NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2007
● The gathering storm... RFA Wave Ruler and HMS Portland alongside
in Bridgetown, Barbados and (below) storing the ship for disaster relief
work
Aye of the stormye of t
F
OR more than a
busy for most of the fi rst full day
week, Hurricane Dean
After days of hanging on to the coat-tails of
on the ground, with a variety of ch
threatened.
Hurricane Dean, the men and women o f minor injuries and feverish children re
It grew stronger by the day
RFA Wave Ruler and HMS
making up the bulk of the work. ha
as it swirled and spiralled across Portland were called upon to
Many residents of surrounding ro
villages were isolated due to fallen ho
the Atlantic south of the Cape
clear up in its wake after it
trees and electricity pylons blocking
Verde Islands, inexorably heading
westwards. Destination: Caribbean.
bludgeoned its way through the roads. w
And as the weather forecasters
the Central American
CPO(UW) ‘Arty’ Shaw headed co
plotted Dean’s course, so the signals country of Belize. Lt Cdr
a team of three (very) recently da
were flashed to Her Majesty’s Ship
Harry Palmer, Portland’s
qualifi ed chainsaw operators who pl
Portland and her partner in crime-
managed to clear the roads, aided
Weapon Engineer Offi cer, and
fighting, RFA Wave Ruler: prepare
by the Army’s heavy-lifting kit. vi
for disaster relief.
3/O Jamie Smith, Wave Ruler’s
It proved to be a tough job da
The duo had spent the summer Deputy Logistic Supply Offi cer, report on the duo’s
– especially for such a small team.
prowling the Caribbean for drug-
deeds.
But within a few hours, all the on
traffickers.
major roads in the district were te
Such police actions were put
open once more. ne
to one side as the duo followed Ruler made haste for the coast of The sailors and Royal Marines
Meanwhile, a team of four drivers
Hurricane Dean’s path, steaming in the Commonwealth country, a team quickly set up their headquarters
were also dispatched to BATSUB on
its wake, constantly changing their from the British Army Training and in the village primary school,
headquarters to pick up three Land ra
plans as Dean changed its course. Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) complete with sleeping quarters,
Rovers and a four-ton truck laden sp
Initially, the duo were prepared headed into the area struck by the an operations centre and sickbay,
with roofi ng material. sh
to offer help in Montserrat... but hurricane. while engineers set up lighting and
The two-hour journey turned to
the storm passed the island. The BATSUB soldiers were sanitation using the disaster relief
into a four-hour adventure on of
Dean then grew in intensity, the fi rst to arrive on the scene equipment carried by the ships.
some rough roads (to say the al
reaching a Category Four storm in the village of Xaibe, home to While the HQ was established, a
least). Portland’s clubz LPT Dai yo
(with gusts of up to 150mph) as it around 200 souls, followed shortly small team drove around the region
Jones was overheard rather acidly
swirled for the Cayman Islands... afterwards by a recce party fl own in to assess the damage.
commenting: “I think this where we to
but again the hurricane passed by, by the two ships. Amazingly, despite Dean’s
send Land Rovers to die – these are th
causing relatively minor damage. Among that first batch was ferocity, there were no casualties
defi nitely on their last legs.” M
Dean was not done, however. LLOGS(CS(D)) – aka leading as a direct result of the hurricane
The two Lynxes of 815 NAS
As it continued westwards, it steward – Scotty Jackson. He in the entire Corozal district – but
attached to the ships were in w
picked up yet more force, crashing arrived in Belize “not knowing what many dwellings were damaged
constant demand, ferrying supplies gr
into the Yucatan peninsula – and to expect from a village which had so the most urgent need was for
and people from ship to shore
into northern Belize – as a Category suffered severe devastation.” emergency shelter.
(each flight took 40 minutes). fa
Five storm (gusts in excess of He had been due to fly home to HMS Portland’s medical offi cer, Outwardly Wave Ruler might re
156mph). the UK on leave, but opted to stay Surg Lt Carolyn Gibbens, was appear to be a tanker, but she also
Dean’s landfall in Belize with Portland and help with the immediately inundated with locals carries scores of stores – 145 line m
prompted a plea for assistance from rescue mission. requiring assistance – the hurricane items in the emergency relief store an
the Foreign and Commonwealth “Being the first to arrive on the had prevented their usual weekly for a start, from chainsaws and ho
Offi ce. ground, we had to take the task by visit by a local doctor. wheelbarrows to tents, blankets
And while Portland and Wave the scruff of the neck,” he added. The makeshift clinic was kept and jump leads. sh
● A tug prepares to help HMS Portland into Bridgetown in Barbados and (left)
a pause for refl ection for LS Karimlar as Portland comes alongside
022-023_NN_Oct.indd 1 19/9/07 18:01:19
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