Had a chance to visit HMCS Harry deWolf yesterday. Arrived around 11am (the AllEvents website incorrectly said tours were from 10am-5pm but sign on site said public tours started at 11:30am). There were quite a few people there when we arrived, including a Navy League Corps. By the time we boarded (after about 1-/2hr wait) the line was probably triple in size, so a pretty good level of interest.
Visitors were boarded in groups of 20 and were toured around the Quarter Deck, the Flight Deck, Wardroom and Officer's Quarters, and the Bridge. Tours were led and stations represented by NCM's (Leading Seamen for the most part) and I thought they did a pretty good job answering questions from the visitors. Had a chat with one member about progress on Cyclone certification and another on how the NEP program is going.
The ship itself was certainly much more spacious and comfortable than from what I remember of my previous visit to a Halifax-Class. You certainly get a sense of how tall a ship it is when you're on the Bridge and Flight Deck but unfortunately it was docked alongside a row of trees so you couldn't really appreciate its size from the quay. My wife (who has zero military knowledge) enjoyed the tour and was quite interested in they things I told her about the ship and its role.
Unfortunately, while I think the crew did a good job with the tour itself, the CAF again missed an excellent opportunity to connect with the Canadian public. There was a captive audience waiting in line for a couple of hours who already obviously have at least a passing interest in the RCN. No booth from the CF Recruiting Centre. Nothing on the NEP Program. No CAF members moving up and down the line engaging with the visitors and telling them about the ship, the RCN and the CAF (other than a single PO from HMCS York at the front of the line releasing the groups). There could have been maps and pictures of the Arctic deployments giving visitors a sense of what the Canadian North is really like and what our role is up there, etc.
Overall it was great to get to see an AOPS in person and BZ to the crew for the tour but again the CAF doesn't seem to take the opportunity to help itself when given the chance to engage with the Canadian public.