232 replies to this topic

[concorde]

I would be curious how the insurance claim is coming along, I can see easily see the owner of the American Dynasty on the hook for $5+ million

[Bingo]

I would be curious how the insurance claim is coming along, I can see easily see the owner of the American Dynasty on the hook for $5+ million

Perhaps we need a poll. I say $16 million, and out of service for 6 months.

[VicHockeyFan]

They are giving submarine tours at the coast guard base this weekend.

SUBMARINE TOURS this WEEKEND!

Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarine (HMCS) VICTORIA arrived at the Canadian Coast Guard Station in James Bay today to begin her inaugural namesake city visit to Victoria, BC. From May 18-20, the submarine’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Chris Ellis, and his crew will open his boat to the public.

Public tours will occur from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. Due to the smaller size of the boat, only a limited number of people can tour HMCS Victoria at any one time. Therefore, starting at 9:30 a.m. until the end of the tour periods, crew members will be at the main access gate to provide tickets to the public which will indicate specific times for their tours. Tours will consist of six to eight people, begin every fifteen minutes, and last approximately 45 minutes.

Touring a submarine can be a strenuous activity, involving steep ladders and tight spaces. Guests should be in good health, capable of climbing ladders and should wear appropriate clothing. Flat, rubber-soled shoes are recommended. For safety reasons, guests must be 12 years of age and older.

For security reasons, all visitors are subject to screening. Large bags, including backpacks are prohibited. Small camera bags and small handbags may be permitted but will be subject to search. The taking of imagery could be limited while on board the boat.

Items including firearms, knives, spray cans of any type, fireworks, flammable liquids or other explosives, are strictly prohibited on board the boat.

MORE: http://blogs.ottawac...r-public-tours/

[Holden West]

The world's most fearsome land-based warships. If our drydocks are ever attacked by the Tsar or the dreaded Hun we will be prepared.

[AllseeingEye]

The world's most fearsome land-based warships. If our drydocks are ever attacked by the Tsar or the dreaded Hun we will be prepared.

Quite the different approach from others nations it seems - unless they've changed their policy normally you wouldn't get within 50 miles of touring any US or Royal Navy sub. And I liked this "the taking of imagery could be limited..." Wow. Really? It would be outright banned in most other navies and especially where submarines are concerned. Of course these "new" RCN subs are really "old" subs so one has to presume there is little if anything about them that is truly 'secret' or not already known by potential adversaries. Sigh. "Canadian security" it seems is really an oxymoron. Still it would be interesting to know and compare what upgrades Canada has implemented over the original RN configuration of these boats.

[AJL]

They are giving submarine tours at the coast guard base this weekend.

SUBMARINE TOURS this WEEKEND!



MORE: http://blogs.ottawac...r-public-tours/

I went for a walk around the Coast guard building tonight, the sub was not there, any ideas which gate the tours will be from. I am also surprised that the local paper has not picked up this story, somewhat sad that I read about this in the Ottawa paper first, then again I would have had no idea about the tour if it were not for facebook.

[jonny]

I toured a US amphibious assault vessel in Galveston Texas a couple of years ago. They let us go all over the ship, including the bridge, and were allowed to take pictures.

I'll definitely try to check out HMCS Victoria this weekend...should be fun!

[Bingo]

"Items including firearms, knives, spray cans of any type, fireworks, flammable liquids or other explosives, are strictly prohibited on board the boat."

That would also include anyone who can't fit through a watertight hatch.

[LJ]

I went for a walk around the Coast guard building tonight, the sub was not there, any ideas which gate the tours will be from. I am also surprised that the local paper has not picked up this story, somewhat sad that I read about this in the Ottawa paper first, then again I would have had no idea about the tour if it were not for facebook.

The article was in the TC.

[VicHockeyFan]

The article was in the TC.

Eventually. The article appeared in the Citizen hours earlier. The TC article was only about 5 lines, and short on details, too.

[HB]

Getting towed away on Friday eveing off Dallas Rd

[HB]

So the other day the Times Colonist had a story about the HMCS Victoria (submarine) being open for Tours at the Coast Guard bas on Huron St.

They said the tours were limited to 6 persons at a time and ran from 10am till 12pm then from 1pm till 4pm.

I had been on subs before but had no intention of going to it ntil my son called me to see if I would go with him.

I suggested that the cue would be long so we should get there for 10 am..

Good thing we did becasue we would not have gotten a tour otherwise.

We arrived at 9 am walked to the gate and showed our ID as required.
We were given a ticket that was good for the 2:45pm tour.
By this time of the nmorning most of teh tours were gone.
There were many disappointed people but in this case it was obvious to get there early if ony 6 at a time were being taken on board.

The tour overall was awesome. Each section of the ship had a person explaing things.I woudl do it again.




The arrival gate


Showing Id and getting a ticket for later


Disappointed people


My Ticket


Arriving at the Sub


Walking the gangway


The greeters ( A little different than Walmart)


The Equalizer
Standard on all vessels in ports.


The main Hatch


Looking down the main hatch


These next photos just show general views onboard









Torpedo Tubes


I assumed taht this key is of some importance it was located in the control panel at the torpedo tubes


Torpedo in green and a sleeping bunk next to it


Used for rinsing out toilets


Sign Located on the door of the head.




