DEEP MEANING: New Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat christened in Clark Harbor

CLARK’S HARBOUR, NS — A new search and rescue lifeboat delivered earlier this year to the Clark’s Harbor Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) station in southwestern Nova Scotia was officially commissioned on July 12.

Canadian Coast Guard top brass gathered with local dignitaries, residents and the ship’s crew at West Head Wharf on Cape Sable Island – home to the CCGS Chedabucto Bay – for the ceremony.

“The dedication ceremony is a time-honored maritime tradition where the ship’s sponsor will formally name the ship and wish good winds to all who sail her,” said MC Harvey Vardy, regional director of response for the CCG Atlantic Region. “The ship’s sponsor will be assigned to someone who will remain interested in the ship and witness the ship’s christening.”

The ship sponsor for the CCGS Chedabucto Bay is Margot Armstrong, a lifelong resident of Nova Scotia and the mother of the late Joel Armstrong, who was an engineer at Clark’s Harbor station. He died of cancer in November 2021.

“Joel immediately established himself as a focused, dedicated, hard-working member of the team, who proudly served the CCG,” said Vardy.

“As the mother of the late Joel Armstrong, I can honestly tell you that this is the greatest honor of my life,” Armstrong said.

Joel loved the Coast Guard, he loved all the crew, he loved Clark’s Harbour, he loved Cape Island. He was the grandson of a lobster fisherman here on the island,” she said.

“I am deeply honored and deeply grateful to have been chosen as a sponsor of this extraordinary search and rescue ship,” she added, telling her son that this ship would have been more than a collection of metal and machinery. “It would have been a symbol of hope and an embodiment of the Canadian Coast Guard’s unwavering commitment to protect and serve. To the crew who will sail the CCGS Chedabucto Bay, carry Joel’s memory with you as you navigate about the unpredictable tides of the sea.”

The CCGS Chedabucto Bay is the 14th of 20 new search and rescue boat class lifeboats to be deployed nationwide by the Canadian Coast Guard.

The 60-foot ships are all named after geographic bays.

The six remaining new lifeboats are expected to be completed in the next two or three years.

“These new state-of-the-art, high-endurance lifeboats are fast, highly capable in highly challenging conditions and most importantly, staffed with highly skilled professionals,” said Assistant Commissioner Gary Ivany, CCG Atlantic Region.

Ivany said the vessels are specifically designed, equipped and manned to respond to search and rescue operations at sea, up to 100 nautical miles from shore.

“It is considered an all-weather ship with the capability to operate in hurricane-force conditions,” he said.

“In the Atlantic provinces, where so many people depend on the sea for their livelihoods, it is so important to ensure that our waters are safe and accessible. This is a task we entrust to the dedicated personnel of our organization, the Canadian Coast Guard.”

It was in Clark’s Harbor that Canada’s first small lifeboat station became operational on October 5, 1966.

A near-coastal tragedy during the opening of the lobster fishery in 1964 brought the 101 to southwestern Nova Scotia. On the morning of November 30, 1964, Captain Stillman (Wrigley) Quinlan and his helper James Smith from Stoney Island, Cape Sable Island, sailed aboard the Jane and Judy to set up their equipment.

By nightfall they had not returned, the wind had picked up and it was too dangerous for local fishermen to look for the ship.

The following morning, the Jane and Judy was sighted about a mile off Cape Sable Island, anchored in grave danger. The craft had become unusable with a rope wrapped around the propeller. Attempts by local fishermen to reach them had to be abandoned due to the high winds.

At the time, the closest Coast Guard vessel was in Saint John, NB, and the weather was too bad for a rescue helicopter to fly in. The two men were lost in the sea and the ship was found several days later in two parts – the bow at Seal Island and the stern at Pubnico.

After the tragedy, fishermen and concerned citizens from Yarmouth to Shelburne lobbied the federal government to station a search and rescue boat in the area.

“The original crew members were fishermen who got their livelihood from the sea and were chosen to man some kind of vessel they had never sailed or seen and to do a job that no one had ever done before. did,” said Ivany.

“These original six men helped shape the future of what small vessel search and rescue looked like, not just locally but across our country.”

Second generation CCG employee Captain Jimmy Newell was recognized for 40 years of dedicated service at the ship’s christening. Newell joined the CCG on 23 September 1982 as a lifeboatman in Clark’s Harbour. He was appointed assistant mate in 1986 and then mate in 1987 following in the footsteps of his father, mate Ron Newell, who was the first CCG mate assigned to Clark’s Harbor station in 1966.

“Captain Newell has had an exceptional and historic career serving Canadians and mariners in the southwest of this province,” said Ivany.

During his career Cpt. Newell was the leader of the initial training teams in the deployment of the original Arun and Bay class lifeboats and is currently assigned to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Halifax as search mission coordinator.

With a crew of four, the Chedabucto Bay has a top speed of 25 knots, is equipped with advanced electronics and equipment, has self-righting capability and remains operational for up to 30 minutes, but is usually ready to respond the moment a warning is received .

The Chedabucto Bay replaces the 28 year old CCGS Clark’s Harbour.

Launched in 1995, the CCGS Clark’s Harbor is a 52-foot Arun Class search and rescue lifeboat with a maximum speed of 20 knots.

Every year the Canadian coast receives more than 6,000 calls for help at sea.

On average, the agency coordinates responses to 19 search and rescue incidents, assisting 68 people and saving 18 lives.

Pop the champagne! 🍾
Today, at West Head in Clark’s Harbor #NovaScotiawe officially welcomed the CCGS Chedabucto Bay to our fleet with the traditional breaking of a champagne bottle on the bow of the ship. pic.twitter.com/vZyrWihCD5

— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) July 12, 2023