From Prairie life to chasing pirates

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This article was published 24/04/2009 (6228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Able seaman Geoffrey Ashcroft grew up a Prairie boy in Oakbank, but he’s now one of about 20 once-landlocked Manitobans on the open seas of the Gulf of Aden, aboard HMCS Winnipeg.

Ashcroft, 24, joined Canada’s naval reserve five years ago after graduating high school, but a transfer to the regular Forces last year helped him land a role on Winnipeg’s namesake warship, currently involved in counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia.

Ashcroft works as a marine engineering mechanic on HMCS Winnipeg, making the rounds and inspecting propulsion and auxiliary equipment. That ranges from power generators to the machinery that converts salt water to freshwater, important for a ship already on the water for close to 40 days.

"It’s very much a city at sea, running all by ourselves," he said.

If they’re not making the rounds, Ashcroft and other members of his team have to be ready to respond in case the ship takes a direct hit.

Ashcroft said it’s tough to be away from his new fiancée, Rebecca. The pair had just three days together after Ashcroft proposed before he left their home in British Columbia on board HMCS Winnipeg. But other than homesickness, "I’m having a blast out here," he said.

Ashcroft said the ocean fascinated him even as a child, and sparked his love of naval history. His family still lives in Oakbank and Ashcroft said they support his work in the Gulf.

The city’s namesake ship has about a dozen Winnipeggers among the 240 people on board.

HMCS Winnipeg is part of a NATO fleet including ships from Spain, Portugal and the United States, all working to deter pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden.

Just days ago, the Winnipeg took part in a seven-hour pursuit of a pirate skiff trying to flee to the Somali coast.

The Winnipeg’s captain, Cmdr. Craig Baines, said the ship was in the midst of escorting a World Food Programme vessel Saturday when a skiff with seven pirates on board tried to attack a nearby Norwegian tanker. A British naval ship chased them south, but "what the pirates didn’t realize is that they were on a direct intercept course with the Winnipeg," said Baines.

HMCS Winnipeg’s helicopter and another naval helicopter fired warning shots at the pirate skiff, while an American military vessel took over escorting the World Food Programme ship.

The pirates ignored the shots, said Baines, but the Winnipeg got within 500 yards of the pirate skiff undetected and fired more warning shots, forcing them to give up. He said people on the skiff threw most weapons overboard, but a boarding team from HMCS Winnipeg seized a rifle grenade and other items before releasing the pirates.

"Canada doesn’t normally take detainees," he said. "The government of Canada has given us a mission to deter and disrupt piracy."

HMCS Winnipeg will leave the Gulf of Aden near the end of the month, bound for training in Australia and eventually back to Esquimalt, B.C. The trip will last a total of six months.

The Winnipeg has had three reported run-ins with pirates since arriving in the Gulf, but Baines said they have also escorted eight ships safely through the international trade route, and supported another dozen travelling nearby.

"Even though we’re half a world away here, we’re directly supporting Canada’s interests," he said. "So much of the world’s goods travel through here and end up in Canada and in North America."

lindsey.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca