HMCS Winnipeg will make a sombre return to Esquimalt today, after suffering the loss of a veteran crew member off the coast of California.
Master Sailor Duane Earle is believed to have fallen overboard accidentally early on December 14 while he was serving on HMCS Winnipeg.
A nearly two-day search for Earle was conducted by U.S. and Canadian rescue and navy crews, but they were unable to locate him.
Earle, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces with over a decade of service, was described by Commodore Angus Topshee, Commander Canadian Fleet Pacific, as “a sailor’s sailor.”
A post on the HMCS Winnipeg Facebook page said “words do not exist” to describe the tragedy.
“We have not hesitated once, throughout our deployment, to express our joys and struggles through what has been a unique, challenging, and rewarding deployment,” the post stated.
“Until now. We hesitate, because we cannot bear…to express the pain of losing a friend at sea…to express the heartache of coming home, when we are not whole…to express the sorrow in our hearts, for they are heavy.”
HMCS Winnipeg is scheduled to sail past Esquimalt Lagoon at approximately 3:00 p.m.
Members of the community who wish to watch the sail past are asked to respect COVID-19 guidelines, respect physical distancing and not to gather in large groups.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by Lieutenant (N) Andrew McGillivray and Chief Petty Officer First Class Jean Bouillon to support Master Sailor Earle’s family in the wake of his loss.
McGillivray and Bouillon say they served with Earle for two years aboard HMCS Vancouver. They are hoping to raise enough funds to support individual trusts for each of Earle’s three children.
“[Earle]was a valuable member of HMCS WINNIPEG, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Armed Forces and our great country,” McGillivray and Bouillon said on the GoFundMe page.
“Duane, you will be missed. Fair Winds and Following Seas.”
