ORCA has passed her first test!

[navymich]

what about that reporter: Cmdr Leblank ????

Too funny.  I missed that the first time, but just watched it again.  Should be pronounced as the french word for white.  I guess because he is English, they assumed....

 

[Cronicbny]

Can't wait for my SRI approved late night ship initiated....  >

 

[navymich]

Can't wait for my SRI approved late night ship initiated....  >

Yes, I hear those quite well.  If it is a clear summer night, I can hear the upper deck broadcast too from the heavies stating the emergency and location.  I like it more when it is 0700 and I am on leave.  I laugh knowing that someone has been hit.  ;D

 

[navymich]

http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=12&cat=43&id=781851&more=

Classroom on the ocean

By Mark Browne
Esquimalt News
mbrowne@vicnews.com
Nov 29 2006


New training vessels expected to enhance Canada’s reputation for producing well traiined naval officers

Naval officers will have a much easier time learning how to sail a frigate with the introduction of the new Patrol Craft Training vessel.

The first of eight new vessels, the Orca, arrived at Dockyard at CFB Esquimalt from Victoria Shipyards earlier this month. The remainder of the vessels will arrive over the next few years.

While the primary purpose of the vessels is to train regular force and reserve naval officers, regular and reserve sailors as well as sea cadets will also receive training on the Orca-class ships.

“These vessels represent a significant leap forward in technology and will certainly position the navy to continue training the future generations of naval officers, reservists and sea cadets,” said Capt. Bill Truelove, commanding officer of Maritime Operations Group Four at CFB Esquimalt.

The training vessels are replacing the 50-year-old wooden hulled Yard Auxiliary Training vessels.

“Those ships served us well but are approaching the end of their life,” Truelove said. “It’s a pretty emotional event in the sense that we’re saying goodbye to 50 years of history but also exciting in that we’re seeing state of the art, modern replacement training vessels coming on line.”

The technology of the new training vessels mirrors the technology of the larger Halifax-class patrol frigates.

“So that clearly creates a training environment where the student can go on and train with equipment that they will go and use once they’re done training,” Truelove said.

Having the same technology means officers who undergo training on the new vessels will be better positioned to handle equipment on frigates, he said. That combined with training officers receive on the bridge simulator at the Naval Officer Training Centre at Work Point results in highly trained officers, Truelove said.

“Collectively that package gives us leading edge, state of the art training capabilities to produce well-trained officers so that cadets and reservists are also getting leading edge training,” he said.

The radar system that officers and crew training on the Orca-class vessels is exactly the same as what is used on the Halifax-class patrol frigates.

And then there’s the learning environment.

“These vessels have a built in classroom, which is very unique,” Truelove said.

The classroom seats 16 students and supporting technology allows them to review the training they undergo, he said.

“That’s a big step forward,” Truelove said.

There’s more room in the vessels than there is in the YAGs, he said.

The plan is for the Orca-class vessels to stay on the West Coast.

The cost of the project for the eight vessels is about $65 million.

The contract was awarded to Victoria Shipyards in November 2004 and construction began in September 2005. The Orca was launched in August before being handed over to the navy on Nov. 9.

“The boats are from my perspective, excellent boats,” said Malcolm Barker, manager of Victoria Shipyards at Esquimalt Graving Dock.

The plan is for the remainder of the vessels to be delivered to the navy approximately every three months, Barker said. The last of the Orca-class vessels should be handed over to the navy in the summer of 2008.

The project will keep about 100 workers busy for the duration of the construction of the vessels, he said.

“Certainly, we don’t see that dropping off,” Barker said.

The navy, he noted, is impressed with the “high level of quality” of the Orca.

The initial contract called for Victoria Shipyards to deliver six of the Patrol Craft Training vessels to the navy with the option to build two more vessels. The company recently received the green light from the navy to build the last two vessels, Barker said.

“At the end of the day, I think the boat is high-end. And the attention to detail is very clear in every facet of the vessel,” he said. “It’s an exciting project and it’s rewarding for the shipyard workforce and management team to deliver the first vessel on time and on budget.”

The fact that the ships are Canadian-built at Victoria Shipyards is a plus, Truelove said.

“It’s wonderful that this is Canadian-built here in Victoria. So we’re keen with that,” he said.

The naming of the vessels has a strong connection with B.C. and its history.

