The CLI is part of the City of Delta’s Emergency Programme, and as such we often check the condition of pick up and drop off points. Gunderson Slough off the Fraser River near the Alex Fraser Bridge is one of those locations. It has a tricky approach due to sand bars and the useable channel is quite narrow. On 19 Jun 2021 the Fraser Lifeboat checked the condition of the Government Dock and also showed the flag. The harbour has been cleaned up with only one new derelict boat.
Victoria Day long weekend safety patrol – May 2021
The CLI conducted marine safety patrols with both the Delta and Fraser Lifeboats over the Victoria Day long weekend from 21-24 May 2021. We expected a busy start to boating season, but due to COVID-19, it was very quiet, with little recreational boat traffic. This still gave our crews the opportunity to hone our seamanship skills
Multi-Vessel Search Pattern Training 2021
On 10 Apr 2021, both Delta and Fraser Lifeboats engaged in multi-vessel search pattern training exercises off Woodward Reach in the Fraser River.
River Current: Flooding towards slack
Wind: Southeast at ~25+ kts
Sea State: Two-foot chop with breaking whitecaps
Purpose: Parallel sweep area search procedures, using two vessels according to the briefing given during online training. This involved searching while keeping pace abeam of the guide boat, both vessels making two 90 degree turns on command in unison, then searching along the reciprocal course over ground; and repeat.
This process is continuously being refined in preparation for a larger exercise in the future.
Easter Long Weekend Safety Patrols – Apr 2021
The CLI engaged in Easter long weekend safety patrols with both the Fraser Lifeboat and Delta Lifeboat from 02-05 Apr 2021. We had expected a fairly busy weekend; however, boating traffic was fairly light. We did hear several calls on the radio but all were outside our area of operations. Fraser L/B spotted 2 large deadheads at different locations that were submerging and popping up. We marked them and called their positions into Coast Guard Radio who added their information to the Fraser River Marine Broadcasts.
New SAR decals for Fraser Lifeboat
In an effort to increase our visibility and understanding of our function by the community, the Fraser Lifeboat has added Search and Rescue decals to the wheelhouse. These were pre-approved by the Sr Lifeboat Commander. A donation was arranged through our Coxswain David A and business owner John Pinkerton of Sandpiper Signs & Decals Inc. John applied the reflective red decals today and we already got several comments about how amazing they look.
