masters Association, Board member at the Wiarton Trinity Anglican Church and The Company of Master Mariners Of Canada to name a few organizations he was involved in.

I still have Roberts discharge books and really should sit down and write out dates and ships he had been on.  That is something for me to do in the future.  Hope this has given you a small picture of what my husband did and what he stood for.

Julianne Hull