Fleet Week Preparations

 The Royal Canadian Navy is hosting its first ever Fleet Week, (more accurately Fleet Weekend) between September 7 and 11. Several Canadian and visiting naval vessels will be in port and open to the public. The event will culminate on Sunday, September 10 with a sail past as most of the ships depart for an annual NATO exercise called Cutlass Shield. 

First among the visiting ships was HMS Portland F79 arriving September 5 at HMC Dockyard.

A type 23 frigate, it was commissioned in 2001 and established a record as the fastest ship of its class when it achieved 30.8 knots on trials.

Today saw the arrival of the first of four United States navy vessels to participate in the event. USS Porter DDG 78 is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer launched in 1997. The other three are due tomorrow.

Several RCN  ships will be positioned outside HMC Dockyard to make it easier for visiting. Appropriately HMCS Moncton MM708 will be at Sackville Landing, adjacent to Canada's naval memorial HMCS Sackville. Both vessels feature disruptive pattern paint schemes, designed to confuse visual recognition during World Wars I and II. The form of camouflage was applied to Moncton on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. It now has the added (genuine) rust streaks common on ships during war time when maintenance down time for painting was kept to a minimum.

HMCS Glace Bay MM 701 will be at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. Both Kingston class ships were built at Halifax Shipyard and are based in Halifax.

HMCS Margaret Brooke will be open to the public at HMC Dockyard. Although it is not on the current open house list, Max Bernays was getting ready today by hoisting signal flags.

 Today also saw HMCS Fredericton FFH 337 moving to the Tall Ships Quay on the Halifax waterfront boardwalk. The move took some preparation and had to be coordinated with other harbour activities.

Two "camel" barges were moored at the quay to provide fendering and gangway access. HMC Dockyard craft such as YFU 128 and the "pup" tug Granville YTL 594 positioned the two camels and secured the fenders.

The Dockyard's own fleet of camels are all in use for its own and visting ships, so the scow Dominion Mercury from Dominion Diving was brought over from Dartmouth.

YFU 128 is a DockYard Fleet Utility boat.

Granville (Yard Tug Little 594 ) is one of the three "pup" tugs based in Halifax.

Once the camels and fenders were in place the area was left clear, briefly, for the departure of the cruise ship Zuiderdam, and for passage of the arriving of the Bluenose II and the ConRo Atlantic Sun as HMCS Fredericton stood off. Zuiderdam used the tug Atlantic Beaver to get off the berth at Pier 20 due to tight quarters with the camels and another cruise ship, the Norwegian Joy immediately astern.

Tight quarters at Pier 20.

Atlantic Beaver with a head line to assist Zuiderdam.

 

After heading north and east of George's Island the Zuiderdam arranged a port to port meet with the inbound Atlantic Sun. The schooner Bluenose II kept well to the west.

The Bluenose II was motoring, so was not under full sail.

Fredericton was on a "cold move" (i.e. not using its own engines) and had the pup tug Merrickville  YTL 593 pulling on a head line and Glenbrook YTB 643 aft for power.
 

As they neared the Tall Ships Quay they were joined by the Granville and turned to head bow north and come alongside.

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