Salty Dips Volume 11

The latest volume in the Salty Dips series, Volume 11 is now available from Friesen Press in hard or soft copy as well as other major book sellers such as Amazon. E-book versions are also available from/for Amazon Kindle, Apple books, Barnes & Noble, Nook and Rakuten/Indigo Kobo eBook networks.  (the Friesen Press site has links to e-book sellers).

Volume 11 “Some things pass. Some things change. Some just stay the same.”  is mainly focused on the social change in the Canadian Navy/RCN that has taken place between the early 1950’s until 2001.

This volume includes the stories and interviews from 2 women officers, Louise Fish and Diana Dewar, who were among the first women to go to sea in the Navy, reminisces from Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Tim Porter on his life journey from sea cadet to admiral and then his role in the creation of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Education Foundation when he retired from the RCN, and Dr. Alec Douglas’ early career in the RCN and his role in the NDHQ Directorate for History where he lay the foundation for the writing of the official history of the RCN (a task that continues to this day).  Pat Barnhouse and Jerry Wynnyk provide an informative glimpse of life as an officer and sailor in the days prior to the Integration of the Canadian Forces in 1968.  Louise Mercier provides an insight into the first female UNTD class post the Second World War to earn bridge watchkeeping certificates.

Rounding out this volume are Ian McKee’s insight into the life of an aide-de-camp for the Governor General in the 1950s, Rod Hutcheson’s recollections of his travels and life in the American Southern States while under training in the early 1950s, while Barry Walker provides the background story for the  introduction of the modern shore based command and control capability in the 1980s. Keith Nesbit’s diary of a submarine operating as an “enemy force” in exercises during the Cold War is contrasted with Margaret Morris’ story of how HMCS Cabot, a “Stone Frigate” responded to the 9/11 crisis in 2001. Finally, as usual, there are a number of smaller but equally entertaining short stories – some rather humorous – to complete this volume. We think you will find this a most worthy read!