Salty Dips Volume 12

The latest volume of Salty Dips series, Volume 12, (published in 2026) is available from our publisher Friesen Press in paperback (soft copy), hard cover and an e-book version. The paperback and hard copy versions may be available from other sellers such as Indigo and Amazon (when available), or from your local bookstore. An e-book version is available on the Friesen Press website using links provided to e-book providers such as Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play, and Nook.

Volume 12 “Who would have thought … I’d end up here”, is the twelfth volume in the Salty Dips series that began in 1983. It brings together stories told by serving or retired Royal Canadian Navy sailors and details the surprising twists and turns that as members of the Navy they could not have imagined when they signed up to serve, plus a short story of a naval spouse’s experience to round out the volume. What you can expect is twenty-one fascinating very personal portraits of a changing Canadian Navy and some startling insights into the talents and mindsets that have enabled Canadian men and women to perform extraordinarily under often difficult or dangerous conditions.

These “Dips” cover a period of immense social and institutional change from post-WWII downsizing and the Korean War through the controversial unification of the armed forces in the late 1960s, the campaign to bring women fully and fairly into the service in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, and the complex new challenges of the post-9/11 world.

We are grateful and honoured to include an interview with Vice-Admiral Nigel Brodeur, who passed recently, just prior to this volume being published. He was the third generation from the distinguished Brodeur family who had a significant impact on the Canadian Navy.

Two “Dips” feature women who rose to senior non-commissioned ranks. Maureen Draffin and Barb Corbett, provide very personal insights into the challenges they faced and opportunities they seized in achieving the senior rank they did in a very male dominated world.

Alex Csank and Jill Page’s “Dips” best reflect the introduction’s opening statement. Alex joined the navy for adventure and certainly found some in Cambodia, with UN service, post the rule of the Pol Pot regime. Was this the naval career adventure that Alex sought or envisaged when he joined? Did Jill Page ever imagine that, as a naval officer, she would be given the opportunity to spend a good deal of her career as a training development officer in a number of overseas missions?

Steve Bell’s involvement in Operation Apollo as a staff planner in Bahrain post 9/11, sounds like a classic “pier-head jump” in naval parlance. This “Dip” is from an interview for a Canadian Navy Heritage Team series. It provides a very personal account and provides the reader with an appreciation of how capable and professional our officers and sailors are.

Howie Smith’s story offers an insight into a humanitarian relief mission to the Pacific Island nation of Niue while he was serving as HMCS Kootenay ship’s navigator in 1977. While this type of mission does happen more often than naught, it is one operational tasking that may not be well known outside our navy. Two excerpts from Jennifer Savidge’s book Hostile Seas (2013) provide a unique insight into life at sea, especially with an unforeseen mission change, and challenges that this presents.

Three Salty Dips stories provide insights into life in the Navy and CAF from a non-commissioned member point of view. Ron Mark served in the RCN in the 1950s and saw active service during the Korean War as well as service at sea in the Pacific and Atlantic as well as in shore positions Halifax and Esquimalt. His very personal, story (and he pulls no punches) reflects the life of the average junior sailor in those days. Bill Mercer’s entertaining memories of his service as a naval reserve signalman (and a proud Newfoundlander!) provides an interesting insight into the opportunities he was able to seek out. Another Newfoundlander, Hal Pottle’s opening line ‘Sitting on a bollard at the age of six…’ certainly sets the tone for his adventures to join the navy. All to say his path to serving in his preferred service can best be described as challenging to say the least and perhaps a torturous one at times.

Richard Archer, editor and a prolific writer for the NOAC/NAC’s Ottawa branch member publication “Soundings” was asked to compile a summary of his service at sea, using 10 vignettes from “Soundings” magazine. Like the other contributors to this volume, Richard provides accounts of events that one doubts he could have imagined when he joined. Not to be outdone, Richard’s wife Marilyn pens a Dip about her experience as a spouse flying to meet Richard via service air.

Two naval air related “Dips” provide a glimpse in the challenges of operating Tracker aircraft. Bill Hood guides the reader through his experience gained flying from HMCS Bonaventure and operating the Tracker aircraft at shore bases; experiences that later served him well when faced with challenges flying commercial aircraft in inclement weather. The second story by Pat Barnhouse, is a somewhat amusing account of how a naval aircraft with folding wings can fit into a tight spot on the tarmac.

Who would have thought … probably best describes Tim Addison’s personal account of a Canadian naval squadron’s port visit to Vladivostok in June 1990. Looking back at that moment in history, those who participated in this visit had joined the Canadian Navy at the height of the Cold War and many would never have envisaged that such a visit could take place. Perhaps the saddest part of this story is the fact that the promise for peace and future good relations with Russia and the people Tim and his fellow shipmates met, now seems very distant.

Finally, a number of short “Dips” are included to round out this volume. These include the intrigue caused by the sighting of flying penguins, a science lesson in how the sun heats up seawater, the planning involved to enjoy a BBQ – NATO-style, an interesting twist on the soup selection in one ship for Stand Easy, one officer’s “awakening” in regard World Cup soccer, and how one determined sailor left the navy.