Cotterville: HMCS Halifax comes calling

HMCS Halifax comes calling

Frigate's Montreal stop is first of what will be many along St. Lawrence, Great Lakes for workhorse of Canadian navy

RENE BRUEMMER, The Gazette

Published: Saturday, April 21, 2007

A Canadian naval frigate that enforced United Nations sanctions off the coast of Yugoslavia and hunted for Al-Qa'ida operatives in the Persian Gulf after 9/11 is in Montreal on a public relations offensive this weekend.

Just under 11/2 football fields long, with an engine large enough to power a city of 5,000, and armed with Sea Sparrow missiles, torpedoes and .50-calibre heavy machine guns, HMCS Halifax will be open to the public this weekend in the Old Port.

Its 209 crew members, 19 of them women, will be on hand to greet visitors - if they're not on shore leave enjoying Montreal.

"The whole purpose of our trip is to go and meet Canadians and raise the profile of the forces and the navy and let them meet sailors and come on board," said Commander Scott Bishop, who is nearing the end of his two-year rotation as captain of the Halifax.

With most Canadian naval bases located abroad, it's difficult for most Canadians to see what the navy does, Bishop said.

"This ship can do up to 30 knots (about 55 kilometres an hour), but the fuel mileage is lousy," he deadpanned.

The first of 12 such helicopter-carrying frigates built in Canada in the 1990s, the Halifax is known as the workhorse of the Canadian navy, a multi-role patrol frigate equipped with anti-submarine technology as well as defence against surface and air threats.

In addition to combat, training and diplomacy, the ship is used to patrol Canadian waters and enforce fishing zones.

The Montreal stop is the first of several for HMCS Halifax along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes over the next month. The visit here has been highly anticipated by crew members eager to take in the city, and some eager to come home.

Ordinary Seaman Alexandre Lebrun, 27, of Laval's Ste. Dorothee district enlisted about two years ago to see a bit more of the world. Despite the fact he discovered on his first naval voyage that he gets seasick easily - "The first few days of every trip are bad" - he is loving the life of cramped quarters and high seas.

"Before this, I hadn't left Quebec," he said. "Now, I've seen a lot of Canada, and I'll see the world."

Rough waters shouldn't be a problem this weekend. If they are, the Halifax is known to withstand seas in excess of 10 metres high, and is designed to right itself if it capsizes - or at least remain afloat if it doesn't.

HMCS Halifax is docked at Alexandra Pier in the heart of the Old Port. Visiting hours are 1 to 4 p.m. today, tomorrow and Monday.