Chapter Seven
It was now 10 October, 1952. The sun appeared low in the south for only about seven hours daily, and the nights were about seventeen hours long, and increasingly cold. The temperature got down to about zero after midnight, and struggled to get up to fifteen degrees after noon.
Chunks of ice were piling up around the edge of the bay, and ice floes were forming on the bay’s surface. The navy salvage crew needed to hurry to get the tanker "Wacissa" off the big rock before the bay froze over. When the tide receded, water remaining in puddles on the floor of the bay promptly froze over.
Luke was still fascinated by the power and enormity of the tide. Constable Bulloch told him that the American and Canadian governments were studying possible methods of harnessing the largest tides in the world at the Bay of Fundy in an attempt to convert the huge tidal energy into electric power.
The constable asked Luke if he would like to take a short trip to see one of the most spectacular sights in the north. Luke jumped at the chance, so they started westward for about ten miles, and then stopped on the summit of a hill overlooking a narrow valley. After a few minutes, Luke asked what it was all about.
Bullock spoke to the guide in Eskimo and replied, "The ‘skimo says just keep looking to your right up the valley, and you will soon see what we mean."
Soon the land shook gently and a dull roar could be heard at the head of the valley. Then Luke could see several large animals with antlers approaching in the distance. Then they were followed by more and more of them! They were caribou, and there were hundreds and hundreds of them, on their yearly southward migration from northern Baffin Island!
They were brownish in color, and all had antlers, although of the females were smaller than the males. These were the fabled reindeer, known to so many children as the animals who pull Santa’s sleigh. They were heading south where it was a bit warmer, and the snow less deep, so they could more easily forage for lichens under the snow.
They were followed by Eskimo hunters. The constable said they were valuable to the natives because of their edible meat, and the hides were used for clothing, blankets, and tents. But the hunters killed only those necessary for their own survival.
Luke asked Bulloch if they would be able to see any musk-oxen. The constable replied that it would be most unlikely, since they live only in the most northern arctic regions, as on Ellesmere Island. They are smaller and shorter than the caribou, have large horns that curve under, and have long, shaggy hair coats, which hang clear down to the ground, but protect them from the intense arctic cold. They also emit an odor of musk, whence the name of musk-oxen.
Luke was simply fascinated by this little expedition, and found himself eager to learn all he could about northern Canada. They slowly returned to the base.
They found considerable excitement when they returned to the headquarters. In their absence, a MATS transport had flown in, bringing a skeleton crew assigned to the attempt to refloat the grounded tanker, "Wacissa".
The commander of the Navy salvage team had reported that the entire cargo of oil had been transferred to another tanker, despite the difficulties brought on by the huge incursions and excursions of the tide. The hull of the "Wacissa" had been inspected thoroughly, and was found to be intact, although scratched and a bit dented. The propeller and rudder also were not damaged.
And since haste was of the utmost essence, they had decided to refloat the tanker the following day at high tide, before the ice locked in for the winter.
And so at the appropriate time the next day, the navy tugboat put the crew aboard the tanker, and they rigged a stout line from the stern of the tug to the stern of the "Wacissa", and made ready for the attempt to haul the stranded ship off its rocky perch.
Most of the military personnel and many of the Eskimos were lining the edge of the bay, and eagerly watching the show, even though the tanker was about a mile away from them. And everyone was scrambling for field glasses in order to get a better view.
Just at high tide, the tugboat gave three toots on its whistle, and the tanker gave one long blast in return. They could see that the tanker was definitely sitting higher in the water since its cargo of oil had been removed. At that point the tanker’s captain ordered his engines into slow reverse, and the tug churned up a heavy wake as its engines struggled to move the tanker.
Then slowly, everyone cold see that the "Wacissa" was backing off the rock, until it finally floated freely in the bay! A tremendous shout went up from all spectators, and both ships celebrated with numerous blasts from their whistle and horn!
Then the tugboat pulled in its line from the tanker, which slowly steamed off towards the mouth of the bay. It was a moment of triumph for the Navy!
That evening a big celebration party was held in the Officers’ quarters. The beer flowed heavily. The MATS pilot, copilot, and navigator stayed over in order to fly the Navy salvage team and other personnel back to St. Johns. They were still imbibing heavily when Luke went to bed at midnight.
At 4:00 am, Luke was awakened by the copilot, Lt. JG Barnes, who said he needed help. The pilot, Lt. Able, was drunk, and still drinking, and they had orders to take off at 8:00 am. Would Luke please do something?
Luke replied, "Regulations are clear that a military pilot must wait at least eight hours after consuming alcoholic beverage before operating an aircraft. Let me talk to him."
They went to the bar and Luke tried to examine Lt. Able. He was unpleasant and uncooperative, and it took some persuasion to get him to walk a straight line, and he failed the test. He had blowtorch breath, was unable to subtract seven from one hundred, and could not light a cigarette.
Luke said, "Sir, you are unfit to fly, and will be unable to do so for at least eight hours after your last drink. And I shall not clear you for flight status until that time, and then only if you can pass a sobriety check! You are forgetting the safely of your passengers, crew, and the welfare of the aircraft!"
Lieutenant Able quickly became belligerent and bellowed, "No medical Army Lieutenant is going to order a senior grade Navy Lieutenant around!"
Luke answered quietly, "Sir, you know as well as I do, that military regulations allow a Medical Officer to ground any pilot who is intoxicated, even though he might be a four star Admiral!"
Lt. Able calmed down a bit, but continued grumbling. The timely appearance of Captain Nichols finally settled the situation, when he said, "Lt. Able, as deputy commander of Frobisher Bay Air Base, I have the ultimate authority to decide when any American aircraft takes off from this base. I hereby order you to comply with Dr. Martin’s orders, and you will not pilot your aircraft until explicitly cleared by him. If you still want to debate this order, I shall immediately radio St. Johns, and put you on report!"
Able grudgingly acquiesced, and stumbled off to bed drunkenly. The other Officers retired, and Captain Nichols asked Luke to call him if Lt. Able could not pass a sobriety check some eight hours later, which would be about noon.
Just after noon, copilot Barnes joined Luke, and they awakened pilot Able, who was snoring loudly. He was a changed man, and fortunately quite sober. He could walk a straight line perfectly, performed intricate motor functions well, and easily made out a flight plan for his coming trip.
And his attitude was so much better! He apologized for his drunken behaviour of eight hours before, and swore that he would never try to pilot his aircraft while under the influence.
Luke replied, "All right, sir. You are cleared for flight status at this time. But I must ask you if you have had a problem with excess alcohol consumption in the past?"
Able denied it, but his copilot. Lt. Barnes, who was standing behind him looked at Luke and rolled his eyes when he said it.
Luke continued, "Sir, I am going to take one further course of action that might help protect you and your passengers and crew in the future. I am reporting this incident unofficially to the Port Surgeon of the 373rd TMP. He is my medical commander, and will check this out through the Navy medical department. This will not go on your official Navy medical record, and will have no adverse impact on your Naval career, so long as you do not abuse alcohol in the future, and seek psychiatric help. If you do not comply, you will have to face the consequences."
Able thanked Luke for his concern, and departed.
Updated: August 2, 2002