April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No. 3

LEAD AND LINE Newsletter of the NOAVI

Martime Museum Elusive Norse Sun- Sackville gets $240k from German U-boat found searches for Medal stone discovered the Feds off Norway winner Page 4 Page 8 Page 5 Page 8

When did they decide ships no longer need to be beautiful? NOAVI Luncheons HMS Duncan arrives in Portsmouth Guests - spouses, friends, family are most welcome at our luncheons Lunches are at the Fireside Grill at 1130 for 1215 4509 West Saanich Road, Royal Oak, Saanich, cost $25.

April Speaker: The sixth and last of the type 45 (Daring class) arrived in Portsmouth March 22nd to great fanfare. The largest and most 22 April - Bob McDonald, CBC Quirks and powerful air defence ever built for the RN has a crew of Quarks on a nautical and science theme 180 and is 152 m long. The stealth features give it very low radar For reservations please contact Kathie Csomany cross section and it is equipped with the Samson radar, and Sea at [email protected] or 250-477-4175 by Viper missile system. It will use Aster missiles with a 48 cell ver- noon on Thurs 18 April. When making your tical launcher and also has 4 Sea Skua anti-ship missiles, a 4.5 reservation, please advise of any food allergies or sensitivities if you have not already done so. inch gun and 8 missiles plus Phalanx.

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca • April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

NOAVI LEAD AND LINE

sign up using the form that was in the last Lead and Line, President’s Column or by registering online at www.noavi.ca . Call the Laurel RCN or RCMP? Point Inn at 250-386-3800 (or 1-800-663-7667 from out of Apr 2013 town) if you want one of the ever decreasing stock of available rooms.

Our speaker in April will be Bob McDonald, who listeners of the CBC will know from his program “Quirks and Quarks”. This is a part our efforts to diversify the Speaker program to provide material of interest to all of our mem- bers and their spouses/partners – Bob is a sailor and prom- MAY 6th – In 1642 the town of Ville Marie was founded, ises to speak on a Maritime theme. As I have said before, later to become the City of Montréal, the Hindenburg spouses, partners and friends are more than welcome to burned at Lakehurst NJ in 1937, Roger Bannister broke the attend all our lunches! We look forward to seeing you. 4 minute mile in 1952, and the Chunnel was opened in 1994. On this date in 2013, REGISTRATION FOR THE Speaking of entertainment, don’t forget the Broadmead ANNUAL AGM AND CONFERENCE WILL CLOSE, Lodge Golf Tournament coming up on Friday 3 May – and we will return any unused hotel rooms to general in- details can be found at www.broadmeadcare.com or by ventory. This means that the special conference rate will phone at 250-658-3226. no longer apply so you will have to pay regular rates for whatever rooms are left, if there are any! So if you are Yours aye Mike Photo by Ben Green planning to attend, and have not done so already, please

NOAVI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President Mike Morres [email protected] (DL) Director at Large Derek Greer [email protected]

Past President Ken Summers [email protected] DL Membership Stan Brygadyr 250-727-2243

Vice President Kevin Carle [email protected] DL Obituaries Rick Town [email protected]

Secretary Bud Rocheleau [email protected] DL Associates Geri Hinton [email protected]

Treasurer Bill Conconi [email protected] DL Webmaster Eric Griffiths eric.griffiths2012@gm ail.com

Membership Steve White [email protected]

Maritime Affairs Jim Boutilier [email protected] Editor Felicity [email protected] Hanington

Service/Visits Irvine Hare [email protected] List Master Michael Morres [email protected]

Programme Kathie Csomany [email protected] List Master Jim Dodgson [email protected]

Reserves/Cadets Gerry Pash [email protected] Historian Stan Parker 250-478-6555

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 2 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

NOAVI LEAD AND LINE

Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Charlotte- town 339 (right) and HMCS Athabaskan (left) approach HMCS Montreal 336 (center) for Replen- ishment at Sea (RAS) simulation during Task Group Exercise (TGEX) out in the Atlantic Ocean

