Enjoying my time with my family

Sorry that it has been a while. I have been enjoying my time with my family over the holidays. I was fortunate that my whole family was able to be at the airport to greet me when I got off the plane. It sure was great to hug my wife and kids again.

I had a wonderful Christmas and hope that you did too. My parents came up for a couple of days to share Christmas with us. We played lots of games and had a ton of laughs. Just what the holidays are about. I have been fortunate also that the four of us have been able to spend time together. I have also been able to spend time with each one individualy too, which is nice.

Sadly, I put on a few pounds between my 10 days at sea with no way to exercise and the great Christmas baking that was here when I got here. This week, Cynthia and I are doing a version of a 5 day cleanse and have eliminated all of the bad stuff. I am determined to arrive back in Victoria lighter than when I left. Cynthia and I did manage to get out for a nice long walk the other day, but that has been it so far as it has been snowing and extremely windy. The temperature today with the wind chill is supposed to drop to -30. Our treadmill is not working right, so I will be looking at that today so that we can get back to running.

Cynthia had a list of stuff for me to do while I was at home, so, although I have got some of the small stuff off the list, I am going to tackle a chunk of it today since it is such an "indoor" day.

One of the things that I enjoy about this time of year is the World Junior Hockey Championship. I have enjoyed watching Canada win every game so far, but am really excited to watch them against the USA this Thursday night. Go Team Canada!!

Enjoy your day and Happy New Year to you and your family.

On my way home...YAYY!!!

I am packing and ready to come home. My flight leaves at 7:00pm Victoria time and I arrive in Saint John at 10:54am the next morning. I can't wait to see my wonderful family again. I have really missed them. I return to Victoria on Jan 10 and my first course starts on Feb 1. I am currently slated to continue working at NTS until then, but things sometimes change, so I will wait and see.

I hope that everyone is having a great final weekend before Christmas.

Steve

Wednesday

We got underway at midnight for the last night of the trip. At around 5:30 am, the sea started to get quite rough. There were items and people flying around all over the place. Felt like a great roller coaster ride for me. It felt like a long night, but we were back in Esquimalt by 8:30 am and back in my room by 9:30. It sure felt good to have a nice, long, hot shower. I am off tomorrow, but not sure what is on my agenda yet. Overall, this trip was a fantastic opportunity for me to experience and learn more than I could have imagined. I can’t wait to do it again. 4 more sleeps and I will be with my family again. I am getting very excited for that.

Tuesday

Back up and underway by midnight. Very different when it is pitch black out. We have a full cloud cover with rain, so no moonlight to help the students. At this point, my sleeping pattern is all messed up. It reminds me of jet lag. I figure it will take about 2 days to get back on track; then I fly home and will be adjusting to the time zone difference there too. I think that I will be quite out of it for sleeping patterns for the next week. The winds picked up and the seas became rough. Steering the helm became extremely difficult. As soon as we were anchored at 6:00 AM, I went straight to bed, but had to get up again at 7:30AM for my first duty watch, went back to bed, got up for supper, went back to bed, got up for 9:00 PM for my second duty watch.

Monday

Today starts the beginning of the night navigation. We sailed around for a little while and anchored at 11:30am. The plan is to stay anchored throughout the day and start sailing again at 11:30PM tonight. We are scheduled for 2 ½ hours duty watches each day to keep an eye on the anchor. Had a nap after lunch so that I would not be too tired as we have to be up all night long. Got up for supper, played some Euchre and went back to bed just after 8PM. Did not really fall asleep at all. It snowed all afternoon and evening. It was a wet snow, not much accumulation.

Sunday

A fairly easy day today. Mainly taking the helm on and off; plus one “man-overboard” drill. The students practiced bringing the ship into the Jetty and then going back out into the harbor and trying again. Did see a family of seals swimming with the boat for a little while. The snow came down this afternoon and reduced our visibility quite a bit. After supper, a bunch of us went into town for some beers. The town was practically closed up as everyone was having their Staff Christmas parties. We were directed by some locals to the Best Western as the place to go. We went there, tried some different local beers and went back to the ship.

Second week at Sea - Saturday

We left Esquimalt harbor at 1000 hrs this morning. It was a fairly easy morning. I spent from 10:30 – noon on the helm, driving most of the time at full speed ahead, always fun. The weather is very cloudy, but not too cold. We are supposed to see some showers later and maybe even a flurry or two. We docked in Friday Harbour on San Juan Island, which is part of the United States. We were greeted by a gentleman who said “Welcome to America” It just sounded weird since the island looked the same as all the others we had been sailing around. I was duty from 11:30 pm – 4:00 am, so I had to stay on board the ship. I went to bed very early (around 6pm) to get some sleep before my duty watch.

