The icebreaker CCGS on move
PARRY SOUND - Because of an especially warm winter, and light ice conditions, the Canadian Coast Guard’s icebreaker CCGS Samuel Risley got to spend more time in her Parry Sound port. This has permitted her crew to make some much-needed repairs.
No place like home
Last Friday afternoon at the Coast Guard Base facilities the crew removed a damaged three-ton shaft generator.
“We’re removing one of the five generators which produces electricity on the ship,” said captain Dave Fowler. “It will be sent away to a special workshop and will probably be re-installed in October, when the ship comes back to her home base of Parry Sound for summer maintenance work.”
CCGS Samuel Risley has two crews, each working a 28-day shift, followed by 28 days off duty. Everyone works 12 hours a day, seven days a week for their on-duty tour.
Many of the officers and crew are from the Parry Sound area, including the captain and both the ship’s commanding officers. Captain Fowler lives in McDougall and captain Darryl Clow resides in Nobel. The crew say they always enjoy the opportunity to spend a little more time with their families when the ship is docked in Parry Sound.
“We are very proud to have the ship permanently stationed in Parry Sound,” said captain Fowler. “There are only two major Coast Guard Bases on the Great Lakes and we have one of them right here in our town. The base provides crucial year-round support to the ship in many areas including maintenance, staffing and logistics. Businesses in town can provide us with many of the goods and services we need to support the Coast Guard’s work.”
On Thursday at 1 p.m., the Samuel Risely is expected to set sail to Sarnia, Goderich and then up the North Channel.
“We’re going to go back out thorough the ice very slowly,” said captain Fowler. “If we were to go full speed, which is 14 knots or 25 kilometres an hour, we’d break ice 100 feet on either side of the ship. If we go slower, we’re only breaking ice the width of the ship, which is about 40 feet on either side. In the winter, ice fishers and snowmobilers are using the ice in many of the shipping channels, so we do our best to alert as many of them as possible about ice breaking operations because we will leave a bit of rubble and ice behind.”
The ship will be conducting ice breaking operations in support of commercial shipping in Georgian Bay and Lake Huron ports up until March 17, when she will be passing through the lock at Sault Ste. Marie and heading towards Thunder Bay to open up the port for the 2006 shipping season.
Add your comment ...or join a forum discussion on this story.
news
voice
market
explore