Exercise Cutlass Fury Sailpast

What better way to kick off the Royal Canadian Navy's Cutlass Fury exercise than a good old fashioned sailpast of the Halifax waterfront? Apart from the few times that RCN vessels have deployed in task groups in recent years, this has been the first proper sailpast in many years. After scouting several locations, I eventually decided on the wharf at Sackville Landing. It wasn't my first pick, but was a useful trade-off in that it was less crowded, and I had the option of running for the boardwalk south of the tug wharf to get shots of the ships departing in a line.

Overall, it was a a beautiful day for the sailpast, even if the light was a bit harsh (and the photos required a bit of Photoshop help).

Of the ships participating in the exercise, the two supply ships (USNS Robert E Peary and SPS PATINO) left early and did not participate in the sailpast. Peary left too early for me to catch her, but I did manage to photograph PATINO as she left.

SPS PATINO.

SPS PATINO.

Unlike the later ships, PATINO headed out using the eastern channel.

The Eastern Canada Towing wharf was in the way, and I had to crop this photo severely to hide it.

While we were waiting for the ships to depart, there was also a fair bit of air traffic.

A CH-148 Cyclone and a CH-124 Sea King in the same shot.

CH-148 Cyclone. I'm cheating with this one, as I caught it from the ferry on the way home from work.

The ships participating in the sailpast had departed the Dockyard earlier in the morning, and headed into Bedford Basin where they could form up for the sailpast. The departed the Basin in time such that the lead ship, FREDERICTON, could make it to be in line with HMCS PRESERVER for 1300. Alongside in the Dockyard, PRESERVER acted as the review ship. Soon after, FREDERICTON appeared from behind Cable Wha....errrr....DOWN IN FRONT, THEODORE!

Pesky Theodore Too and other traffic in the Big Harbour.

Where was I? Oh, right - FREDERICTON emerged from behind the Cable Wharf.

HMCS FREDERICTON.

HMCS FREDERICTON.

FREDERICTON was followed by USS BULKELEY, an Arleigh Burke Flight IIA class destroyer.

USS BULKELEY.

USS BULKELEY.

BULKELEY following FREDERICTON.

Apart from the ships, there was some smaller naval traffic in the harbour as well.

What I assume to be an RCN Boarding Team in a RHIB (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat). Either that, or a harbour tour gone wrong.

As the ships passed Sackville Landing, each ship saluted HMCS SACKVILLE, at which time the CO of SACKVILLE returned the salute.

(Correction: A previous version of this post suggested that SACKVILLE was saluting each passing ship, when in fact, the reverse was occuring. SACKVILLE is the senior ship.)

Salute from HMCS SACKVILLE.

Salute from HMCS SACKVILLE.

Following BULKELEY was USS GONZALEZ, an older Burke Flight I class destroyer.

USS GONZALEZ.

USS GONZALEZ.

Next after GONZALEZ was the Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS MONMOUTH.

HMS MONMOUTH.

HMS MONMOUTH.

HMS MONMOUTH.

The French destroyer LANGUEDOC was next in line. What a difference 20-25 years makes in warship design! As mentioned in a previous post or two, the AQUITAINE class (of which LANGUEDOC is a member) is presumed to be a contender for the Canadian Surface Combatant program to replace the RCN's current destroyers and frigates.

FS LANGUEDOC.

NH-90 helo on FS LANGUEDOC.

A CH-148 Cyclone flies in the background of FS LANGUEDOC and her NH-90 helo.

FS LANGUEDOC.

After the last of the foreign warships, it was back to Canadian Content with HMCS ATHABASKAN. 

HMCS ATHABASKAN.

Crew manning the rails of ATHABASKAN.

HMCS ATHABASKAN.

Next came the two MCDVs, HMC Ships GOOSE BAY and SUMMERSIDE.

HMCS GOOSE BAY.

HMCS GOOSE BAY.

HMCS SUMMERSIDE.

HMCS SUMMERSIDE.

Finally, after I announced that I didn't think WINDSOR was participating, guess who appeared? Submariners are sneaky that way.

HMCS WINDSOR.