Saturday - Day 6 at Sea

We left Esquimalt harbor at 1000 hrs this morning. It was a fairly easy morning. I spent from 10:30 – noon on the helm, driving most of the time at full speed ahead. The weather is very cloudy, but not too cold. We have been very fortunate with calm seas everyday so far. Not much else went on today. We docked at around 4pm. When Jeff and I got out of the Zodiac on the jetty to prepare to tie up the ship, there was a gentleman there who greeted us with "Welcome to America". It just sounded funny to us since it did not feel like we went south at all. I am on duty on the ship from midnight til 4am and was able to find a wireless connection, so I could update today in real time, so to speak.

I hope that everyone has a great day today.

Friday - Day 5 at Sea

Same morning routine as yesterday. We were out for only about an hour and we had to go into another Place called Tseum where we picked up 3 gentlemen who were guests of the Captain. The students continued doing navigation exercises until lunch. Shortly after lunch, we docked back in Esquimalt harbor. Jeff and I went on ahead in the Zodiac and proceeded by truck to pick up some more stores for next week; mainly milk and bread. Once the boat was secured, we were able to leave and go back to Venture (where we live) and spend the night back in our regular rooms until tomorrow morning, when we leave again. The plan for the next couple of days is sleeping in the daytime and sailing at night. This is for the students to learn how to navigate in the dark. Should be interesting. Stay tuned.

Thursday - Day 4 at Sea

Wakey, Wakey came at 0700 hrs this morning. We helped slip the boat and then jumped in the Zodiac and joined the ship once it was clear of Chemainum harbor. I took the helm again, and this time it included a man overboard drill. The driving is much trickier, but I was told afterward that I did pretty good, so that made me feel nice. We headed for Patricia Bay, where we launched the Zodiac again and took the British officer with us as he was leaving the ship. By this time, Jeff and I have completely lost count of how many times we have been out in the Zodiac and are becoming really good at launching it and bringing it back on board. We made our way to Bedwell Harbor on South Pender Island. It is a beautiful, peaceful spot. Before we docked, we also practiced dropping the anchor. I was in charge of raising it back up at the end of the exercise.Another first for me. Supper tonight was incredible. The cook made potato pancakes, peas, cauliflower, gravy and bbq steaks. The boat has an actual bbq on board (the kind that uses charcoal briquettes). The steaks were done perfect. The cook made every plate as a presentation. It was hard to believe that he could put together such a meal on board a vessel like this.

Bedwell Harbour. You can tell that it is not a cheap place to stay.

One of the Navigation students using the equipment to help him get his bearings.

Wednesday - Day 3 at Sea

Today started at 0600 hrs. Jeff and I got the Zodiac ready and took it from the jetty where the Moose was docked over to another jetty and waited for the Moose to arrive. When we arrived at the other jetty, we were about 20 ft below the actual jetty and the ladder was very barnacle encrusted so we had to be very careful going up the long ladder. Once the Moose arrived, we assisted with tying her up and then went on board. We then refueled the Moose. I was given the position of Event Recorder and had to record all of the times of all the events that occurred during the refueling. This included such things as when the initial briefing was, what time the hoses were hooked up and refueling actually started, etc. Once the refueling was finished, we went back onto the jetty to help slip the boat; then jumped back into the Zodiac and came alongside the Moose to get back on board. After the Zodiac was secured on the quarterdeck of the boat, Jeff and I sat down for breakfast of pancakes and bacon (this was at 0900 hrs). We got about half way through eating when a man overboard drill was called; so we got dressed up again, launched the Zodiac and out we went to recover the floating flag (the “man-overboard”).Once this was done and the Zodiac was again secured back on the boat, we were able to go back and finish breakfast. Jeff and I laughed about it, because it was more accurate to a real situation as they can occur at any time. We sort of had that feeling that we had done so much in the first 3 ½ hours of the day before some people even get up for the day. The Moose then navigated through an extremely narrow passage, which from a distance did not look wide enough for the boat to even fit through. We did, but it was tight. I was able to watch this passage from the front of the boat. It was very cool as we entered the passage, the sun was still rising at the other end.Jeff and I have been taking turns on the helm for 1 hour shifts. When the boat is going through very tough areas, the chief engineer is the one who takes the helm as he is much more experienced that Jeff or I (the first time for either of us was on Monday, so it makes sense to us).Supper tonight was pork sovlaki, rice and carrots. The cook made a tzaziki sauce where he used blueberry yogurt.

There are two senior officers on board the boat for this trip; one from the Canadian Navy and one from the Royal Navy. Turns out that they both know my dad. Small world indeed.Obviously, even after all this time, I can run, but I can’t hide.

Chemainus is a very, very small town. The local fish and chip shop was advertising that they also serve Chinese food. We got a bit of a chuckle out of that. Jeff and I went out for a beer. There were only 2 bars. The first one was a sports bar that closes at 8PM every night (including Friday and Saturday). The second one was a bit nicer, so we went there and bumped into some of the senior officers who are doing the assessing for this trip. It was good company and very informative.