“It goes back to names that were originally associated with armed yachts in World War II and the names also reflect the heritage of the First Nations,” Truelove said.

Aside from the Orca, the future vessels will be named the Raven, Caribou, Fox, Wolf, Grizzly, Cougar and Moose.

So far, members of the navy who have had a chance to check out the Orca are impressed, he said.

And the new vessels will only add to the Canadian navy’s internationally renowned reputation for training naval officers.

“I think internationally our training system for naval officers is seen as first class and I think these new vessels will just continue to allow us to achieve that,” Truelove said.

Capt. Bill Truelove stands on the bridge of the new naval training vessel Orca.

 

[FSTO]

Went on her yesterday for a sail. She is a good little ship, tons of room and is a quantum leap from the YAGS. We were discussing how this ship will give the MARS officers more of a step up in ship handling (we'll be able to do OOW manoeuvres with them) and at the same time give the NETPO kids real hands on experience at line handling, coming to an anchourage, coming to a buoy etc. She is quick and handles like a dream. She also has all the bells and whistles expected on a modern bridge.

It is inevitable that mission creep will come, and I welcome it.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Have they designed it to carry weapons?

 

[DONT_PANIC]

I believe they had a mounting for a .50cal (whether or not it would carry the weapon is another question), but I could be wrong.

 

[Gus]

As the adage goes, "fitted for, but not with"

 

[pjocsak]

Haze Gray and Underway has posted a list of the (proposed?) names of the ORCAs.

http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/current/orca/

P

 

[navymich]

Haze Gray and Underway has posted a list of the (proposed?) names of the ORCAs.

http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/current/orca/

P

Good link.  They are also listed in the article posted in reply#63:

Aside from the Orca, the future vessels will be named the Raven, Caribou, Fox, Wolf, Grizzly, Cougar and Moose.

 

[andpro]

Have they changed Fox to Renard? At Haze Gray and Underway they have the name Renard but not Fox.

 

[navymich]

Have they changed Fox to Renard? At Haze Gray and Underway they have the name Renard but not Fox.

I'll check the DIN link next time I'm at work and see what they have listed there for names.

 

[Cronicbny]

Renard is the name (French for Fox, of course)

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Love the names. I seem to remember that some of the YFPs and YAGs had names similar to those too. I love the tradition of renaming ships after previous ships. I just hope they do the same with the JSS and the BHS (if that ever comes to pass).

 

[navymich]

http://www.lookoutnewspaper.com/archive/20061218/4.shtml

Orca 55, inspiration for replica

Pam Lloyd
Staff writer
December 18, 2006

As Orca 55 was officially accepted into the navy three weeks ago, Alex James was in his basement workshop putting the finishing touches on his replica of the ship.

James’ radio-controlled Orca 55 measures the size of a duffel bag and is made of styrene, a sheet plastic. The hull and bridge are nearly finished and painted navy matte grey. He’s now working on brass railings the size of a pencil lead.

James heard about the ship at a meeting of the Victoria Model Shipbuilding Society a few months ago, of which he has been a member for six years. “Most of the time it’s just nattering amongst ourselves, and playing with boats,” he says.

At this particular meeting, fellow member John Mcutchion mentioned a ship he was working on at Victoria Shipyards. James jumped at the opportunity to make a miniature Orca 55.

“I like making things nobody’s ever done before,” he says. “You go to the model yacht pond and often there’s several models of the same type of boat.”

James pieced together the ship from blueprints and photos supplied by Mcutchion. He then went to his workshop, where files, chisels and screwdrivers line the wall, and bits of scrap plastic from past projects cover the workbench. He uses a 30-year-old lathe and a jigsaw for cutting out the pieces, then a file the size of a pen for the finishing work.

The 75-year-old retiree, originally from England, has plenty of experience making models. He’s been doing the craft since age 10 when an uncle piqued his interest in boats by giving him a 1927 book on ship designs. The detailed plans in the book inspired him, he says. When he spotted a photograph in the newspaper of the German battleship Scharnhorst, he drafted a plan and made his first model out of leftover wood he picked up from an undertaker.

James even found a career with models. While head of exhibits at the Royal B.C. Museum, it was his job to design and organize the construction of exhibits such as the stern of HMS Discovery, and the Grand Hotel.