It was at this point that I made a mad dash from the Sackville Landing wharf to the boardwalk by Bishop's Landing in order to get better pictures of the ships heading out in a line, cameras and backpack bouncing, and I suddenly remembered why I don't ever run anywhere. If anyone saw this sad sight, you can keep your opinion to yourself.

HMCS WINDSOR.

The two MCDVS, GOOSE BAY and SUMMERSIDE, as well as WINDSOR, all turned around and came back into the harbour on the east side of George's Island. Presumably the MCDVs won't be participating in the main ASW portion of the exercise, and WINDSOR may make her way to the exercise area on her own.

It took a while before all the tugs and sailboats cleared the way so I could get this shot of the main fleet of surface combatants departing the harbour.

The fleet departs with Holland America's cruise ship Rotterdam to the right.

To finish, I present a photo of another of the contenders for the Canadian Surface Combatant program, which was also present in the harbour this afternoon:

Kite Surfer.

I also have a previous blog posting with photos of the ships alongside and, in some cases, as they arrived last week.

Ships of Exercise Cutlass Fury

Ships and submarines began arriving yesterday for Exercise Cutlass Fury (no doubt named after the feeling one felt after buying an Oldsmobile), which is being hosted by the RCN out of Halifax.

HMC Ships ATHABASKAN, FREDERICTON, MONTREAL, GOOSE BAY, SUMMERSIDE, and WINDSOR will be joined by personnel, ships, and aircraft from the navies of the United States, France, Great Britain, Spain, and Germany. The exercise will run from September 9 through 26, and will involve 11 ships, 3 submarines, and 26 aircraft.

HMCS ATHABASKAN alongside this morning.

A recent shot of HMCS MONTREAL.

Tonnerre headed up the harbour from her base at Shearwater.

Arrivals began yesterday with the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigate HMS MONMOUTH and a submarine that headed over to Shearwater (suggesting she is a nuclear submarine).  

HMS MONMOUTH with HMCS WINDSOR to the right.

Today saw the arrival of several more ships including SPS PATINO, FS LANGUEDOC, a USN nuclear submarine that headed to Shearwater, and two USN destroyers USS GONZALEZ and USS BULKELEY. 

SPS PATINO.

PATINO went alongside HMCS PRESERVER, presumably to take on fuel, before heading to another berth within the Dockyard..

PATINO coming alongside PRESERVER.

PATINO coming alongside PRESERVER.

PATINO already has a "P" name, too bad we couldn't just get her crew drunk and pull a quick switcheroo one night this weekend. I figure all it would take is an all-night repainting session and no one would be the wiser.

FS LANGUEDOC is brand new, having only been commissioned in March 2016, and is the third AQUITAINE class destroyer to enter service with the French Navy. The design is reportedly a contender for the RCN's Canadian Surface Combatant program. Although the French seem to be classifying these ships as destroyers (as indicated by the D in front of their pennant numbers), the FREMM ships are elsewhere referred to as frigates.

My first sight of LANGUEDOC emerging from behind George's Island.

LANGUEDOC.

LANGUEDOC.

LANGUEDOC.

LANGUEDOC.

LANGUEDOC.

HMS MONMOUTH (left) and FS LANGUEDOC (right).

I often think that the AQUITAINE class ships look a bit on the small side, but seeing LANGUEDOC alongside the Type 23 MONMOUTH, she starts to look a bit bigger.

The arrival of the two earlier ships luckily coincided with my morning ferry trip to Halifax, but I wasn't so lucky with the two USN destroyers.

USS GONZALEZ (left) and USS BULKELEY (right).

USS GONZALEZ (left) and USS BULKELEY (right).

GONZALEZ is one of the original Flight I ships, and as a result only has a helicopter landing pad with no hangar. BULKELEY, on the other hand, is a member of the more recent Flight IIA ships, incorporating a hangar for two helicopters as well as the new 5"/62 gun on the bow. Apart from the hangar, a key visual distinction between these ships is that the aft SPY radar panels are one deck higher on the Flight IIA ships.

A late arrival was USNS Robert E Peary, a dry stores vessel.

USNS Robert E. Peary and SPS PATINO. There's no getting around this - she's huge!

USNS Robert E Peary.