Our cook at work in the tiny galley.

The small bunks that we sleep in. Good thing I can sleep almost anywhere.

Tuesday - Day 2 at Sea

It was a very cold morning. Turns out that something is broken on the boat and there was not heat on the bridge (bbrrr). Other than that, my duty watch was uneventful. We left Ganges at 0800 and worked out way up to Nanaimo. I spent a couple of hours (broken up) on the helm and was even given the ‘Com’. That is where you are in control of telling the person on the helm where to steer and how fast to go. We had the “man-overboard” floating flag in the water, would drive away from it and then direct the ship to turn around 180 degrees and stop the boat with the flag alongside the boat on the starboard (right) side. It was a blast! When he reached Nanaimo, Jeff and I had to jump in the Zodiac again and zip on ahead to the jetty and wait for the boat so that we could help tie them up. We did not get secured until a little later and had supper around 6:30PM. Tomorrow we start again early at 0700 hrs to go over to the refueling station to take on more fuel and then on to doing more sailing around. We will be staying at Chemainus, which is south of Nanaimo. We will be spending most of the day sailing around the islands. I am starting to understand some of what is being said on the bridge when the Navigation Officer is speaking, but the rest is still Klingon, I think. Although the temperature has been cold, the sun has been out and the sky has been clear. Supper tonight was pork chops and mashed potatoes with mixed veg and mushroom gravy. Another great day to be in the Navy!

A very, very narrow passage that we passed through with a beautiful view out the other end.

Lovin' the Navy life.

The helm.

Monday - Day 1 at Sea

We started the day at 0730 by picking up all the food for the trip and loading it onto the boat. The scheduled departure time was set for 1000 hrs. The other deck hand (Jeff Sheerer) and myself made sure the zodiac boat (small motor boat with inflatable sides) was ready to go and that the outboard motor was in working order. We left Esquimalt harbor at 1000 hrs as scheduled. Shortly after leaving we performed a “man overboard” drill in which we launched the zodiac into the water and used it to retrieve the floating flag which represented the “man overboard”. I then was given the opportunity to take the helm. The helm involves the steering and speed of the boat. I do not make the decisions as to direction or speed, but am told by the OOW (Officer of the Watch). When you are doing this, you do not even see where the boat is headed as there is a large console in front of you. You are given a bearing (ie 260 degrees) and you use the wheel to maintain that bearing as best you can within 10 degrees either way. One of the best parts was when I received the order to take the boat to 19 knots, which is full speed ahead. The actual speed of the boat was greater than that. I just grabbed the controls and pushed them all the way forward. It was as if the OOW had said “Punch it Chewie!” I did this twice today. The second time was easier. One of the hard parts is the voice procedures that you have to use, called Conning Orders. The OOW will say something like “Starboard 15” and I repeat it back to him while I turn the wheel to the right until the needle on the instrument is pointing at 15 at which time I have to say “15 of Starboard wheel on, Sir”. There are other orders when changing speed as well. By the end of the week, I think I will be pretty good at it.

We were going to dock at Ganges on Saltspring Island, but needed people on the jetty to assist with tying up the boat. So Jeff and I got in the zodiac and went on ahead of the boat to be the “berthing party”. Once the boat was tied up and secured, we had supper. We have our own cook (non-military) on board for this trip. He had lasagna (pre-made) and home made bread and carrot cake for dessert. He is going to be making a lot of the meals from scratch and is supposed to be an excellent cook; so I am looking forward to those meals.

There are 4 of us to a room. Myself, Jeff, the cook and a Leading Seaman who is an engineer. There are only 2 lockers and 2 drawers under the beds; so there is very, very little room to put your stuff, but we are managing. Everyone seems to be pretty cool so far and I think that this week will be a great experience.

I am on duty tonight (actually tomorrow morning from 0400 to 0800 hrs). I spend 4 hours on the bridge manning it and making sure that nothing happens that shouldn’t. I am going to be going to bed very early to get some sleep as it looks like another long day tomorrow. Overall, it was a Great Navy Day!

The amazing view in the morning we left.

Docked at Ganges

The wake behind the boat when going at full speed ahead.

It is confirmed

I will be going out to sea, starting this Monday, Dec 7 until Dec 16. It is to be a "deck hand" for a Fleet Navigation Officer's course. This will be really cool for many reasons. One being that they will be doing most of their stuff at full speed (around 25 knots) or close to 30 mph which may not sound like much, but when it is 210 tonnes, that is pretty fast. Another cool reason is that we will be going right out to sea and down into the States, probably somewhere in Washington.

Below are some pictures of what they look like. Not quite a Frigate warship, but lots of fun, nonetheless.