...

Canadian naval personnel prepare to ready the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan Sept. 2 in Halifax at the naval dockyards where Canadian navy and coast guard ships were being geared up and supplied with materials to take to New Orleans in a mission to bring aid to victims of hurricane Katrina. (SCOTT DUNLOP)

By MURAY BREWSTER The Canadian Press

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A Canadian relief convoy was blown slightly off course Saturday by hurricane Ophelia and will arrive along the previously storm-battered U.S. Gulf Coast one day later than anticipated.

It won't be until Monday that three warships laden with humanitarian supplies will be able to unload their cargo.

The fact that Canadian ships and aid were on the way came as a surprise to some rescuers and hurricane Katrina survivors, who remain huddled in Pensacola, Fla. hotels.

"Cool," said Merl Burns, 63, when told about the convoy.

"Really? That's fantastic. I wasn't aware of it."

A U.S. navy medic, reporting for duty aboard a hospital ship anchored in the harbour of this small coastal city, was equally startled.

"I had no idea," said the enlisted man who didn't want to give his name.

"It's much needed and appreciated."

Burns, who has spent almost two weeks in a hotel room with his ailing wife, said his community of Mandeville, La., north of New Orleans, was largely wiped out by the vicious storm.

American officials estimated damage from the hurricane, which has cost a vast number of lives, to be as high as $125 billion US.

"Everything is needed," said Burns, the owner of a private company which does third-party inspections of major buildings like water treatment plants.

He said the generosity of countries such as Canada is moving, but he's concerned an unco-ordinated relief effort could leave that goodwill scattered, or worse, unused.

"I certainly hope it doesn't go to waste," said Burns as he rubbed his unshaven chin, his dishevelled grey hair stuffed under a ball cap.

"Unfortunately when so many hands handle things, things go to waste. I see it all the time because I deal with government agencies."

The delay for HMCS Athabaskan, Toronto and Ville de Quebec may in fact give American authorities more time to focus the relief effort. It has been suggested the Canadians would use Pensacola as a base of operations and shuttle supplies to devastated regions, but that has not been confirmed.

The uncertainty over their mission and the fact that some American were oblivious to their impending arrival did not phase crew members on the Canadian flagship.

"The morale is very high," said Glenn MacIsaac, supply officer aboard HMCS Athabaskan in a ship-to-shore interview.

"Anytime you have an operation where you know you're actually going to go out and do some good, everyone is in a hurry to get there and help."

A fourth ship loaded with supplies, the Canadian coast guard icebreaker Sir William Alexander, is lagging even further behind the Canadian navy task force and might not arrive until Wednesday.

MacIsaac said hurricane Ophelia "made everybody feel a little uncomfortable for a few hours."

But he said the ships changed their course and sailed west, closer to the Florida coast to avoid the storm.

Even still, Ophelia pounded the ships with high winds, heavy rain and three-metre waves.

Navy spokeswoman Lieut. Marie-Claude Gagne said the convoy stayed within 50 kilometres of the Florida coast on Saturday and continued to head south.

They are expected to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, she said.

The Canadian warships were accompanied by the USNS Patuxent, an American refuelling ship.