Excitement on the High Seas!
I got an email from Bruce last night about the ship rescuing about 15 people from an Indian vessel that sank. Arthur then sent an email tonight with word that there was coverage on CTV news (how they were able to fit it in with all the Liberal leadership race coverage, he wasn't quite sure) but I searched and found the story below, online here.
For visuals of some of the things the ship is up to I bet you'll find the Combat Camera site interesting. Click here.
Under Select Category choose Navy and under Enter Keyword type HMCS Ottawa.
Here you will find a big album of photos taken over the course of this trip by military photographers. This site gives you a good idea of what goes on on the ship and around it. I'd recommend taking a look. The ship's Image Gallery is also interesting - check it out here.
Well life on the high seas of the working world is treating me pretty well. Actually, that's an understatement; I LOVE my job. It is so nice to get up in the morning and not dread thinking about your task list for the day (school) or dread the thought of actually having to leave the house to go to work (data entry). It is flexible, the people are great, I have freedom to be creative, freedom to problem solve, I get to work with people and best of all I get to organize the office and all of our supplies and systems - I'm pretty much in heaven right now!
So far, so good for my first weekend day, after a week of full time work. Today was busy though, as life has been here with so much to do and only two hands to get 'er done. There's Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, house cleaning, holiday parties to attend, knitting nights to host, cookie swaps to prepare for, did I mention knitting? (see here) and about a million other things on my list but tomorrow I'm going to set out a plan to help me reduce that list. I'm slowly realizing life is way too short for lists!
PS The snow is slowly melting and I think most Islanders have survived the worst of our weather. While some roads and sidewalks are nearly bone dry, many of the side roads have layers of slush and ice sitting on the sides and many of the sidewalks are rink-like - the walk home from the mall with a huge 60L pack full of Christmas gifts, a door mat and groceries was a challenge today.
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Canadian frigate saves Indian ship's crew
Updated Sat. Dec. 2 2006 11:50 PM ET
Canadian Press
ABOARD HMCS OTTAWA -- A Canadian frigate on patrol in the Persian Gulf area rescued the 18-member crew of a sinking Indian ship, but was reluctantly forced to abandon attempts to save the stricken vessel itself after several hours, military officials said Saturday.
Members of the four-person rescue team from HMCS Ottawa put aboard the sinking vessel said later they took their cue to abandon ship almost as much from escaping cockroaches as their commanding officer.
"I was down in the engine room with one of my co-workers and we were trying to get the pumps going and suddenly there was 20-25 cockroaches,'' Master Seaman Michel Tremblay of St. Honore, Que., said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press.
"I looked at him and I said: `If those guys are leaving, maybe we should leave too.'''
It was just then that word came from their commanding officer: it was time to give up and get out.
"I even asked if we could stay longer and it was a definite, `No, get off that vessel right now,''' said Pacchiano, admitting it's easy to get "tunnel vision'' when you're focused on the task at hand.
"We could see the water close up coming in, but from a far away vantage point you actually see how the vessel is taking the wave and how it's actually moving and it was very unstable.''
HMCS Ottawa was on patrol in the Gulf of Oman the mayday mayday call came in around 10 p.m. local time.
An Indian dhow, a small transport vessel commonly found in the area, was sinking a short distance away with 18 people aboard.
"If you hear a mayday call, you drop everything,'' Lt.-Cmdr. Hugues Canuel told The Canadian Press.
"Wherever Canadians are deployed in the world ... we hear the call, we go in and we do our best to help like every other mariner would do.''
Canuel, from Matane, Que., said an English-speaking member of the Indian crew was able to guide the Canadian frigate to the precise location of the sinking vessel within about half an hour via VHF radio.
A rescue team comprised of two hull technicians, a marine engineer and an expert in seamanship, boarded an inflatable raft to see if they could repair the damage and save the small cargo ship, which was hauling a full load of wood and iron pipes from Sharjah, India, to Somalia.
"The vessel, upon first site, was quite low in the water compared to normal sailing dhows in the area, and it was listing heavily to starboard,'' said Petty Officer Rob Pacchiano, who was the first to board the vessel.
"On certain waves we were actually taking on water over the gun rail, over the upper deck.''
The Calgary native was led to the engine room which was already inundated with more than 1.2 metres of water.
For the next three hours, the Canadian team members attempted to pump out the water, always glancing to their makeshift indicators -- the rungs of a ladder and the decks within the engine compartment -- for signs they could be close to capsizing.
In the end, with the water rising, they had to abandon the attempt.
Pacchiano said the Indian crew was evacuated without incident to the Ottawa in three waves. The disabled vessel went down no more than 45 minutes after they left.
The crew, none of whom were injured, was later transported to the United Arab Emirates.
"We did put up a good fight,'' Canuel said.
