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HMCS Cape Breton |
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The little person that you barely see is me - Aug 2001
Once a wartime maintenance vessel... now a diver's dream in Nanaimo as the largest man-made artificial reef in the world. Here she is being prepared for her new life in the underwater realm where her final legacy begins. |
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I approached her in awe. Once on deck, I noticed a blackberry bush had claimed her for its own. |
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While I surveyed her commanded silence...I was grounded in her honored history... at the same time mindful of the preparations for her future. Her stately mass beckoned me to explore…I set out to do so.
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Starting at the bow seemed logical…I had great scope all around... and
the ocean air can often give a wisp of adventure at just the right moment. |
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I found the communications room void of any chatter other than the workers passing by...and the mime of wonder in my own mind. | |
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I
walked under the retired work horse and stood in the shadow of
its looming belly...nothing moved. |
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I continued on my deck walk like a kid in a huge playhouse...no cubby hole was beyond my curiosity.
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As
I ascended to the bridge, I sensed the power of its mastery. From there when I looked out
over her bow and the harbour, I felt compelled to take
her out to sea. In a reality check, I readjusted my thoughts, turned in
my captain’s hat, and left the command post. |
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| Advancing towards the stern, I looked up...the crows nest invited me to climb and observe the world from its perspective...as I wasn't an experienced rope climber, I didn't attempt it. |
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Beyond that was the smoke stack…it almost looked close enough to touch through the camera lens, but it wasn’t…it was just big. Then I saw more of her expansive deck and realized there was much to experience in this fabulous playground...I was captivated by my own imagination.
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I ventured on...released into her endless maze... down narrow, winding, metal-grated steps...through doorways where I'd trip if I forget... to the many halls and cubic rooms that smelled of ocean metal mix.
I felt the essence of a proud crew...and fortunate to share this short era in her history.
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The Captain's cabin with its warm classic fireplace offered me an exclusive invitation in another time.
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The seaman's quarters showed me where bunk-mates caught their zees on the seas...surrounded by lockers filled with gear and keepsakes from home. The stories told here as only comrades can do may not be remembered the same way today. |
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Going into the showers and toilets is where I felt a little intrusive and out of place.
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My footsteps resounded in the hollowness of every empty room where vaguely scribbled names were a sailor's only proof of duty here.
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The
narrow corridors lead me to a huge
chamber that spanned every level to house the last
of the triple-expansion engines.
I noticed the many pipes and conduits that were once attached to it are
now dangling and disjointed. As I looked down into the duskiness I could
see little platforms where the engineers stepped out to monitor the
gauges.
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An
observable quietness was in the office where only empty desks
stood and no one was typing anything.
It made
me wonder what secrets
were on the carbon paper that would have been thrown away.
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Alone
in the little room across the hall where the huge safe was kept brought
a sense of sealed
memories for an unforgettable affair.
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When I looked out the
opening behind me and down into the water…I realized
that’s where part of her stern used to be...and is now displayed in
North Vancouver's museum along with her engine...as reminders of a proud heritage.
Diane E Babcock© |
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John McKee is the De facto keeper of memorabilia for the Naval Technical Apprentice Association and some of these pictures will be shown in a file contained within an Apprentice CD that is being compiled for presenting to the attending members, at the next Apprentice Reunion In Esquimalt in September 2005. The original training for the Naval Apprentices began in 1952 on board the ship HMCS Cape Breton then moved to HMCS Naden in 1958 and continued there until the plan was terminated in 1970. (www.geocities.com/fas_online) |
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