Yellowknife members visit their city

HMCS Yellowknife crewmember, Leading Seaman Daniel Cramer (left) presents a decorative paddle to (left to right) mess committee presidents Major Jason Blake and Warrant Officer Daryll Wilts, Joint Task Force (North) Deputy Commander, Captain (Navy) Sylvain Belair, and Formation Chief Warrant Officer Sherri Forward during the ship’s namesake city visit on Sept 12. Photo by MCpl Charles A. Stephen, Imagery Technician

LS Daniel Cramer, HMCS Yellowknife ~

Lieutenant Commander Donald Thompson-Greiff, Commanding Officer HMCS Yellowknife, and a five-person contingent from Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Yellowknife have just returned from spending three days in the beautiful City of Yellowknife.

The ship’s Commanding Officer met with the Mayor Mark Heyck and Honourary Captain Candice Lys, while the rest of the team visited the diamond capital of North America to strengthen the bond between the City of Yellowknife and the ship that bears its name.

Sailors worked with the Yellowknife Women’s Society to construct a freestanding storage building to protect the Society’s assets during the coming winter months, in addition to presenting them with a donation on behalf of HMCS Yellowknife’s charity fund.

After their hard work, sailors were granted a tour of the Yellowknife RCMP Detachment before attending the Yellowknife Farmers Market. The market was opened by LCdr Thompson-Greiff, and sailors took the opportunity to share their experiences in the navy with the public while enjoying local cuisine.

The contingent visited Legion Branch 164, caught up with Honourary Captain Tony Whitford at Tim Hortons, and visited the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre before viewing the remarkable northern lights.

The team attended an all-ranks event at Joint Task Force (North) to loan a ship’s bell and present a ceremonial paddle to their brothers and sisters in arms.

From there, the contingent stopped by the 6th annual Community Showcase to represent the Royal Canadian Navy and afterwards caught up with the rest of the team at The Raven Pub at the invitation of the Joint Task Force (North) members they had met earlier that day, bringing a warm close to this rewarding visit to the chilly City of Yellowknife.