The Fraser Lifeboat responded to a possible person in distress call on Thursday 26 Jul 2019. As our coxswains were already aboard planning evening training, they were able to get underway in 7 mins. After arriving on scene and receiving info from a pleasure boat they spotted a person on the shore on an island opposite Garry Point Park. Info was relayed to CG Radio. The hovercraft Moytel arrived on the scene and we pointed to the person’s location. The Fraser was then released and the task was transferred to local police.
Fraser River Circumnavigation Training Exercise – 2019
Canadian Lifeboat Institution
The CLI frequently conducts extended training exercises where we take crew outside their usual familiar surrounding and comfort zones and introduce new challenges to keep honing skills.
On Saturday 06 Jul 2019, crews planned a 9-hour circumnavigation voyage of the Fraser River taking in both the South and North Arms. Working as a team, they took into account weather, currents, tide, and locations that we would be heading to. They decided to route Steveston>Gunderson Slough>New Westminster>North Arm Fraser to Mill Town Marina – planned lunch break, then Mill Town Marina> North Jetty> head south and stay east of traffic lanes to Sandheads>Steveston. Continue reading “Fraser River Circumnavigation Training Exercise – 2019”
July Long Weekend Safety Patrols – 2019
The CLI conducted 2 days of patrols as follows:
On Friday 29 Jun 2019 the Fraser Lifeboat conducted a safety patrol in the lower Fraser River. The patrol consisted of departing Steveston for Captain’s Cove Marina near Ladner, where we investigated a large boat drifting west of Ladner Reach, they indicated they were ok. A check of the marina up to Deas Slough bridge was conducted, from there we sailed to what we call ‘Gilligan’s Island’, but there were no campers at all which is unusual for this time of year. Continue reading “July Long Weekend Safety Patrols – 2019”
CLI participates in World Maritime Rescue Congress 2019
The CLI was pleased to have the Fraser Lifeboat attend the SAR Demo day on 15 June 2019. Our vessel was on static display and able to be toured by delegates from all over the world. We received many favourable comments, including those from the Canadian Coast Guard. The live demos involved showing marine and air assets in action from the Royal Canadian Air Force, US Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, RCM-SAR, Vancouver Police, Vancouver Fire, and the Vancouver Port Authority. Continue reading “CLI participates in World Maritime Rescue Congress 2019”
CLI participates in Emergency Communications exercise – Field Day 2019
The Jun 22-23 weekend was Field Day, which is the highlight of the amateur radio year and the largest emergency preparedness exercise with over 40,000 radio operators participating in North America. These operators annually practice the rapid deployment of temporary emergency stations and operation off-the-grid for 24 hours. It is also a lot of fun! Our Fraser L/B coxswain David A represented the CLI, one of 6 stations, at the Delta Amateur Radio Field Day event at North 40 Park near Boundary Bay Airport. Our station was set-up using a Buddy Pole antenna, ICOM IC7000 radio and working PSK31 and FT8 digital modes on 20 meters HF. Power was derived from a battery and solar power.
Poor band conditions prevailed due to sunspot activity, but we still managed to make a fair number of contacts.