Message in a bottle from 1936 found in New Zealand The Portuguese Revolution Please be advised that the article in your last issue Geoff Flood was walking along a beach in New Zealand was in error in that HMCS Iroquois was not com- when he stumbled across an manded by Cdr. R. Yanow, it was commanded by Cdr. old bottle with a message in it. Doch MacGillivary. Cdr. R Yanow commanded On further examination he HMCS Athabaskan…Thank you...Harold Nichol saw that it contained an old envelope with P&O on it and thought it might be something son, Peter Hillbick, how- special. ever, was alive and living in Perth in Western Australia. The note dated March 17 said, “At sea. Would the The grandson has photos finder of this bottle kindly taken by his grandfather forward this note, where while on a voyage from found, date, to undermen- England to Australia in the tioned address: SS Strathnaver, a British H.E. Hillbrick, Royal Mail Ship. 72, Richmond Street, Leederville, Flood gave the bottle to Western Australia. Peter and Peter has decided to donate it to the Maritime Flood was able to track him Museum in New Zealand. down but found that he had died in the 1940s. His grand-

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 3 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

MARITIME MUSEUM NEWS Maritime Museum of BC SS Beaver Medal for Maritime Excellence. This is an annual award to individuals still alive who have made outstanding contributions to the Province’s marine sector whether it be in business, practical application of marine skills, scientific research, or academic work. The award is a medal made from materials salvaged from the wreck of the iconic paddle wheeler SS Beaver which pioneered steam navigation on the BC coast. Nominations for 2013 awards close May 115. Details at mmbc.bc.ca

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 4 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

NOAVI NAVAL LIVES HMCS Sackville memorial project re- juvenated with $240,000 from Ottawa March

In March Defence Minister Mackay an- nounced a contribution of $240 000 to the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust in support of the naval memorial HMCS Sackville, and the Canadian Naval Me- morial Project. This was in addition to a contract award of $455 400 to Akoos- tix Inc. for a Sonar Processor. The Canadian Naval Memorial Trust was formed in 1982 by a group of re- tired (RCN) members who sought a forum through Drawing by Clyde Henneberry which they could preserve, in a living The Memorial project will build an enclosed berth to protect the ship fashion, the history of the Royal Cana- from the elements, on the waterfront, adjacent to the Maritime Mu- dian Navy (RCN). seum. If all goes well the design concept will be complete by Octo- ber. This will give a visual picture of the new building as well further definition in costs of building and then operating. The plan is to have it complete for the 150th anniversary of Con- federation in 2017.

The working name for the project is “Battle of Atlantic Place”.

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 5 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

NOAVI FEATURE STORY

When one considers that Vinland has today been iden- Nordic Sparring tified as Newfoundland (l’Anse aux Meadows), Eric- By Mat Dawe son’s story gives rise to more questions than answers, When it comes to the roots of seafaring, perhaps first and foremost being: “How did Ericson retrace his some of the greatest pioneers were the Norse vi- father’s route?” king tribes who ruled the sea during the 8th-10th During this time period, commodities such as GPS and centuries AD. The vikings were renowned for radar were thin on the ground, and so Ericson would their expertise in ship-building, navigation, and have had to navigate all the way from Iceland to the devastatingly effective “hit-and-run” tactics United States using little more than the stars as guid- which forged them a name associated with terror ance... or so we thought. and awe in the ancient world. Other viking sagas mention a magical crystal they refer There are numerous Norse accounts (or “sagas”) to as a “solar stone”, which ascertained the sun’s posi- of long, perilous exploration voyages over the tion when the sky was obscured with clouds or fog, open ocean, some even transoceanic. The most and even before the sun had risen or after it had set. famous of these is Leif Ericson’s “Vinland Such a claim was written off by many as the stuff of Saga”, in which he tells how his father, Eric the legend (another thing the ancient Norse are famous Red, chanced upon a previously undiscovered for), but certain historians maintained that there must land in which grapevines grew wild, something be some truth in what the sagas told. unheard of in the frosty climate of Norse Ice- land. Leif Ericson then goes on to describe how Their hopes were confirmed in 2002, when a 16th cen- he retraced his father’s route, returning to this tury shipwreck sunken off the Channel Islands was ex- “Vinland”, as he called it, in his adulthood. plored by a team of archaeologists, and a crystal bear- ing great similarity to that described in the viking sagas was discovered. The crystal, while weathered, had ob- viously been tooled, and it confused the archaeologists why it had been stored with the navigational instru- ments, and not in a place more befitting a trinket. The mysterious gem was examined, and discovered to be a piece of transparent calcite known as “Icelandic Spar”. Those familiar with geology may know of ice- landic spar for its peculiar trait of double refraction, i.e objects viewed through a transparent piece of it will appear double no matter how evenly the crystal is cut and polished. When a polished piece is held up against the sky and aligned to the exact position where the sun rises, two shadows will appear in the crystal’s face. One need only move the crystal across the sky until the dark- nesses of the two shadows are equal, and in this way

