If you happen to find yourself at HMCS Quadra or 19 Wing/CFB Comox, you might also find yourself taking a walk down this pier – for the Air Force types it can be a bit of an intimidating walk as the tower at the end is a little part of the infamous Sea Survival School.
For navy types, it’s a bit more pleasant as it’s also where you’ll find the small sail boats and zodiacs that are used to teach Navy Cadets to sail – I said a bit more pleasant as you’ll also find some whalers, which are also used to teach sailing and how to pull a boat around with pars, aka struggle sticks.
The mixture of Air Force and Navy can also be found in two yellow boats…
After the closure of a successful wartime section, the RCAF Marine Section at RCAF Station Comox was again re-established in 1952, when the station re-opened to support flying operations of 407 and 409 Squadrons. Three 40-foot crash boats were manned by RCAF motorboat crewman and were used for a wide variety of range patrol, target towing and rescue work.
In the mid-eighties, while RCAF Marine Section personnel had long since retired, the RCAF boats were replaced by modern 53 foot fibreglass boats and although now manned exclusively by naval crews, the traditions of a dedicated and professional RCAF Marine Section remain.
Even the names of some the crash boats have survived as the current crash boats in 19 Wing Comox Marine Section are named as Black Duck and Albatross.
CFAV Albatross (YAG 660) and CFAV Blackduck (YAG 661)