“We built models of everything we were going to do at the museum. It’s well known to people in the trade that it solves a lot of problems if you can see things in 3D,” he says.

James does not measure the time he spends on his models, but for Orca he estimates around 130 hours of labour, with the same amount of hours needed to finish it. “The fiddly bits are what I’m doing now, which take longer.”

“I was hoping to get it into the water before the actual vessel,” he says. Instead, he took his model for a test run on the pond off Dallas Road one week after Orca 55’s official acceptance. He hopes to complete the miniature ship in three weeks.

“She was running a bit low in the water. Because of the weight of the inside parts it was down to the water line.”

Other recent projects were a harbour tours ferry, a 19th century European fishing boat and a tugboat built during the Second World War.

James gifts his models to family or friends; otherwise they would clutter his home, he says. As for Orca, “I have no plans, other than to play with it,” he says.

The full-sized Orca Class Patrol Craft Training vessel measures 33 metres long, with a displacement of 210 tonnes and a top speed of 20 knots. Its will be used to train sailors and cadets, replicating a ship similar to what they will eventually work in.

Alex James, 75, works on his radio-controlled model replica of Orca 55, the navy’s newest training vessel.

 

[Stoker]

Just heard they are planning to put "B" tickets on them as engineers along with reg force 2 B's. This will be an excellent chance for NRD personnel to maintain their qualifications.

 

[Cronicbny]

I wonder how that will work with all NAVRES contracts being frozen....

If this hold true (very doubtful - and I'd like a source) who will man the positions on the MCDVs? We're about to embark on WUPS with 2 B's so I'm curious where these magical people will come from.

Oh, AND given the recent msg traffic from NAVRES, since new NRD/OJT contracts are SUSPENDED and only MISSION ESSENTIAL billets will be permitted backfill I don't only want a source, I think I'd like some supporting message traffic. *IF* this ends up being true, I'll eat my hat... in the mean time...

SHOW ME THE REFERENCE!

I've heard all the ships are tied up alongside too... funny how that isn't so factual.

 

[Stoker]

I wonder how that will work with all NAVRES contracts being frozen....

If this hold true (very doubtful - and I'd like a source) who will man the positions on the MCDVs? We're about to embark on WUPS with 2 B's so I'm curious where these magical people will come from.

Oh, AND given the recent msg traffic from NAVRES, since new NRD/OJT contracts are SUSPENDED and only MISSION ESSENTIAL billets will be permitted backfill I don't only want a source, I think I'd like some supporting message traffic. *IF* this ends up being true, I'll eat my hat... in the mean time...

SHOW ME THE REFERENCE!

I've heard all the ships are tied up alongside too... funny how that isn't so factual.

Yes all contracts for NAVRES are suppose to be frozen, however some people are getting extensions for OJT. You guys do have a "B" ticket crunch right now, happily we are flush in the "B" ticket department right now. I'm surprised that you are going to sail for WUP's with two "B"', to my knowledge that has never happened out here. I'm surprised that your coast haven't asked for a backfill from our coast since we are not sailing for a while. Of course with the contract freeze right now there will be no MESO's for the ORCA's, but soon as more money is acquired there will eventually be MESO's on the ORCA"s. The pool of people will hopefully come from the NRD to sail them, just like the YAGS.If you want documentation send me your military e-mail address and i'll send of a copy of the TNA doc listing the training requirements for MESO's for ORCA's.

 

[navymich]

For those in the area and interested in seeing her:

R 302230Z JAN 07
FM MAROPSGRU FOUR HQ ESQUIMALT
TO AIG 2615
AIG 2616
BT
UNCLAS DCOMD 009
SIC LAB
SUBJ: ORCA TOUR - 9 FEB 07
IN RESPONSE TO NUMEROUS REQUESTS, PCT 55 WILL BE AVAILABLE TO FLT
AND BASE PERS FOR TOURS 0900-1200 09 FEB 07. ORCA IS BERTHED AT B2
JTY
BT

 

[Cayuga]

I hope to get down and take a tour on Friday. It will be nice to take a tour and imagining what life will be like cruising round the gulf islands in one of them.  With the YAGs, you felt very much like the poor relative as you docked next to multi-million dollar yachts. Now it will be the sleek, mean navy machines. Not to mention waving to the MCDVs as you cruise on by.  ;D