Page 30 - Icebreakers around Cape Breton

ISSUE : Issue 45

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1987/6/1

got in front of the ferries, she went a- head, and the track closed right in. Just, the wind just put everything. And she just (couldn't) move at all. Seven days outside here. There were 3 ferries here off Low Point. A real bad time. Really nasty weath? er, blowing. The Canadian Forces helicopter brought some food for the ferries. They dropped some hay on the deck, too, to feed the cat? tle aboard. you're going slow yourself--the heavy pres? sure's on, but you're moving--that if you get stuck, you've got to make sure that vessel behind you can stop. Or else he's going to damage you. I've had this happen. Where a vessel couldn't stop. Even though his engines are going astern. He tries to cut out of the track on either side. But it's not like stopping a car. So he comes up, and he bangs our vessel here. And this sometimes happens, whether the vessel back there can understand or not. But in one day, or less than one day, the wind swung around--and everything opened up. There was no more pressure. They went on their own. Ferries didn't need an ice? breaker then. Capt. Green: These people (the ferries) know their business, so you don't have that worry of them ramming you, because they know all about ice. But it's the for? eign ships that come in. When you've got a vessel behind you, maybe it's a foreign language, so you've got communication prob? lems. We tell them, we've got two red lights back there that we turn on when we get stuck--revolving lights like a police car. We try and explain that to them. They don't know what we're saying. They can't understand. We blow our horn. And we say, when you hear that, you stop your vessel. They speak some English, but they cannot understand us. You've got to make sure, when you're escorting that vessel, and If you get them too far back, the pres? sure's on, the track keeps closing, he can't follow. So you bring him up close, what we call "close escort," which means 2 or 3 cables astern--a cable's 600 feet. That means probably 1800, 2000 feet astern. Now the Labrador comes beset. We warn him. He says, "I can't stop." So it's a risky business, it's a very risky business. But it's something that's got to be done. You've got to try to keep commerce m.oving. It's all dollars. I was on the John A. MacDonald in January. And we had a vessel up north of Anticosti tha:t got caught in the ice. And he got in close to shore. And he was a vessel, the Marie Elena--a foreign vessel. Very poor communications. And the vessel was very light. Its propeller was half out of the water, and he could not follow. We were with him for 36 hours, until finally the pressure came off, and the ice sort of o- 361 Charlotte St., Sydney, N. S. "Sydney's Downtown Bookstore" 539-8551 OUnilTV!!! BRETON WINDOWS 189 Townsend St., Sydney We at Breton Windows invite you to compare our "Tilt & Turn" window to any other casement for QUALITY OF WOOD -QUALITY OF HARDWARE - QUALITY OF GLASS - QUAL? ITY OF SCREEN -QUALITY OF FUNCTION - and just as important COMPARE PRICE and GUARANTEE! Farmers A Coinplete Line Call our office and make an ap? pointment to vi? sit us with your plans or just to view. We are available nights and Saturdays. PHONE ... 53S-6533 bretori windows doors of Dairy & Juice Products • MILK • ICE CREAM • YOGURT • CHEESE • SPREADS FARMERS CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY LIMITED Sydport, Sydney S 562-2434 fZ3 OWNED BY NOVA SCOTIA FARMERS tM HortZ Rent a Car 24 HOUR SERVICE - 7 DAYS A WEEK 1430 George St. Sydney, N.S. Sydney Airport 539-1538 539-5623 -'FAST FRIENDL Y SERVICE "NOW FEATURING 1988 CHEV. CORISCA and 1988 CHEV. BERETTA -LOCAL PICKUP AND DELIVERY ''2227 To Reserve a Car 2zr'/"eSl"!:'!1-800-263-0600 The*l way to rent a cat 4l'

Cape Breton's Magazine