Coast Guard sees busy season
Sailboat rescued, area charted and bicycles delivered
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Monday, September 12, 2016
NUNAVUT
The Canadian Coast Guard marked the middle of summer operations with the rescue of a stranded sailboat.
Deckhand Nic Bazijanic, left, of the Canadian Coast Guard, RCMP members and Parks Canada personnel celebrate with children in Taloyoak after the CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier delivered 38 bikes to the community through the Polar Bike Project on Aug 28. - photo courtesy of the Canadian Coast Guard |
On Aug. 29 the Eagles Quest II got stuck on a shoal near Requisite Channel while en route to Gjoa Haven.
The CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier was doing a community visit in Gjoa Haven when it received a call for help. The commanding officer, Capt. Bill Noon, said it took around eight hours to reach the rescue site.
"They were in a completely uncharted area," he said. "There are no soundings for probably eight nautical miles, the chart is completely white where they were."
The Laurier arrived around 3 a.m. on Aug 30., at which time the boat was doing better. After ensuring the situation was stable, the Coast Guard waited until daylight to send a small rescue craft to assist the personal vessel.
The sailboat originated in Hong Kong and was attempting to transit the Northwest Passage.
"It was a well-equipped sail boat. It had already crossed an ocean to get here," said Noon. "But everything is different in the Arctic, they were very lucky to have good weather."
Coast Guard personnel provided the small crew with more education on navigating in Arctic waters, additional sailing routes in the area, and directed them to Simpson Strait where the boat could carry on to Gjoa Haven.
Sylvain Vezina, director of programs for the Central and Arctic region with the Canadian Coast Guard, said with the exception of some heavy ice areas around Ungava Bay, this season was considerably light for ice -- especially in comparison to last year.
"Since there was not much ice in some areas, the ships were very active in organizing visits and exercises with the communities," said Vezina. "When we don't have to escort as many ships, it leaves more time to engage with the communities."
The Wilfrid Laurier visited Gjoa Haven, Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk.
And it delivered 38 bicycles to children in Taloyoak on Aug. 28 as part of its contribution to the Polar Bike Project.
"It was a remarkably special day," said Noon. "For our crew, seeing the excitement and happiness of all the kids was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's such a fun project."
Meanwhile. the Wilfrid Laurier continued to aid in the Parks Canada search for HMS Terror, the sister ship of HMS Erebus from the fated 1845 Franklin Expedition. The wreck of HMS Erebus was located in the Queen Maud Gulf in 2014.
The Laurier serves as base for Parks Canada scientists and refuels the navy vessel HMCS Shawinigan. "We're essentially the mother ship for all these operations," said Noon.
There are currently six Coast Guard icebreakers and five helicopters working in the Arctic. Ships besides the Sir Wilfrid Laurier are the Henry Larsen, the Terry Fox, Des Groseilliers, Amundsen and the Louis S. St-Laurent.
On Aug. 21 the St-Laurent reached the North Pole, doing science and survey work as part of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea mission to contribute to mapping required of Canada's continental shelf.
With the season at a midpoint last week, operations are moving from a High Arctic focus, down into areas of the Fox Basin, the Central Arctic and the Northwest Passage to assist commercial sea lift operations and the annual resupply of communities.
