Escort duty

MARPAC keeps up convoy expertise:

Navy Continues To Keep “Tubbers” Safe

As it has for the past 41 years, Canadian Forces Maritime and Experimental Test Ranges (CFMETR) will provide communications and safety support to the World Championship Bathtub Race in Nanaimo July 22.

Three CFMETR range vessels and the range helicopter will be positioned along the race course. One vessel will serve as a marker for racers and another will clear traffic in the vicinity of Schooner Cove so racers can get through safely. The third will follow astern of the “tubbers” in case anyone needs assistance. The helicopter will monitor the start of the race. Military and civilian personnel will be in the CFMETR Range Operations Centre on Winchelsea Island to monitor race progress.

"All of this gives us an excellent opportunity to be an active member of this great community,” said Cmdr. Gerald Laporte, CFMETR Commanding Officer. “Overall, the World Championship Bathtub Race is great fun for everyone and enables us to build stronger ties to the community."

HMCS Nanaimo and her sister ship, HMCS Brandon, will be berthed at the Visiting Vessel Pier (north tip of Cameron Island). Lt.-Cmdr. Shawn Connelly, Commanding Officer of HMCS Nanaimo, invites the public to drop by between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for a tour of the ship. Nanaimo’s sailors will be on hand to answer questions about the ship, its history, and life in the Navy.

Canadian Forces members from CFMETR and HMCS Nanaimo will race bathtubs representing their units.

CFMETR is a joint Canadian/United States Navy 3-D Tracking Range, capable of tracking underwater, surface, and air targets including torpedoes, submarines, surface vessels, and aircraft. The 3-D position of all objects being tracked is recorded and displayed in real-time at the Winchelsea Island operations centre.

HMCS Nanaimo is one of twelve Kingston Class maritime coastal defence ships. The multi-role ships are used in a variety of missions including coastal surveillance, mine counter-measures, ocean-floor mapping, and support to other governmental departments.