I just signed the acceptance letter and I am now the Senior Supply Technician at Parry sound Coast Guard Base. SWMBO is overjoyed!

Cool ITDark!! I want a diver's knife, we had some huge ones in the Navy, but I never got my hands on one. Chrome plated, huge sort of Bowie knife looking things with a sheath too. Had some monster sized swim fins with cut-outs for the SAR guys, would have been great for body surfing. I did get a great pilot's jacket, the leather ones with the fur collar. Also had an Air Force jacket but someone pinched it from me. It had a Tom Cat patch and a sidewinder patch on it too. HHhhhmmmm what else do I want....I bet they got a lot of cool stuff.........lemmee think...

Good Stuff ITD. Now you have the annoyingly painful job of packing up a house and setting up the new one. That is certainly something I don't miss since leaving the Army.

Cheers, Vince

Vince wrote:

Good Stuff ITD. Now you have the annoyingly painful job of packing up a house and setting up the new one. That is certainly something I don't miss since leaving the Army. Cheers, Vince

The blessing is that the movers come in estimate the move and they pack everything up. Mind you there are things that I will pack but I and SWMBO will be taking LOTS of photos because my last PCS move was a disaster. Broke both mirrors off the left side of my motorcycle, scratched it to boot, scratched the dresser, footboard, headboard and large wardrobe and the attitude of the young guys carrying the stuff in was "Just claim it on insurance" F^7&ing idiots. Somehow my firearms all arrived safely and intact. My supervisor had his utility trailer's main hitch cut off and butcher welded back on. And they damaged his eastern wild turkey full mount with 7 beards. That cost the insurance company just under two grand by the time the taxidermist got the mount repaired and had a company repair the museum case it was in.

Suz, I will look around here because I know I have some of my old flight jackets kicking around a duffle bag and diver's knife . When/If I find it you are welcome to it. Something tells me that that stuff is still at my parents place. Boy, Dad will be happy its gone. LMAO

ITD have a shop around. having been in the furniture/house removal business with my last job I know there are cowboys out there but if you ask around you will get a good job done right. the really good guys will itemise every room and put it back in the same place in the new house. it costs abit more for the professionals but they are plurry good at there job. some training involves wrapping/packing a china set, throwing it down stairs and it being intact at the bottom!!!! I have worked with the pros and it is a real eye opener just how plurry good they are. alot of them are paid stuff all too so a cold beer or tea and scones goes along way to getting that extra bit of care.

Good advice Elvis with the morning tea and a brew being handy when needed mate.

Unfortunately, most Govt Dept put the removals out to contract, so basically, you get what you get which is usually the lowest bidder.

I remember my move from Sydney to Cairns...Tricia put the kids clothes etc out on a box and told each one of the removals guys not to touch them...they had to travel with us. That night we went looking for the kids shoes...one of the imbeciles had packed each left shoe. The Boss was not happy the next morning when I told him to go through the boxes until he found them. We also had a quantity of gear to go into storage in Sydney because it wouldn't fit in the house in Cairns. For some reason it ended up in storage in some depot in Cairns. We knew nothing about it until 5 years later we "called it forward" and they couldn't find it. After much searching they found where it had been taken...the rubbish dump, because they couldn't find the paperwork that identified it as ours. We lost some antiques and quite a bit of the girl's stuff. I tried for compensation but was told that they offer they gave me was more than the depreciated value of the items so shut up and accept it, or it would be reviewed!!!

On my move from Cairns to Brisbane, they did $2500 worth of damage to my campervan. The bloody idiot put it on the top deck of a car carrier, took the jockey wheel off, chained the draw bar down, then put a ratchet tie down strap across the top. Campervan has suspension doesn't it. It merrily bounced up and down on its suspension for 1800 km...caved tho top in completely. The contractor laughed at me when I said he is responsible for the damage...I had to use my own insurance. But that's ok...I didn't get real mad...but I got REAL even. Cost him at least 10 times what it cost my insurance company. I can't go into the details, but I was quite chuffed at the end...more importantly, he never found out who, how or why.

