Sunday, November 22, 2009

HMCS SACKVILLE K181

HMCS SACKVILLE K181 alongside the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic wharf,Halifax,Nova Scotia on October 21st 2009 just prior to moving to her Winter berth at HMC Dockyard.
Built in 1941 by Saint John Shipbuilding and Drydock Company,Saint John,New Brunswick.
Specifications (As at 1944-45):
Type: Corvette,Flower Class,1939-40 RCN Programme.
Displacement:1,085/1,350 tons.
LOA 205 ft, LPP 190 ft,Beam 33 ft Draught 13 ft.
Machinery: Single shaft reciprocating,vertical triple expansion steam (4cyld),I.H.P. 2,750 HP,Speed 16 knots.
Arm: 1 X 4in,1 X 2pdr.Pom Pom,2 X 20mm. Depth Charges,Hedgehog A.T.W.
Crew:85.
HMCS Sackville is the property of The Canadian Naval Memorial Trust.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

HMCS TERRA NOVA DDE 259


Decommissioned Restigouche Class destroyer HMCS TERRA NOVA DDE259 left Halifax on 20th November 2009 under tow to join her sister HMCS GATINEAU DDE236 at Pictou,Nova Scotia to be dismantled.This will leave only HMCS FRASER DDH233 at present at Jetty NN in the Bedford Basin as the last surviving example of the RCN's Canadian designed and built destroyer escorts, (20 ships). Hopefully, Fraser will be tidied up for next years 100th Anniversary of RCN/Canadian Navy celebrations.
HMCS Terra Nova (DDE 259) was a Restigouche-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and later the Canadian Forces from 1959-1997. She was the sixth ship of her class and the first Canadian war ship to bear the name HMCS Terra Nova. The ship honours the Terra Nova River in Newfoundland as well as an earlier civilian ship the Terra Nova, which gained fame during a scientific exploration voyage to Antarctica. Both the river and the Antarctic (symbolized by a penguin) are featured on the ship’s crest.
HMCS Terra Nova was laid down on June 11, 1953, at Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd., Victoria, British Columbia, and launched on June 21, 1955. She was commissioned into the RCN on June 6, 1959, with the pennant number 259. After being paid off in 1997, Terra Nova appeared, cast as an American destroyer, in the movie K-19: The Widowmaker.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

CFAV SECHELT YDT 610

CFAV SECHELT YDT 610 conducting diving operations off Sherwood Point,Bedford Basin,Halifax on November 12th 2009.LOA 108 ft Beam 33.5 ftDisplacement: 291 tons.Type: Diving TenderOwner: Canadian Government,Navy. Call Sign:CGSE

Friday, November 6, 2009

GATINEAU and TERRA NOVA to be dismantled.


Retired Restigouche Class DDE's HMCS Gatineau DDE236 and Terra Nova DDE259 are to be dismantled at Pictou,Nova Scotia according to a news release yesterday,after a plan to sink them as dive sites in the Great Lakes/St Lawerance fell through.These are the last of the Restigouch/Mackenzie Class DDE's extant. The only intact remaining ship of the twenty DDEs built during the 50's and 6o's is HMCS Fraser DDE/DDH 233 awaiting her fate at Jetty NN,CFAD. Hopefully she won't meet the same fate as her consorts ,or the Avro Arrow!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Great Northern Diver (LOON).


Since the 1970s the Loon population in the Basin/Harbour areas of Halifax has increased dramatically,probably as a result of the ban on DDT in the 60's.The Basin is home to several large 'famlies' which nest in the Birch Cove Lakes,marshlands areas adjacent to the Basin. A healthy population also nests on McNab's Island around the salt lagoons. Photo shot in the Basin Sept 21st 2009.

MAUGHERS BEACH LIGHT,McNABS ISLAND


Maughers Beach Light,McNab's Island,Halifax,Nova Scotia.This is my first attempt at a Blog. The site will be used to report various marine related happenings in the Halifax/Nova Scotia/Canada region. Stay tuned. Cheers,Ken