Conditions on Fishing Vessels can be rather gross. Fish debris falls in the bilge, the accumulation of sloshing grey water, with everything imaginable in it.
It stinks really bad. That rotten fish small and grey water bounced up to splash the coupling, I'd wait for a roll, to reach the bolts on the other side, and the smell made me ill, bouncing caused my eyes to blur out of focus, and I knew it was going to happen.
#StoryTime #Navy #RCN #Rescue #Towing #seasick #Sailor #Specialist

Before I was transported over, knowing we could be there several hours, I filled my pocket with Chocolate Milk boxes.

Here's what I found: The shaft, directly coupled to the transmission, and generator for electrical power, had seized.
We were already cabled to them, towing slightly. I reckoned I had about 2 hrs work to uncouple, so the generator could be run, & freewheel the shaft reducing drag & increasing towing speed

We came to a stop, sent a zodiac over to assess and find out why they weren't communicating. In the video, they mention THE BUFFER, the senior Bosn who went to tie a towing hawser to them, and bring them under tow. A Navy ship goes too fast to tow a tiny Fishing vessel, so we were delayed greatly .

Captain called up senior specialists. Sent them to the flailing boat by Zodiac, over moderate seas, to assess & report back.
#StoryTime #Navy #RCN #Rescue #Towing #seasick #Sailor #Specialist

In the aforementioned video, while leaving the Grand Banks, heading to St John's Newfoundland, the Navy ship, HMCS Ottawa stumbled upon a floundering Fishing Boat.

They might have been lost forever, had we not discovered them by accident.
They had lost power. Once the shaft stopped turning, electricity was lost too , and radio power for distress calls.