HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH arrival in Halifax

The 65,000 tonne lead ship of the Royal Navy's newest class of aircraft carriers, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, arrived in Halifax on Thursday. 

I was extremely privileged to be flown out to the carrier in a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter with other media for a tour of the ship, to interview senior RN personnel, and to ride the ship into the harbour. 

I'm still working on the images, but for a sneak peak you can follow this link.

The flight out in the Royal Navy Merlin helicopter.

RN Commodore Mike Utley and RCN Rear-Admiral Craig Baines stand on the ski-jump of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH as she entered Halifax Harbour for the first time.

The crew lines the edge of the deck, including the top of the ski-jump, during the ship's arrival.

Commander Air, CDR Philip Harper, scans the horizon from the starboard bridge wing.

Cutlass Fury Day 2 - Heading out in advance of Hurricane Dorian

I'm not sure how many images I will get processed, and how much of a blog post I will complete, before the power inevitably goes out due to the approaching storm - but I will post my photos in my Cutlass Fury 2019 gallery and update this post as I am able.

Update: 

The power did, inevitably, go out. Between 25 hours without power and all the other storm preparations, I didn't get much done on this post. And we were among the lucky ones - many are still without power as I write this.

I will link to a video I took of the media briefing on Friday at noon, if you want to know more about the exercise and the storm preparations:

I also managed to get images of USNS PATUXENT and USS GRIDLEY departing, the latter as being saluted by volunteers on SACKVILLE.

USNS PATUXENT.

USS GRIDLEY deparing in the background of this image taken from HMCS SACKVILLE.

Exercise Cutlass Fury 2019

Exercise Cutlass Fury 2019 will run from September 9-20, and will begin with a sailpast (and flypast) of the Halifax waterfront on Monday, September 9th. The ships began arriving today, Thursday September 5th. It is planned to have some ships open to the public over the weekend, however, we have yet to see what impact the remnants of Hurricane Dorian will have on this.

My photos of the exercise will appear in a gallery on my Smugmug website as I upload them.

Ships having arrived to date include:

Sisterships HNLMS VAN SPEIJK (Dutch) and BNS LEOPOLD I (Belgian).

The Dutch built a class of Karel Doorman class frigates in the early 1990s, and have recently sold some of the ships to the Belgians and the Portuguese - thus there are three ships of the same class here this year, all belonging to different navies. In fact, LEOPOLD I on the right of the above photo, is actually the lead ship of the class - the former HNLMS KAREL DOORMAN herself.

USS GRIDLEY.

HNoMS THOS HEYERDAHL.

HDMS PETER WILLEMOES

USS JASON DUNHAM

HMS NORTHUMBERLAND

NRP DOM FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA

NRP DOM FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA is another of the Karel Doorman class frigates here this year.

USNS PATUXENT

HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC will also participate.

I will no doubt post more on this subject, and may fill in some more information on this post as I have time - assuming we have power over the weekend, that is.

Upcoming 50th Anniversary of HMCS KOOTENAY gearbox explosion

On October 23rd, 1969, HMCS KOOTENAY was exercising off the coast of England with a task group of ships of the Royal Canadian Navy when her starboard gearbox exploded, killing a total of 9 sailors - the RCN's largest ever peacetime accident. 

To mark the 50th anniversary of this event, I have a two-part article appearing in Warships International Fleet Review magazine. Part I will appear in the September issue, and Part II will appear in the October issue. Already out in the UK, the magazine is typically received in Halifax about a month late - the September issue should appear in Halifax in early October. 

The cover of the September 2019 issue.

I have written on this subject before, but the article has been expanded with some more detail and a survivor's account. 

Warships IFR is typically found in Halifax in both Atlantic News and Chapters.

CSS Acadia refit

Phase I of the ongoing refit of CSS Acadia is nearing its end, and the ship was opened up for visitors for the first time in a long time. Access was limited to the starboard side of the main deck, so that the public could see the re-decking progress.

Looking forward near the bow.

Some tools of the trade and a sample of the douglas fir being used to replace the old decking. Yes, it really is that thick. 

Once the decking is installed, oakum is hammered into the joints between the deck planking, and eventually a black sealant installed above the oakum.

Looking aft along the starboard side.

Looking aft at the stern.

If you look closely in the above photo, you can see the wood plugs placed above the steel bolts that holds the deck planking down to the steel deck. Some of the black sealant can be seen amongst the planking to the right of the photo.

A deck level view - the oakum is installed, but the sealant is missing.

Acadia's refit will continue into 2020. Built in 1913 and having seen service in both world wars, Acadia has earned the attention she is receiving.

Hiatus....and fancy yachts

I'm on a bit of a hiatus from posting to the blog at the moment, due to a busy summer and a few other projects that I have on the go - some of which I hope to announce soon.

In the meantime, check out my Smugmug website for photos of some of the yachts that have visited Halifax this summer: Hetairos, Marie, and Satisfaction.

Also, there was a sailpast by the Cunard ships Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth on Friday night last week.

That's all for now.

Container Ship CMA CGM Orfeo

Container ships are getting larger and larger, and CMA CGM Orfeo is one of the larger vessels to call in Halifax these days (though there are much larger ships out there). Seeing her alongside at Halterm  last Sunday with several cranes working her cargo of containers puts her into some perspective.

Loading is almost complete in this photo.

Tugs are present, and the ship is preparing to depart.

Orfeo left the pier and headed out as we were heading back to the jetty in VILLE DE QUEBEC.