From the August 2, 2000 Edition
From the August 2, 2000 Edition
Thunder Cape
- New CCG rescue vessel
arrives in Meaford
By Scott Woodhouse Express Staff
"They say she's a young man's boat."
That's how one crew member of the Canadian Coast Guard's rescue base in
Meaford described the new rescue boat, Thunder Cape, docked at Richardson's
Boat Works.
The Meaford station is the first Coast Guard base in the region to take
delivery of the new American designed cutter.
B Crew Commanding Officer Steven Pauley took The Express on a tour of the
new 47 foot Motor Life Boat last week.
The brand new ship was built in Kingston by Metal Crafts Fast Ships and
delivered to Meaford last Wednesday after completing sea trials in Burlington.
The new vessel is very different from the Scottish-designed Arun Class
Spume that has been serving the southern Georgian Bay for past few years.
"It has a planing hull," explained Pauley. "It can do 24
knots under ideal conditions and 20 knots in what we call Sea State 2."
It is powered by twin 450 horsepower, six cylinder Caterpillar diesels.
That's fast compared to the 17 knot maximum of the Arun-class.
"This one is capable of handling six metre waves and has roll-over
and pitch-over capability," said Pauley.
That means, theoretically, it can capsize and it will right itself within
10 seconds.
The two crews that are stationed in Meaford will each go through a five
day training period before the boat is put into service and the Spume is
sent off to the east coast.
"It should be operational by the end of August," predicted Pauley.
The new vessel has some interesting features, including a low freeboard
for easy rescue operations and a helm on either side of the fly bridge.
The port helm is actually a joy stick, which improves visibility during
docking or rescue procedures.
The Thunder Cape is designed to be operated by a crew of four - a Captain,
Chief Engineer, and two deckhands, one of which is a trained SAR (Search
and Rescue Technician), who is trained in advanced first aid.
"We're lucky on B Crew to have two trained SAR techs," said Pauley.
Down below, the survivor space seats five comfortably but could hold more.
The main bridge looks like the cockpit of an airplane and includes a laptop
computer which is hooked into a moving map display integrated with DGPS
(Differential Global Positioning System).
"It shows you, in real time, exactly where you are," explained
Pauley. The bridge also includes a VHF direction finder that can hone in
on distress signals.
In the forward compartment below, the new steel hull is still shiny and
there is even a new car smell.
"The weight distribution on a planing hull is critical," explained
Pauley. "There is very little in the forward area here - she's definitely
built for speed."
Pauley said its been a slow summer for the rescue crews so far this season,
mainly because the poor weather has kept people off the water.
"I think people are more conscious of safety now with the new regulations,"
he added.