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 6 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

NOAVI FEATURE STORY the stone will point to the sun’s current position, even on a cloudy day. When tested, experts found this method of finding the sun’s position, when carried out by someone ex- perienced in using it, could be accurate to plus or mi- nus one degree. It is suspected that the crystal found aboard the Elizabethan Channel Islands wreck may have been used by sailors to check the accuracy of their compasses in the presence of such great masses of magnetic metal as the cannons of the time. No matter how convincing the evidence, skeptics still point out that no such “solar stone” had been found in any actual viking tombs or burial sites. This is strange, as the ancient Norse believed the afterlife was a place where one needs certain tools and earthly possessions, and so they, like the Egyptians, buried their dead along with many of the their belongings. It was not uncommon for viking warriors to be buried in full armour with their weapons in hand, or fes- tooned with lucky charms and amulets, so it would seem only logical that a largely seafaring people would provide their departed loved ones with tools However, a professionally tooled solar stone for sailing and navigation after death. would have been an extremely valuable commod- ity in Norse culture, and not something they would have been eager to part with, except in the case of the most high-ranking kings and chieftains. As it was, the burial customs for viking nobility were different from those of commoners, and most often consisted of cremating the deceased’s re- mains (and sometimes a sacrificial victim too for good measure) atop a roaring funeral pyre, or sometimes even an entire longship (in the case of the most honoured leaders). This would explain why no sun-stones had been found, as Icelandic spar is a relatively delicate crystal, and the intense heat of a viking cremation would have caused the priceless artifacts to shatter into smithereens.

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 7 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

AROUND THE WORLD

6. The deferral of maintenance for USS Abraham Lin- coln; the deferral of repair work for USS Miami and USS Porter; the delayed deployment of USS Harry S. Elsewhere Truman and USS Gettysburg; the civilian hiring in the freeze; the planning for civilian furloughs; and the re- duction of all training not related to the readiness of World deployed or next-to-deploy forces.

The Navy needs to cut $10 billion under sequestration, Further Woes for the US Navy and hopes these measures will help them hit that total. The Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, released an all-hands message detailing the first steps the Navy German U-boat found off Norway will take to rectify budget constraints. In total, four OSLO, NORWAY—A German submarine has been Navy Air Wings will remain on the ground and 8 ship deployments will be cancelled. found off the coast of Norway by Statoil, a Norwegian oil company. The “U-486” broke in two when it was Here are some cuts in detail: torpedoed in April 1945 by a British submarine. It sank 1. Shut down carrier air wing two (CVW-2) in April. in 820 feet of water with 48 people on board. There Gradually stand down flying in at least three addi- tional air wings with two more reduced to minimum were no survivors. “The submarine had a special coat- safe flying levels. ing on the hull. It was a synthetic rubber coating de- 2. Cancel deployment of at least six other ships signed to significantly reduce its radar signal,” said Ar- ild Maroey Hansen of the Bergen Maritime Museum. 3. The carrier USS Nimitz is losing its escort de- stroyer out to CENT- COM area of operations

4. Renegotiation of in- vestment contracts. All areas are affected, but three in particular are — Procurement for the Virginia-Class subma- rines, reactor power units, and the joint high- speed vessel.

5. Four Blue Angels ap- pearances will be can- celled, and media mar- keting will be curbed as much as possible under contractual obligations.