USNS Robert E. Peary.

Click here for sailpast photos.

Reflections of HMCS SACKVILLE

I have probably mentioned here before that I like to take photos of reflections, especially ship reflections on the water. One day last week there was a nice imposing sky in the background, and nice smooth water to show off SACKVILLE's reflection.

In this particular photo, I faked a graduated neutral density filter in Adobe Camera Raw to make the reflection balance a bit better with the rest of the image, then played with the contrast and colours to make the image pop. The filter, plus some vignetting, helped to darken the sky a bit to make it slightly more imposing than it was in the base image.

RCAF CH-148 Cyclone

During my ferry crossing this afternoon, one of the new Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclones made a flypast of the waterfront. 

Ordered in 2004 to replace the CH-124 Sea King, with an expected in-service date of 2008, only some interim CH-148 models are currently flying in 2016 and Sea Kings still make up the backbone of the RCAF's maritime helicopter fleet. I'm not sure how many have actually been delivered to date. It has been some months since I last saw a Cyclone in the air, and I do not believe any of the new helicopters have deployed with an RCN ship in an operational capacity yet.

Hopefully the replacement program can be successfully completed at some point in the near future.

Revisiting Hebridee II

About a year ago, I was given the opportunity to tour the boat shed at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, where the schooner Hebridee II is being rebuilt from the keel up. Last week I had the chance to revisit her and see how the reconstruction is progressing. While the hull itself doesn't appear to have changed much, the cabin and interior are progressing nicely and it is easy to see the difference a year has made.

Hebridee's cockpit.

A coaming has been built around the cockpit, and floorboards have been added inside the cockpit itself. The space under the deck on either side of the cockpit is unfinished, with the engine compartment in between right under the cockpit.

Belowdeck area starboard of the cockpit.

The cabin roof has been added and painted, and the cabin interior it being fleshed in as well. The galley is at the foot of the companionway on the port side, and will have a small stove top as well as a sink with a hand pumped tap.

Starboard deck looking forward.

Looking aft at the foremast step, cabin, and foremast boom (or gaff?).

I then headed to inspect below deck.

Companionway and galley.

Galley and sink.

Opposite the galley is often a small Forward of the galley is a midships dining and berthing cabin - I assume this will receive some sort of dining table at some point.

Hinged chart table on the left, to starboard of the companionway ladder coming down from the cockpit.

Midships cabin and looking forward into the cuddy (forward) cabin..Unseen at the moment is the step for the main mast which is in the middle of the cabin. Presumably a floorboard has to be cut up to make room for the mast.

Midship berth.

I didn't pull out the hinged shelf in the middle of the image all the way, so I didn't think to check if there are meant to be one or two sleeping berths on each side of this cabin.

Underside of the cabin roof.

Between the miships cabin and the cuddy is the head.

Head.

Forward of the head is the cuddy cabin, where two bunks and storage are arranged on either side of the step for the foremast.

Cuddy cabin.

Up on deck, the bowsprit is made, but can't be installed yet due to the small size of the shed.

Bowsprit.

I can only imagine Hebridee II looks longingly out the windows of the boat shed at the other museum boats in the water, anticipating her own launch which is currently scheduled for 2017.

The view out of the boat shed.

The full gallery of these images, plus the images from 2015, are on my Smugmug site.

HMCS TORONTO leaves Halifax Shipyard graving dock

As of Friday morning, HMCS TORONTO was still in the Halifax Shipyard graving dock undergoing her FELEX refit. 

TORONTO in the graving dock just prior to being floated out.

As of Tuesday morning, I noticed that she had left the graving dock and had been moved to the machine shop wharf as part of the next stage of the refit. 

TORONTO at the machine shop wharf.

As can be told by the amount of staging surrounding the superstructure, she has a ways to go before the refit is complete. TORONTO is the last ship on the east coast in the FELEX refit process. The previous ship, VILLE DE QUEBEC, appears to have just begun sea trials after the completion of her own refit. In February 2015, TORONTO was still alongside in the Dockyard, beginning the disassembly process prior to entering the shipyard. 

These refits are modernizing the weapons and sensor systems of the RCN's HALIFAX class frigates.