I recently tweeted this map of the Tantalon fire burn scar, and offered up a post on how its made, if there was interest. There was, so here we go.
Sentinel-2 is an earth observation satellite (there are actually 2 in orbit) operated by the ESA. It offers 10m resolution (meaning each pixel is 10m on the ground), and passes over any given location every 5 days. 10m resolution is not super clear, but it is useful for looking at changes to the earth – like deforestation, Infilling of waterways, or tracking large fires.
The June 12th pass was the first over the Tantalon area with clear skies. From the Sentinel Hub site, you can download imagery that is georeferenced. (Free Trial Account required)
(Above) Satellite Photo from Sentinel Hub.
Once we have the photo, we can add other data to it in QGIS. I’m not going to go into adding and styling layers in QGIS, But you can see the layers getting added in the video below. (For more GIS How to, see How to produce a Nautical Chart and making the map)
These are the Open Data data sets I used, clicking the link takes you to the download.
Also – New Version, draped over the HRM 1m DEM, transformed into a Multi direction Hillshade with a 2x vertical exaggeration, giving a good sense of the Terrain.
In October 2021, i spent a week on Sable Island. As part of that trip, I had the opportunity to drive around the Island. i clamped a camera to the jeeps sun visor. this video tour is the result.
It is lightly Narrated, and includes photos of parts of the island not visible from the beach.
The first arrival of 2023 was the Fednav Bulker Federal Dee, Which arrived at 0436 on January 2nd, and took to the Anchorage in the inner harbour. AlgoScotia sailed just after 9pm on January 1st, for the sole movement into or out of the harbour on the first day of the year. (Plus the Pilot Boat)
CCGS Hudson returned to Halifax for the final time, after the decision was taken to retire her following a fire in a generator. As a result, several research vessels paid visits, including NOAA’s Atlantis and RRS James Cook.
CCGS Kolpit Hopson 1752 was moved to Halifax due to the sale of Shelburne ship repair to Mersey sefoods. Kolpit Hopson 1752 was turned back over to the Coast Guard in December.
Notable Traffic
CSL Nukumi made her first call in Canada on her delivery trip. The Norwegian Ferry SVANØY was chartered for use in Quebec. IT Infinity was added to IT Telecom’s fleet Tuffs cove took two tankers, one in January, and one in December
Oceanex Sanderling went for a work period in Europe, which saw Other Oceanex ships cover the route on rotation
The Lunching Barge was towed out earlier this morning, and has now begun its slow submersion. Atlantic Willow, and Divers from RMI are on scene
William Hall Floated Free just after 3pm, and was alongside at the shipyard by 4pm. Teh Boa Barge 37 remained in the basin, where it will be refloated, and returned to Halifax Shipyard tomorrow.
word has been floating around of something big and interesting appearing in the harbour this month. I suspected it might be the USS Gerald R. Ford – The US Navy’s newest carrier on her maiden deployment.
The ship had been exercising with nato partners, including HMCS Fredericton. Seawaves have listed a Port visit by a German frigate FGS Hessen, which was also exercising with the Carrier group in October, and also reported a 2022 visit by the Ford to Halifax, with no date.
NSBuzz is now reporting the ship is due on Friday.
4 AIS targets “Patrol Craft 1 (ca)”, “Patrol Craft 2 (ca)”, “Patrol Craft 3 (ca)”, and “Patrol Craft 4 (ca)” have been working in the Anchorage 1 area today. The CA designation likely identifies them as RCN to foreign naval vessels.
UPDATE: two C-2 Aircraft arrived in YHZ this afternoon from Virginia. the aircraft are carrier capable, and likely will be bringing dignitaries to the ship, based on activities before the Eisenhowers arrival.
C2 Departing YHZ in Aug 2022
UPDATE: USS Gerald R Ford Pilot order is for 0800 tomorrow. Also Arriving are: USS NORMANDY 10am HNLMS DE ZEVEN PROVINCIEN 10:30 FGS HESSEN 11:00 USS RAMAGE 11:30 HNLMS VAN AMSTEL 12:00 HDMS PETER WILLEMOES 12:30 ALVARO DE BAZAN 13:00 Note all times are for the Pilot Station. they should appear in the inner harbour 30-45 minutes later.
The removal of the Hydra Mariner from Navy Island is progressing. So far it looks like debris and pollutants have been removed from the vessel, but the actual disasembly has yet to begin.
ed note: this article was written in 2010 by Mario Vittone, USCG Rescue Swimmer #368 it has been released into the public domain, and has been reprinted into numerous publications. I tweet it regularly, because its important.
The new captain jumped from the deck, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the couple swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”
Think this story doesn’t happen? Check out this rescue in Hawaii. A girl is in trouble surrounded by people, and no one notices shes in trouble.
How did this captain know – from fifty feet away – what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew know what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.
The Instinctive Drowning Response – so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the number two cause of accidental death in children, age 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents) – of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning – Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006 (page 14), described the instinctive drowning response like this:
Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.
Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.
This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble – they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the instinctive drowning response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long – but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.
Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:
Head low in the water, mouth at water level
Head tilted back with mouth open
Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
Eyes closed
Hair over forehead or eyes
Not using legs – Vertical
Hyperventilating or gasping
Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Trying to roll over on the back
Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder.
So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK – don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you alright?” If they can answer at all – they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents – children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.
Pool Drains can be Dangerous. Do you have a backyard pool or spa? Before you or your family jumps into the pool this summer, check the drain. The very quick and valuable lesson on what to look for (and why) is brought to you by the ZAC Foundation. To learn more about how to help keep your family, friends and community safe, visit www.thezacfoundation.com and www.abbeyshope.org.
Back in July 2008, before this blog was a thing, the Tug Jerry Newbery towed the retired sub HMCS Onadonga to Rimouski Quebec where it would become a museum piece at the Pointe -aux Pere Sit Historique maritime. That site includes the Point aux Pere light station, and the Empress of Ireland museum.
The first attempt to get under way didnt even make the Macdonald bridge before the tow line parted, and the pair gingerly made its way back to the Dockyard Jetty NL in Dartmouth. The tow was successfully got under way a few days later.
Saturday, I went to see her.
Onadonga served for 22 June 1967 to 28 July 2000, at which point she was laid up at the Dockyard Annex in Dartmouth, the last of the Oberons to be retired.
When Visiting, you enter at the stern and work your way forward. Though the sub consisted of 2 decks, only the main deck is available to tour. (Above) the 2 16 cylinder diesel engines that power the generators. (Below) the steering position in the Ops room.
(Above) 3 bunks. the hallway is cozy enough that children have trouble passing each other. Note the top bunk, which has a wall at 45 degrees, and a valve sticking out. (Below) the forward torpedo room feels huge by comparison.
