A visit to HMCS Ojibwa

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Cost $99.00 per person

You will recall our August 2013 when Dean Lewis, Restoration Technician described Project Ojibwa and be pleased to know that we have arranged a day trip to see the restored submarine. Join Ron Brown on this thrilling tour to Ontario's latest tourist attraction, the HMCS Ojibwa, a genuine cold-war era submarine decommissioned from the Canadian Royal Navy, now on display at Port Burwell.  We'll make a morning coffee stop enroute, on own. Lunch is included at Bayhams Family Table in Vienna, with entrees of Beef or Fish. You'll have your choice of guided inside tour or outside tour of the Ojibwa, an Oberon-class sub, standing 5 stories high and 300 ft long. Hear stories of how the sub participated in many clandestine and dangerous missions during her 34 years in service. On the inside tour, you'll get an up close look at the torpedo room, where secrets of the fighting end of the boat will be revealed; the control room, the nerve centre of the boat; and see where 45 submariners got along in cramped quarters for 6 weeks at a time (without washing!). Note: Remember that Ojibwa was built for war.  Visitors must be able to climb some stairs and navigate through 36 inch watertight doors (no wheelchair or walker accessibility). High heels and sandals are not recommended. On the outside tour, you'll discover things that until recently were kept hidden from view. Knowledgeable guides will lead you on a discovery explaining why these Oberon Class subs were the best hunters of their time. Known for their stealth, but how did they go undetected by their larger, more sophisticated nuclear cousins? Hear about the kinds of missions they undertook, and their real role for NATO. Learn what is under that bulbous nose, how many kinds of sonar and why it was important. Visit the Port Burwell Lighthouse, Ontario's oldest, built in 1840.  Please sign up and pay at the June or July meeting as we need to guarantee a minimum of 35 people.