HMCS Ottawa is part of Operation ALTAIR, the Canadian maritime contribution to the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The West Coast-based ship departed Canada on Sept. 10 and is scheduled to return in mid-March.
For
For visuals of some of the things the ship is up to I bet you'll find the Combat Camera site interesting. Click here.
Under Select Category choose Navy and under Enter Keyword type HMCS Ottawa.
Here you will find a big album of photos taken over the course of this trip by military photographers. This site gives you a good idea of what goes on on the ship and around it. I'd recommend taking a look. The ship's Image Gallery is also interesting - check it out here.
Well life on the high seas of the working world is treating me pretty well. Actually, that's an understatement; I LOVE my job. It is so nice to get up in the morning and not dread thinking about your task list for the day (school) or dread the thought of actually having to leave the house to go to work (data entry). It is flexible, the people are great, I have freedom to be creative, freedom to problem solve, I get to work with people and best of all I get to organize the office and all of our supplies and systems - I'm pretty much in heaven right now!
So far, so good for my first weekend day, after a week of full time work. Today was busy though, as life has been here with so much to do and only two hands to get 'er done. There's Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, house cleaning, holiday parties to attend, knitting nights to host, cookie swaps to prepare for, did I mention knitting? (see here) and about a million other things on my list but tomorrow I'm going to set out a plan to help me reduce that list. I'm slowly realizing life is way too short for lists!
PS The snow is slowly melting and I think most Islanders have survived the worst of our weather. While some roads and sidewalks are nearly bone dry, many of the side roads have layers of slush and ice sitting on the sides and many of the sidewalks are rink-like - the walk home from the mall with a huge 60L pack full of Christmas gifts, a door mat and groceries was a challenge today.
______________________
Canadian frigate saves Indian ship's crew
Updated Sat. Dec. 2 2006 11:50 PM ET
Canadian Press
ABOARD HMCS OTTAWA -- A Canadian frigate on patrol in the Persian Gulf area rescued the 18-member crew of a sinking Indian ship, but was reluctantly forced to abandon attempts to save the stricken vessel itself after several hours, military officials said Saturday.
Members of the four-person rescue team from HMCS Ottawa put aboard the sinking vessel said later they took their cue to abandon ship almost as much from escaping cockroaches as their commanding officer.
"I was down in the engine room with one of my co-workers and we were trying to get the pumps going and suddenly there was 20-25 cockroaches,'' Master Seaman Michel Tremblay of St. Honore, Que., said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press.
"I looked at him and I said: `If those guys are leaving, maybe we should leave too.'''
It was just then that word came from their commanding officer: it was time to give up and get out.
"I even asked if we could stay longer and it was a definite, `No, get off that vessel right now,''' said Pacchiano, admitting it's easy to get "tunnel vision'' when you're focused on the task at hand.
"We could see the water close up coming in, but from a far away vantage point you actually see how the vessel is taking the wave and how it's actually moving and it was very unstable.''
HMCS Ottawa was on patrol in the Gulf of Oman the mayday mayday call came in around 10 p.m. local time.
An Indian dhow, a small transport vessel commonly found in the area, was sinking a short distance away with 18 people aboard.
"If you hear a mayday call, you drop everything,'' Lt.-Cmdr. Hugues Canuel told The Canadian Press.
"Wherever Canadians are deployed in the world ... we hear the call, we go in and we do our best to help like every other mariner would do.''
Canuel, from Matane, Que., said an English-speaking member of the Indian crew was able to guide the Canadian frigate to the precise location of the sinking vessel within about half an hour via VHF radio.
A rescue team comprised of two hull technicians, a marine engineer and an expert in seamanship, boarded an inflatable raft to see if they could repair the damage and save the small cargo ship, which was hauling a full load of wood and iron pipes from Sharjah, India, to Somalia.
"The vessel, upon first site, was quite low in the water compared to normal sailing dhows in the area, and it was listing heavily to starboard,'' said Petty Officer Rob Pacchiano, who was the first to board the vessel.
"On certain waves we were actually taking on water over the gun rail, over the upper deck.''
The Calgary native was led to the engine room which was already inundated with more than 1.2 metres of water.
For the next three hours, the Canadian team members attempted to pump out the water, always glancing to their makeshift indicators -- the rungs of a ladder and the decks within the engine compartment -- for signs they could be close to capsizing.
In the end, with the water rising, they had to abandon the attempt.
Pacchiano said the Indian crew was evacuated without incident to the Ottawa in three waves. The disabled vessel went down no more than 45 minutes after they left.
The crew, none of whom were injured, was later transported to the United Arab Emirates.
"We did put up a good fight,'' Canuel said.
HMCS Ottawa is part of Operation ALTAIR, the Canadian maritime contribution to the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The West Coast-based ship departed Canada on Sept. 10 and is scheduled to return in mid-March.
For
posted by Brandy at 11:02 p.m.
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