Office Location
815 Brunette Avenue
Coquitlam, BC V3K 1C5
Phone: 604-936-9987
Fax: 604-468-2575
Email: info@burquitlamfuneralhome.ca

Office Location

815 Brunette Avenue

Coquitlam, BC V3K 1C5

Phone: 604-936-9987

Fax: 604-936-6912

info@burquitlamfuneralhome.ca

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OKANAGAN workups

James became Captain of OKANAGAN while she was in refit, so the first time he took her to sea was to sail to the UK for workups.  Workups is an exhausting two month process under the supervision of a Royal Navy team.

James was not good at cat-napping and tended to work himself to exhaustion then collapse into a deep sleep.  Over dinner in the wardroom one evening, junior officers expressed their concern that the Captain was not absorbing the myriad reports and requests that were made to him while he slept.  I suggested that most of the reports were mundane but that should something urgent take place, the Captain would be much more responsive.  James' reply to this suggestion was "absolutely!".

A few days later we had to return to the submarine base in Faslane, Scotland  for minor repairs.  We arrived around midnight and an early morning departure was scheduled.  James went straight to bed.

At 5:00am we were preparing to sail when a fire broke out - a very minor fire in a small switch box outside the door to the Captain's cabin (the door was always secured open with a curtain across the opening).  There were no more than eight feet between the switch box and the Captain.  The entire crew went to emergency stations, loud announcements were made, alarms sounded and the fire was quickly doused with the help of very loud CO2 fire extinguishers.  When the dust settled, there was a quiet lull, interrupted only by the very loud snores coming from the Captain's cabin.....

Posted by Al Dunlop
Friday January 29, 2016 at 1:00 pm
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