news: halifax
06
metronews.ca TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011
‘Pure bliss’ to be home again
Maritime Libyans say thanks
HMCS Charlottetown returned home on Friday morning, six months from the day it left for NATO mission Charlottetown boarded five vessels and protected Libyan city of Misrata
Fathi Ghanai of the Maritime Libyan Association wanted to express his heartfelt thanks to the sailors on HMCS Charlottetown. “We thought we’d come here and show our support to our heroes, the Canadian troops. They were instrumental in bringing down the Gadhafi regime,” he said on Friday morning. “I’m happy they helped all the Libyans, and we won’t forget it.” He shook the hands of several sailors after they disembarked Charlottetown, and he also expressed his thanks to Defence Minister Peter MacKay. MacKay told reporters the Charlottetown is the first ship since the Korean conflict to have been fired on. Bullets then missiles were shot at the Charlottetown in two separate incidences in May, but the ship was not hit. “This speaks to the peril and the danger of these missions and the sacrifice and the courage these soldiers undertake,” MacKay said. JENNIFER TAPLIN
RYAN TAPLIN/METRO
JENNIFER TAPLIN
@METRONEWS.CA
Lt.-Cmdr. Matthew Coates has some diaper changes to catch up on. He met his son on the jetty at Halifax navy dockyard on Friday morning after the HMCS Charlottetown arrived home from a six-month mission to Libya. Now that they’re home, sailors and their families have set their minds to how they’re going to enjoy the last of the summer in Halifax. “We have no plans except for the long term. But I can answer this question: We’re going to drink Tim Hortons, barbecue, be with family and do what every other Canadian does on the Labour Day long weekend,” he said. “And apparently there are diapers to be changed. I’m not sure, I’m not an expert on that.” Coates was the first off the boat when it arrived at 10 a.m. He held his baby Nathaniel for the first time. Nathaniel was dressed in a onesie that read “Daddy’s little hero.” “It’s pure bliss I think. Overwhelming joy and re-
Leading Seaman Ryan Taylor holds his six-month-old daughter Ava after arriving home on HMCS Charlottetown Friday.
“Did you miss me, or what?” A SAILOR ABOARD THE HMCS CHARLOTTETOWN
lief,” said Coates, trying to explain his feelings reporters. Lindsay Spears said she was shaking with excitement as the ship came in,
but she managed to spot her boyfriend Rob Sinclair on the deck. “We’re going to go camping for a week in Cape Breton. Just have some downtime and hang out,” she said. Master Seaman Natasha Allen-Gatrell couldn’t believe how much her chil-
dren had grown while she was away. “It’s awesome to be home, and I couldn’t wait to see my family. And they missed me so much!” She said she plans to relax, get some sleep and much-needed family time in the coming weeks. “And I’m going to have a
big salad because we ran out of vegetables very quickly,” she said. For video of HMCS Charlottetown’s return to Halifax on Friday, visit metronews.ca/ halifax.
Changing places HMCS Vancouver took over from the Charlottetown last month.