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 8 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

WHERE THE SHIPS ARE month deployment in support of The Ships Op ARTEMIS. The Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen Tom Lawson, The Names The RCN has 340 personnel de- was there among friends and At long last the Navy has been allowed to ployed on named international families of the ship’s company, to operations, and a further 802 at greet the ship as she came along- replace the term “maritime” with the term sea for force generation and de- side. “naval”: fence diplomacy activities, for a total of 1,142 personnel deployed HMCS Algonquin, o Director General Maritime Force De- or 15.4% of its trained effective and HMCS Ottawa, strength. returned to on 5 March velopment becomes Director General after a six-week deployment to Naval Force Development, . The Iroquois-class de- HMCS Toronto o Director Maritime Requirements Sea has entered the Op ARTEMIS stroyer and Halifax-class area of operations and is now were at sea for Algonquin’s becomes Director Naval Requirements, workups and Task Group Exer- conducting maritime security op- o Director Maritime Infrastructure be- erations in support of Combined cise 1-13, which was conducted Task Force 150. in the Hawaiian operating areas in comes Director Naval Infrastructure Re- conjunction with a USN subma- quirements, HMC Ships Preserver, rine commander’s course. Iroquois, St John’s and o Director Maritime Strategy becomes Ville de Quebec HMCS Victoria Director Naval Strategy, returned to Halifax earlier this was at sea conducting submarine o Director Maritime Information Man- force generation activities. month, having completed Task agement Requirements becomes Director Group Exercise (TGEX) 2-13. The two-week, joint navy and air Naval Information Management Re- HMCS Nanaimo quirements, force exercise focussed on inte- Returned to Esquimalt on com- grated air and surface warfare pletion of route survey opera- o Director Maritime Logistics becomes exercises, command develop- tions. ment, helicopter air detachment Director Naval Logistics, training and shipborne air control- HMCS Calgary & White- Director Maritime Personnel becomes ler training. Mid-way through horse o TGEX 2-13, Iroquois, St. John’s Sailed for sea trials Director Naval Personnel, and Ville de Quebec undertook a o Director Maritime Training and Edu- port visit to St. John’s while Pre- HMCS server went alongside Argentia, conducted Bottom Object Inspec- cation becomes Director Naval Training NL. tion Vehicle (BOIV) operations and Education, while HMCS Yellowknife was at HMC ships Kingston and sea to progress various force gen- o Director Maritime Policy Operations Summerside eration training objectives. The and Readiness becomes Director Naval have concluded their Op CAR- two Kingston-class coastal de- Strategic Operations, IBBE patrol, Canada’s contribu- fence vessels conducted a port tion to drug interdiction opera- visit to Seattle, WA before return- o Director Maritime Fleet Management tions in the Caribbean region. The ing to Esquimalt last week. two Kingston-class coastal de- becomes Director Naval Fleet Manage- fence vessels recently conducted ment, and a port visit to Key West, FL prior PCTs Caribou, Cougar, Maritime Staff Comptroller and Sup- to commencing their homeward Grizzly, Moose, Orca, o transit to Halifax. Raven, Wolf and Renard port Services becomes Naval Staff Comp- sailed in support of junior officer, troller and Support Services. HMCS Regina sea cadet and command develop- returned to homeport last week ment training. after a highly successful eight-

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 9 April 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.3

NOAVI LOCAL NEWS

NOAVI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING In preparation for the Annual General Meeting the President has issued the Annual Call for volunteers to serve on the Executive Committee and for proposed resolutions to be tabled at the next NOAVI AGM. Please forward any nominations and/or resolutions to the Secretary - Bud Rocheleau at 250-386-3209 or "[email protected]".

