Rough seas take a toll on Protecteur
A/SLt Jim Smith
HMCS Protecteur
January 21, 2008
It took seven days for HMCS Protecteur to steam south towards the Hawaiian Islands for duty as the primary replenishment ship in the mid-pacific.
It is hard to visualize what those days were like for the crew, unless of course, this is your job. For those on the comparative firmness of land, surrounded by the comforts of home, seven days pass relatively quickly. However, when your office has a tendency to role and pitch 24 hours a day, seven days tend to drag on and feel a great deal longer.
Protecteur has a solid reputation as being a comfortable and stable ship to sail on, but this reputation has been put to the test. Since leaving the shelter of the Straits of Juan De Fuca, the ship has been hit by not just one storm, but four in complete succession. The vast majority of the crew has sailed on a variety of different ships, this is certainly nothing new for them. What is unique is the way in which Protecteur was affected by these storms.
Due to the swell generated by the low-pressure systems, the ship experienced an exaggerated roll back and forth and an aggressive pitch up and down due to the six metre waves the ship was ploughing through. At the height of the weather she was experiencing rolls of up to 23 degrees and a number of disconcerting large thuds as wave after wave pounded the ship.
Protecteur is distinctive because she is big and heavy. Overall, she has a total length of 172m (564’) and at her widest point it stretches to 23m (76’), but more importantly is her displacement. She tops out the scale at a little over 23,000 tons loaded; compare that with HMCS Algonquin or the Halifax Class frigates which are a fifth of that size and one would assume a more pleasurable sailing experience. However, this trip is now a testament to debunk that rumour.
For the crew who thought their spaces were secure for sea, they soon discovered that wasn’t entirely true. Assorted personal items came crashing to the deck on the first day in the open Pacific Ocean. The rolling motion made sleeping less than ideal and created a challenge of how to remain in one’s rack. Unfortunately the bunks on Protecteur are not equipped with seatbelts (for the lack of a better term) and some of the crew had to devise creative solutions so they wouldn’t roll out and on to the deck.
However, the worst has passed, and now Protecteur is en route to the leeward side of the Hawaiian Islands. The sea state has calmed to a more tolerable state, which means smooth sailing for the tanker. All this ties in nicely because the objective of Protecteur’s mission is to be the primary replenishment ship for our allies operating in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands; having calm seas ahead makes an already difficult job just a little easier.
Now that the ship is on station, she is ready to service her first customers, two American Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers. These next four weeks promise to be busy, but intermixed in with the hard work will be several opportunities to relax and play alongside in Pearl Harbor. The crew is ready, the training complete, and ready to start pumping.
