Winter is unpredictable in our part of the world. This year Lake Erie is less than 10% frozen over and as you can see in one of the images, Big Otter Creek did not even have any ice around the edges when I took these two photos January 29th. While there will be a few cold days at the beginning of February - it's minus 8 Celsius today, for most of the month the forecast is for the temperature to hover around zero or a little above. While there was a little snow caught in the long grass, there wasn't much more than an inch on the parking lot last weekend (January 28-29) In 2014, the snow was knee deep by the time the winds off the lake blew it into drifts that covered the seats of the benches. In 2015, we were snowed out of the boat more than once during the winter including Valentines Day when we had a special booking. We went down to Port Burwell the night before and spent three hours shovelling only to find the next day that the wind off the Lake didn't allow us to get past the bottom of the hill and we had to cancel the booking. By 2016, there were not huge drifts; but there was enough cold to freeze Big Otter Creek and clear an ice rink just below the bridge.
Start the new year off with something really special.
HMCS Ojibwa is open 12:00 - 4:00 pm Saturday and Sunday, January 28th & 29th. We look forward to showing you around this awesome boat. HMCS OJIBWA planning to be open Saturday & Sunday Jan 28 & 29. We are in the process of confirming staff so check back later in the week to confirm.
Our hours will be noon till 4:00. Dress WARM as there is minimal heat on the boat. Think of it as your chance to experience what it was like in the winter in the North Atlantic!!! Seriously - Ojibwa is phenomenal at any time! As always, opening in the winter is subject to weather i.e.,- being snowed out rather than snowed in! You can bet your buttons that visitors to HMCS Ojibwa, as enthralled as they are, want to know how submariners could get out of the submarine in the event resurfacing was not an option - and neither were the doors that visitors use today! Such trepidation is not a matter of too many scary movies; it is a matter of too many lives sacrificed to the deep. Former submariner Paul Connolly, had a moment of fame in the midst of HMCS Ojibwa's role in the development of Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicles (DSRVs) to serve that purpose.
The Synchro Lift used to Access the Shed Have Trevor and Murray discovered a mysterious fossilized potato? Sorry to be a bit late with Flashback Friday - at this time of year things get pretty hectic. Looking through my images of Ojibwa things I came across this old favourite which has so much 'what are they thinking' potential. It was taken in March 2013, during the very early days of getting on Ojibwa to make her presentable and functional for opening day. Temperatures were frigid because the heating/cooling system was yet to come. Trevor (left) and Murray (right) are contemplating how to run the wires for the radio room. Neither are submariners, so you can imagine how daunting it would be to find space for something new amid the five and a half million parts on Ojibwa! You have to get creative! (for more about 'potatoes') Wiring can look like this! Can you imagine trying to follow one of those wires?
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