I joined  the MV Radcliffe R. Latimer in mid December 2013, as she loads gypsum at ittle Narrows Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia for delivery to Bowmanville Ontario. The vessel's last voyage of the season, she is beset by strong winds, blizzard conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and unseasonable ice in the St. Lawrence River. Winter has arrived so suddenly that the ice breakers in the St. Lawrence River are not yet in service for the season.