NOTICE OF NOAVI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the 66th Annual General Meeting will take place at the Fireside Grill 4509 West Saanich Road, Royal Oak, Saanich, BC on Monday, 24 June, 2013 on completion of the Luncheon. 1. To consider, and subject to anyPhoto: necessary Sgt Craig Fiander amendments, approve the minutes of the 65th Annual HMCS Regina logs 50,000 nautical miles General Meeting held on Monday 25 June 2012; Regina sailed into Esquimalt harbour mid-March after 8 months 2. To receive the report of the President; 3. To consider and approve the financial statements in the Arabian Sea. Part of a multinational force - Combined for the year ending 31 March, 2013; Task Force 150 - she boarded and examined 19 vessels. Her Sea 4. To appoint auditors for the year ending 2013; King logged 388 hours of air time and the new unmanned aerial 5. To ratify and confirm the actions of the Executive Committee and Officers for the year 2012/2013 and to vehicle was in the air for 545 hours taking surveillance photos. authorize the Executive Committee to take action on January 11th Regina seized 1,000 lbs of narcotics dropped over- behalf of the Organization for the year 2013/2014; and 6. To transact such business as may be properly board by a fleeing vessel. Stopping in the Malaysia and the Phil- brought before this meeting. ippines they helped fix up local orphanages.

Service Officer’s report

Mrs. Margaret Bartlett, LCdr Bill Creighton Lt Tom Arkell Daffodil Lodge, Sunridge Lodge, 602 Ross Place Retirement Home Mount St Mary’s Hospital, 361 Bundock Pl. Duncan B.C, 2638 Ross Lane. Ph 250-385-2638 861 Fairfield Rd. Behind Dairy Queen

LCdr. Ted Clayyards LCdr. Ward Palmer 3101 Dolphin Palm South Broadmead Lodge Cdr. Rusty MacKay also Liz Dr .Nanoose Bay B.C. V9B 9J2 4619 Elk Lake Dr. Ph 250-468-7101 Cdr. Ted and Addie Semmens Ph 250-727-7460 Broadmead Rm A430, LCdr. W. Walker and Nursing Sister Catherine Walker Ph 250-592-2345 Capt(N) Brant (P) Fotheringham 3225 Exeter Victoria Lt. Sheila Davis 10225 Resthaven Dr. Ph 250-592-0769 12-3958 Cedar Hill Rd Ph 250-656-0132 Ph: 250-721-1541 Please phone prior to visiting

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 10 March 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.2

NAC NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Asia Pacific - Its Impact on Canada and the RCN NAC Conference and AGM 2013 Inn at Laurel Point, Victoria, British Columbia Hosted by the Naval Officers Association of Vancouver Island REGISTRATION FORM

Contact Information

First Name …………………………………………………………………………………………………. Last Name ………………………………………………………………………………………………… NAC Branch ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Address ………………………………………………………………………………………………... City ………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Province ………...………………… Postal Code ……………….

Phone Number …………………………………………………………………………….

Email ……………….………………………………………………………………………..

Conference Registration – please check and enter the indicated amount. Please note that, where a member and partner are attending, a separate registration form is required for each person. □ -- Member ($100) – or - □ – Non-Member ($200) $...... □ – Partner Program ($50) $...... …

Please continue on reverse side of form

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 11 March 1, 2013 volume 28, issue No.2

NAC NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Optional Activities NAC Dinner (Registrants and their guests only) □ – Single ticket ($100) – or - □ – Couple ($175) $...... …

UNTD Functions (All registrants are welcome to participate in the UNTD functions) Weepers - □ – Single ticket ($15) – or - □ – Couple ($30) $...... …

UNTD Dinner - - □ – Single ticket ($50) – or - □ – Couple ($100) $...... …

Alaska Cruise Are you planning to participate in the Alaska cruise? □ – Yes – or - □ – No (Please note that the cruise question is for our information only and does not represent a commitment on your part)

Payment Information Please enter the total of all the dollar amounts you have entered above $...... …

Please send this form, together with your cheque, payable to NOAVI (NAC AGM 2013), for the total cost, to: NAC Registration Naval Officers Association of Vancouver Island PO Box 5221 Victoria, BC V8R 6N4

Other Information

 We regret that payment at the door cannot be accepted  If you need to cancel your reservation, refunds (less a $25 cancellation fee) will be available un til May 3, 2013. After that date, we regret that no refunds can be made.  You may transfer your registration to another person at any time provided that you inform Eric Griffiths by writing to the above address or by phoning (250) 858-3114  This reservation is for the conference and related events only. You must make hotel and/or cruise reservations yourself if you wish them

NOAVI • PO box 5221, Victoria BC • Canada V8R 6N4 • www.noavi.ca •!P a g e 12