I found the best way to handle a move was to supervise...micro manage... the packing, but be jovial with it so that the guys don't get annoyed with you...and have that cuppa ready for them.

Cheers, Vince

My last government paid move was from Brockville Ontario to St. Johns Newfoundland in "78. Two "rural" ladies came in and packed everything except plants and flammables. It arrived with no damage except the sugar canister popped open and that box was a bit of a mess but nothing broken. Others were not so lucky. One fellow had his car scraped all along the side.

The advise to take pictures and check the list they make to ensure they don't add the "dented and scratched" description to everything.

I don't know how they did it Mac, but they managed to ding a chunk of about the size of a quarter out of the middle of the bottom of a picture frame for the master bedroom. It was a print that I had for about ten years or so and I got it for a good price. When I took it to a proper framing shop, I discovered that the frame was worth more than the print. The insurance company was HOWLING about the $600.00 for the wooden frame. I can really feel the pain with all of us that are in the service or gov't that has their possessions mistreated. Really I guess that after all these years of having no problems with moves that my number just came up. My digital camera is my best friend!

Bye the bye, another good buddie of mine was just in St Johns for the boarding course. He threw his back out and couldn't take the RHIBs and was sent home by the doctor. He got the MP5 course done though.

get a copy of thier master list of Items aswell and check it off along side them as it comes off the truck. I do hope it goes well for you, if I was abit closer I would be there in a flash to lend a hand.
keep us posted.

ITD:

Those RHIB's are murder if you have a bad back. I took the advanced training some years back but wouldn't get in one now. Part of the problem is the "jockeys" want the biggest engine the boat can handle. Our Fast Rescue Craft are pushing two 175's and I understand that the RCMP RHIB's have even bigger engines. Water at 45 knots is hard!!!

We had a 19ft hurston, open bow, with centre tank and a 175hp merc and I could get 63knots out of her on a calm wind. I sure used to surprize the hell out people with her. The only problem with that boat was it was never ment for choppy water as it had the worst seats in it that I have ever had the misfortune to sit (or try to sit) in. And you are so right when the mounties don't have the fastest boat on the lake they tend to need a diaper change. LMAO

63 knots out of a 19 ft boat....that is insane mate. I'm glad it was you and not me in the monster.

Cheers, Vince

Vince wrote:

63 knots out of a 19 ft boat....that is insane mate. I'm glad it was you and not me in the monster. Cheers, Vince

That boat would suck back almost the entire fuel tank going only 50 miles from the outflow of the Niagara River at Niagara on the Lake and Burlington. I used to take it up the Niagara River to the spillway of the hydro plants ( one on the US side and the other on the Canadian side) along side the Queenston Lewiston Bridge and when they were generating there was a standing wave of about 8-10 feet in the turbulance and I would power up to the wave and the guys on the boat would go into the bow and get their picture taken. The depth at the outfall was 200-300 feet, I can't remember but I had to be careful on reading the turbulance to get turned around to go downstream or you could flip very easily. It was a rush. It would not be a problem with one of the jet boat but with a prop you had to be careful. I was lucky enough to go on the swift water boat course in BC on the Frazer River and Harrison River and got very good at holding stationary in the changing current. We'd meet the Sheriff marine unit guys and Niagara Police and Homeland security guys on the water down below and tie off each other and have coffee. GOOD group of guys there and I had the only prop driven boat. The HS and sheriff department jet boats could move like hell! If you google map the Niagara River you can get an idea of the water.

Ive been nearly that quick in a 16ft pleasure craft powered by a 140hp out board. we sure got looks out on the lake but even more fun was had when the waves got up and the boaties all came in and then I go out in my wee 13 ft tinny with the huge (not even Al) 6hp merc and start playing in the waves. my tinny has a deep v hull so would take a long shaft motor the short shaft is just long enough. this is why it is so good in the waves.