Mess


Mess 2


Galley


I had to repost this pic. It shows teh periscope on the left of white uniform


This is one view out the periscope through my camera lens


Movement past others requires the sucking in of ones gut.


And finally this is one of 2 escape hatches. The I am looking up it. The way it works is that we would not be at a SNAFU state it would definatley be TARFU
It takes 8 minutes per person to leave the sub in this fashion and it can be done to a depth of 800 ft. You climb this ladder get into a suit filled with air. They then close a water tight dorr and you are now in a chambbre taht fills with water. Once filled they open an outer hatch and you are now free to make your way to the surface up to 800ft above you in total darkness. Once you arrive at the meeting place ( the surface) you untie the folded up liftraft that is tied to your leg and you get in it.
You then probably suffer with the bends and pray for a decompression chanmre to arrive.

These men and women pratice this on a regular basis in a pool some where but only from 50ft.

\

Here is a view of one of the racks (sleeping area) the most congested sleeping area contained 18 racks. 3 high and six of them in a very confined area. when in ones rack there is no physical way of rolling over. You must get used to sleeping on your back with the springs from the rack above you one hand length above your face.
the top rack i sthe most sought after.




This tour was 1 1/2 hours long from the gate to the sub and back to the gate.

59 submariners live onboard. The sub just got back from Hawaii. The temperature in the engine room with the 2 16 valve 2000 hp deisel generator engines is at a constant 30°c the rest of teh ship is cool.

Thanks Navy Guys!

[Bingo]

No problem, that key will never get lost with one of those heavy duty never before used paper clips securing the red tag.

[sebberry]

Good pics, HB!

I just came here to post a link to some others that I found; http://imgur.com/a/JvHM8

[VicHockeyFan]

The greeters ( A little different than Walmart)


The Equalizer
Standard on all vessels in ports.

H&K MP5 machine gun. But with no ammunition magazine. Must be in his pocket I'd think though. This is the gun you'll face if the Canadian Navy decides to board your ship.

Here is a MP5 variant with more ammo on hand.

Link to image: http://3.bp.blogspot...llpaper.net.jpg

[Mike K.]

VHF, I posted a link to that photo above as its quite large.

History Buff, thanks for the photo tour. I'm sure lots of people regret not arriving as early as you did for the tour.

[VicHockeyFan]

VHF, I posted a link to that photo above as its quite large.

(that's what she said)

...although it contains so little clothing, especially for an armed combatant.

[AllseeingEye]

Nice pics HB thanks - nice to know someone got aboard.

We tried on Sunday but were disappointed to learn you needed tickets to get on the physical (on board) tour. Otherwise you got as far as the jetty and a purely external 10-15 minute Q&A session. I don't think that was well communicated or understood by many in the general public. I was very impressed nevertheless with the RCN/CF staff manning the gate at the Huron Street CGS - they were extremely professional and polite even in the face of some clearly disappointed people expecting to take the tour. They are a credit to the CF.

Interesting too looking at the pics as you realize how old these boats really are (launched originally by the RN nearly 25 years ago in some cases). The most modern US and Brit subs don't even use optical periscopes anymore. Instead they use a device called a photonics mast which replaces the old optical-type periscope system. Since it doesn't have to be contained within the pressure hull or raised/lowered from the control room like a traditional scope, it means the control room can be located in an area not directly under the sail. Photonics masts are essentially digital camera arrays, connected to a sophisticated computer and video system and since they don't penetrate the hull, if damaged the chance of a flooding casualty is much less.

[AllseeingEye]

We were at a bbq over the weekend with friends, one of whom is a senior officer based at the new CFB fire hall and he relayed a bunch of interesting information on various subjects and showed me some ridiculous pictures from his iPhone, the majority of which I'm quite certain will not see the light of day, at least not 'officially'. For starters the concrete jetty against which the Winnipeg was compressed by that American trawler is in shambles; it was literally pulverized and for perhaps 75-100 meters of its length. One can only imagine the extent of the damage the internal frames of the ship's hull must have suffered.

He also showed me some amazing pics from inside the new fire hall itself. The capabilities of that facility in terms of dealing with everything from a radiation or bacteriological incident to dealing with a major earthquake are pretty impressive. And many of them, in terms of what certain CAF elements housed in the building are capable of doing from a monitoring and surveillance perspective, are eye popping. The glass is "beyond bullet proof" in his words and incorporates a variety of exotic and more mundane materials that makes it virtually impossible for an antagonist / terrorist to shoot their way into the building. And I gather those retractable bollards are capable of withstanding pretty much any type of impact or frontal assault beyond a direct missile hit. Another interesting item was that apparently dating from the time of the acquisition of the "Victoria-class" subs, the Mk 48 torpedoes which are their primary armament, have actually been manufactured and built at Esquimalt. I was not aware we had that capability here.

[jonny]

Good buddy of mine, who lets just say knows the situation intimately, says neither the jetty nor the Winnipeg are in that bad of shape. Both can and will be fixed. Likely that a few lawyers will be getting paid though.

I was told that the Winnipeg is not in nearly as bad of shape as the Corner Brook, which had a nasty encounter with the bottom of the ocean, you will recall. No insurance money involved in fixing that ship, unfortunately.