9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2002 - Page 0050
Image details
| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
| Transcription |
48 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) Exercise PACIFIC LANCER 31 Aug — 14 Sep 03 As the blistering sun beat down on the dusty BATUS prairie, sailing amongst the beautiful Gulf and Pacific Islands off Western Canada was but a dream for most of us. So it was with some amusement that when we boarded the Catalina 42 in the port of Sydney, Vancouver Island, we discovered that it was called Prairie Dream II. A cursory inspection ofthe facilities on the boat confirmed that we had in fact struck gold with the yacht which had been found through utilising friends of friends and various distant contacts. Ex PACIFIC LANCER was a two week exercise involving 18 soldiers and 3 officers from the Regiment’s OPFOR orbat. Two crews took part in sailing offshore; the change over being con- ducted in a sea port in the centre of the cosmopolitan city of Vancouver. The thirteen hour drive from BATUS to Vancouver was quick- ly forgotten as the first crew battled with the basics in the Sidney channel; learning in one afternoon how to operate the boat’s engine, name the different parts, work sail plans and prac- tise man over-board drills. It was a baptism of fire, for those new to the water, with winds reaching 30 knots and little space to manoeuvre. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted by the time we cruised back into the marina in the early evening. SSgt Clark proved quickly that the rumours about his chef skills were true, and we ate in style as the sun went down over Barzan Bay. With strong winds from the outset we decided to head south towards the US islands and Port Townsend. In between taking copious amounts of photos (apparently practising for his new job) Capt Fuller, aided by Tpr Willis, managed to draw in the competition for maximum boat speed reaching nearly 10 knots in 24 knots of wind. In Port Townsend Marina we experienced our first taste of the US Customs bureaucracy as we tried to book in as visiting aliens. The wind died on Day 3 and as a result we altered course from Port Angeles, with the impressive back drop of the Olympus Mts, to the old colonial capital of Vancouver Island, Victoria. On route we spotted Mink whales and porpoise, finally arriving in front of the Empress Hotel and government buildings. We felt we were in keeping with our imperial past with Union Jack flying and the Regimental band, via the deck speakers, :1; Crew 7 mak/ng t/me from Motor/a, Vancouver /s/an announcing our arrival to hoards of tourists keen to take a photo. Victoria provided some interest- _ ing sailing around the notorious Race Rocks, with its many uncharted shallows. As water flooded into the Georgia Strait from the Pacific Ocean there were many areas of rip tides and streams which required some mean navigation from our by now expert LCpl Mills and Tpr Cunningham. With one final test, a race to the top of the mast, we finished the day with a Challenge Anneka style compe- . . . . . . Tpr Cunn/ngham tition back in Victoria which saw (W0 hands on the mast and seamen the teams from A, C and HQ ENE/011W as USUE/ Sqns playing beach volley ball with Vancouver Island’s own female team, handling Tarantula spiders, playing with the world’s smallest monkey and sitting in the crow’s nest of a Pirate Ship. Having had a taste of whale watching we decided to head towards San Juan Island where it was reported that there were three resident pods of Orca (Killer) Whales moving towards the north. We used the passage to practice blind pilotage skills and traditional navigation (simulating GPS failure). LCpl Davies (REME) proved that his mathematical methods were spot on, providing accurate Estimated Positions every twenty minutes or so. Although we did not see any whales, we did witness Kamikaze salmon desperately practising their jumping tech- niques in preparation for their winter breeding journey up the river. We rested in Friday Harbour and ate out as a team. In order to return to Vancouver in time for the crew change it . was necessary to negotiate a cou- ple of extremely narrow passes with small time windows for f' safe passage in each direction. |
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