Issue of Yukon Sentinel
November/December 1971

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Wives, families and sweethearts welcome HMCS Yukon and her crew home after 10 weeks in Japanese and Hawaiian waters during early 1970.

This
is a
Cycle

by Lt. Barry Botsford

For sailors, a cycle doesn’t mean IO-speed cycling as it might for soldiers and airmen. It’s a significant period in the lives of a Canadian warship and those who sail in her.

Some years ago the manning stability problem in ships was resolved so a ship’s company could stay reasonably intact throughout a commission. Thus, a complex fighting ship could progress through elementary training, more advanced training and finally reach the
required operational peak unhampered by fluctuations of her people.

Cycles are timed to coincide with major refits. These were initially 16 months apart but now cover a 20-month period. And cycles provide our most important product - people - with the opportunity to plan ahead. Sailors now know how long their sea-going

billet will be and, particularly for the senior hands, what family plans to make for the shoreside duty period which usually follows.

HMCS Yukon, of the second Canadian destroyer squadron based on Es-quimalt, provides a good example of the system. She proved a good example to the rest of the fleet, for that matter.

Hers started I5 September 1969 as a new ship’s company joined. They came largely from shore posts but about 30 per cent of the more junior men had been carried over from the previous cycle.

A large part of the dockyard over-haul is done by a ship’s company. At the same time the crew takes training ashore, on shipboard systems in wea-pons, sonar, operations, to begin build-ing up the vital teamwork. And most


A fur hat received from the Yukon Territory is presented to Cdr C.H. P. Shaw by CPO J. Maybin on behalf of the ship’s company.		CPO H. Ross receives the L. W. Murray trophy from R-Adm RichardLeir. Lt W. N. Hodgkin and POs J. Corbett and R. Parsons look on.

people from the captain (Commander Colin Shaw in this case) to the newest “private” spent hours immersed in water, controlling simulated flooding in a mock-up ship filled with fire and smoke. They all had to know by reflex exactly what to do to minimize damage in event of a collision at sea, a ground-ing or a fire.

But a cycle’s progression is best interpreted by what a ship actually does in such a period. Here then are the major calendar events in the life of the Yukon once the four-month refit period was over at the Esquimalt dockyard.

15 Jan ‘70
-- A month’s sea trials of refitted and

newly installed fighting and other equipment begins.
16 Feb
-- With a sister, HMCS Mackenzie, work-ups (WUPs) begin to bring the Yukon crew up to full fighting efficiency in roughly four weeks. For part of WUPs, the Yukon joins US Navy exercise off southern California. During first shore bombardment practice, helpful chief engineer brings bow and arrow to bridge. Ship passes combat ready inspection, formally rated operational in Pacific maritime forces.
6 April
-- Marpacex begins with Mackenzie and another sister, the Qu’Appelle,

submarine Rainbow and operational support ship Provider. Exercise cur-tailed on Day 3 to avoid excessive heavy weather damage.
4 May
-- With the Mackenzie and Provider, deploy for two months to Far East. Japanese ports of call: Hako-date, Kobe, Osaka (for Canada Week ceremonies at Expo 70 highlighted by ship visit by Prime Minister Tru-deau, Premier Bennett) and Sasebo. Enroute home via Hawaii, exercise in mid-Pacific for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), controlling military aircraft of Japan, Australia, USA and Canada. After a week in Honolulu, return to Esquimalt 13 July.


AB J. P. M. Guerard, youngest aboard, changes places with Cdr Shaw in a traditional twist on Christmas day of 1969!		A Japanese youngster, visiting the ship during her deployment in Japanese waters in 1970, goes for a ride in a bosun’s chair-as the Yukon entertains.

detecting and tracking “enemy” submarines. Short visit to San Fran-cisco precedes return home 12 March.
5 April
-- Consort for HMCS Columbia WUPs. Also trials ship for radio reception device. Maritime Warfare School, Halifax, tasks Yukon, Columbia, Qu’Appelle, Rainbow and Provider (USN helicopters embark-ed) and USS Bridget for exercise flavored by Canadian gales.
25 April
- Dependents’ day cruise, 600 souls on board, ends the Yukon’s voyagings for this cycle.
3 May
- Ship begins phase one of next cycle. Meanwhile Petty Officers R. H. Ross and Gallo become goodwill ambassadors at Yukon Territory Sourdough Rendezvous. In turn, Miss Yukon visits ship and attends the ship’s company, end-of-cycle dance. It was a good cycle. Cdr Shaw’s crew members acquired professional recognition for themselves and their ship, which soon became known as a keen one. The Yukon’s weapons department
won the L. W. Murray trophy for gunnery,
competing with units of both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. They helped the second squadron win the inter-squadron trophy as well. In competion for the ASW proficiency shield, the Yukon was close runner-up. The ship also gained the highest score, 99 points, during one of her 53 refuellings from Provider at sea.
Without mishap, 135 jackstay transfers (the white knuckle line) were made with Canadian and American ships VIS a Japanese destroyer. The Yukon completed 26 vertical replenishments with USN helicopters and the ship was never outdone by other DDEs in boat-work. You judge a ship by her boats. During the cycle, she steamed a total of 51,290.3 miles in 206 days at sea and never missed an operational commitment.
The Yukon truly felt she had lived to the ship’s motto, “Only the Fit will survive.” When Rear-Admiral Richard Leir, commander maritime forces Pacific, made an informal, end-of-cycle visit, he told the ship’s company: “You have had a very good cycle.”

MAN OF CYCLE
Petty Officer Robert Waters is named as HMCS Yukon’s “Man of the Cycle” and gets a free trip anywhere in the world on CP air routes. Mr. Jim Mutch of Canadian Pacific Airlines initiated the idea. He has long standing ties with the west coast destroyer and so wanted to do something special for her ship’s company before the ship left for Hali-fax in the fall. He proposed to Commander C. H. Shaw, commanding officer of the Yukon, that CP Air award a trip to anywhere in the world on its routes to the Man of the
Cycle. The award itself and the man to
receive it were closely guarded secrets on board. As the crew stood on the quarterdeck, Cdr Shaw said how difficult it had been choosing an all-round man from many outstanding men in the crew.

“Doc” Waters was born and raised in Nelson, B.C. He joined the RCN at Vancouver in 1954. He has served in ships and ashore as a medical assistant as well as in a naval air squadron. He came to the Yukon two years ago. He married a Victoria girl, the former Lois McHaffie-Cow in July 1962. They have two small children, Raymond and Michele. While in the Yukon he has contributed to shipboard life and the morale of all hands. He has partici-pated in ship’s athletic teams and has organized and managed other ship activities, one of the more recent being a highly successful ship’s dance. At time of writing Robert hasn’t decided where on the CP Air route to fly. He planned to take his wife at his own expense for the once-in-a- lifetime opportunity.

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PO Robert Waters receives his award from Mr. Jim Mutch as the cycle cuncludes..

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This is a Cycle

This
is a
Cycle