Pictures and Stories

Hello, everyone! This page I'm sure will be the most popular page on the web site, and so I'll do my best to keep it as up to date as I can. You can expect to see the latest updates, pictures and stories to the web page sometime while we are in each port. (See the list of ports on the main page) I will be unable to update it while we are at sea, since we have no internet connection I can use. (The only connection is for e-mail while we are at sea)

What a week. We departed on Monday morning only to hear we were leaving our loved ones with one heck of a lot of snow to shovel on Tuesday! Well, don't worry, we paid our dues, the storm was out at sea with us as well, and we experienced some wild weather! The waves got as high as 25 feet, and even higher on occasion. Many of the ship's personnel were quite sick, and the Air Det was no exception... eh Maj? Our poor Det Commander was quite sick for a few days, and our fearless guest pilot, Perry Comeau, managed to fill his waist pouch while sitting in the helicopter and while still sitting on the deck! He was a good sport, and didn't mind our constant reminders... "Hey, Perry! Care for some green eggs and ham???"

Our week consisted of many navy emergency drills. Multiple fire, flood, and wartime scenarios kept our days and nights busy, along with our regular flying schedule. The Sea Training personnel who sailed with for the week to train and test us will be leaving here in Cape Canaveral, and now we are be on our own to complete our own training.

Well we had our first "Force Reception" - or "Forced Reception" as we like to call them - on Friday night. These cocktail parties of sorts are designed for us to get to know the various people we will be working with for the duration of our trip. We met many British, Spanish, Americans, Dutch, German, and Danish sailors. Now, since this is such a formal event, the Admiral of the SNFL fleet stands at the entranceway of the hosting ship to greet all the guests before they come on board.
When I walked on board, as per traditional naval custom I stood at attention on the brow, (a sign of respect for the ship you are boarding and it's personnel) and proceeded to walk... right past the open hand of the Admiral, only to stop right next to him and greet the fleet's photographer!!! For a reason only I should know (but unfortunately I don't) I failed to notice the glowing gold bars and ribbons decorating the Admiral's uniform, but did recognize the fleet photographer standing next to him, since he had sailed with us the year previous. Fortunately for me, Jason Roman picked up the cue and quickly walked up to the Admiral to introduce himself. Saved again by my fellow comrades! Whew!



These are some photos of the bad weather we encountered while on our way down to Cape Canaveral. The photos were taken from the FLYCO station (about 30' above the water) looking down over the flight deck.

	Above left: Rope Charming 101 taught by Cpl Hutchings; Above: Tug of War with the gods. gods - 1, techs - 0; Left: Stalker soaring in the bright blue

Above and above left: a little rest for the weary. After the storm Right: Arrival into Cape Canaveral Below: Leaving Halifax Below right: In Cocoa Beach

Halifax to Cape Canaveral