Vimy_gunner
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Halifax Tar said:Occam - Seriously, hes probably a kid that is looking to join the Navy, lord know we need them so why not reach out and give less sarcastic answers. Here watch:
"Also curious what it's like when you arrive at a port in say Somalia. Are you granted leave away from the ship to play tourist for any of your time while on deployment? If so, how does that work? "
Generally from my 9 years at sea I have found the average port visit to be about 3-4 days in length. As well generally during that 3-4 days you will have 1 day in which you are part of the "foreign Port Duty Watch". So for that 24 hour period you are required to stay aboard the ship and the preform the duties laid down to you by the Cox'n or Duty Cox'n. For the days you are not required to be on duty you may generally come and go from the ship as you please, making sure you peg out (We have a peg board that denotes if one is on board or ashore) and that you are on board again but the stated time, usually 6-7am.
Having said this, on my last ship (HMCS Toronto 06-09) we were able to stay over night in a hotel or some other residence as long as you contacted the ship and/or filled out a form that would enable the ship to contact you should the need arise.
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"If you're in the middle of the Baltic sea and it's freezing outside, are the ships living quarters kept warm for the crew or are you sleeping in your parka?"
Yes the mess decks are heated and air conditioned of course depending on the climate you happen to be in at that moment. From my personal experience I found that an extra blanket was always good to have as living with 21 people all with different temperature likes can lead to allot of up and down temps.
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"Are all ships equipped with basketball courts or just the big ones that are on the recruiting video, lol."
Well I have sailed on HMC Ships Preserver (x2) St Johns (x2) Ville De Quebec and Toronto. None of those ships has a basket ball court on board, which leaves me to be quite certain that none of our ships come equipped with a basket ball court. I do seem to remember Preserver having one of those move able basketball nets secured in the hanger some where though, I could be wrong too though.
As for other PT equipment all ships (HFX, 280 and Pre class) have some sort of gear spread out through the ship in most cases.
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Hope this helps. I cannot speak on the watch system or the Bos'n trade, as I am a Naval Storesman, but I will say Bos'n looks like a fun job from the outside and that the Navy is a great life and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
Thank-you for taking the time to answer my post thoughtfully Sir. It's nice to know that some members of the forces are keeping to the ideal behind what the CAF calls a family atmosphere. You probably answered my questions in the same time frame it took Mr. Occam to come up with his sarcastic remarks. If you need to make insulting comments to someone else to enjoy your life, then there's something wrong.
Again, thank-you for your answers and stay safe out there.