4 NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2007
Pennies from
Ice cream Sunday
Flare from
Severn for
Pursuer
Newport
SAILORS from the Cyprus
squadron rescued local fi shermen
when their boat was in danger of
FISHERY protection ship HMS
foundering near Akrotiri.
Severn broke off from her usual
HMS Pursuer – which with
duties to spend fi ve days in her
sister HMS Dasher comprises the
affi liated city.
squadron – came to the aid as
The ship is bonded with the
darkness shrouded nearby Cape
Welsh port of Newport and
Zevgari, where fishing vessel
despite her relatively short
Seafi ghter3 was in danger of
career, events involving cityfolk
sinking.
and the ship’s company are
Pursuer’s duty Commanding
already annual affairs.
Offi cer Lt Matt Marriott said
And that includes the opener
it was a tricky rescue for the
of this visit... the junior rates’
P2000’s crew, who worked with a
social – a party “very well
passing vessel, Explorer, to locate
received”, so we’re told, by
the struggling Seafi ghter3.
locals.
Parachute fl ares raced into the
The down side of said social
night sky to illuminate the sea
was the impact it had on the
and once Pursuer had located the
ship’s football team, who
fi shing vessel, she sent a boarding
trotted out for their annual
team led by CPO John Rowley
fixture against the civic council
across in a RIB.
team somewhat the worse for
“There was a diffi cult and
wear – and promptly lost 11-1.
chaotic surf which was creating
problems as it broke on to the
Several sailors plus CO Lt
rocks around the Seafi ghter3,”
Cdr Graham Lovatt headed
said Lt Marriot.
to TS Resolute, the city’s Sea
The senior rating was
Cadet unit, to watch a first-
nevertheless able to board the
class display of drill and PT
fishing boat and judge that it
– particularly impressive as
could be saved.
the unit has suffered a spate
He attached a tow line from
of burglaries and attacks by
the RIB and began to drag
vandals (as reported in these
Seafighter3 off the rocks, before
pages) in recent months.
Pursuer took over and towed the
To help the cadets get back
craft to Akrotiri Mole, where the
on their feet, Lt Cdr Lovatt
rescued crew received medical
● HMS Cornwall passes Drake’s Island at the end of her Gulf deployment Picture: LA(Phot) Shaun Barlow, FRPU West
handed over £560, raised by
check-ups.
sponsoring the ship’s deputy
“This was a challenging,
marine engineer officer WO
AH, SUNDAY mornings.
of Cornwall’s RN/RM The ‘ice cream frigate’ craft bobbing around the northern
diffi cult operation in dark, under
Dave Mantel for completing the
A leisurely perusal of the paper
boarding party by Iranian (her pennant number is Gulf, Cornwall’s boarding parties
potentially dangerous conditions,”
London Marathon.
and its countless supplements.
Revolutionary Guards in F99) spent most her time inspected at least one – that meant
said Lt Marriott. “I am proud of
Severn arrived in Newport
A stroll with the dog on the
March and the subsequent in a two-mile radius of the 327 boardings in all.
my ship’s company’s response.”
on the eve of the city’s civic
common.
media meltdown. two Iraqi oil terminals “I am proud of the way all my
weekend festivities, and helped
A moment for reflection in a
Away from which fi ll waiting people conducted themselves
open the event by hosting a
house of worship.
the “media tankers with black and delighted with the manner in
A hearty welcome for the men
glare”, however, gold. which they tackled this busy and Sabre-rattling
reception aboard.
and women of the Fleet after
Commanding Offi cer During F99’s challenging deployment,” Cdr
That was followed by the
216 days and 29,000 miles from
Cdr Jeremy Woods spell in the northern Woods added.
first chance for the sailors
home.
said his ship and her Gulf more than 200 “Every single member of our by Bulwark
to exercise their freedom of
Okay, so the latter image does men and women had million barrels of close-knit team has turned their
the city awarded last year,
not normally leap into your head, achieved “a great deal crude oil (worth more hands to a multitude of tasks, and
ASSAULT ship HMS Bulwark is
marching to St Woolos
but on a glorious late summer indeed”. than £5bn) were safely they have completed them most
part-way through seven weeks
Cathedral.
Sunday morning HMS Cornwall The Type 22 frigate exported via the terminals. professionally and in a timely
of operational training – the fi nal
The visit also allowed the
arrived safely back in Devonport served as the fl agship of Cdre Cornwall worked with 26 manner.
tick in the box at the end of an
ship to adopt the mayor’s
after an eventful trip to the Gulf. Nick Lambert and his RN team different ships from Allied nations “We’ve received numerous
overhaul.
charity for its next 12 months
To the outside world the currently heading Task Force 158 during her Gulf tour of duty. messages of support from families,
Seven weeks of intensive
of fundraising: Just One
deployment will mostly be which enforces security in and For every six dhows, tugs, friends and our many affi liates
training and exercises began
Child, which helps abandoned
remembered for the capture around Iraqi waters. tankers, fi shing vessels or other – and for this I thank them all.”
in the waters of Devon and
children in South Africa Cornwall last month, overseen
suffering from HIV and AIDS. by the experts from the Flag
Officer Sea Training.
marina Fishery protection round-up,
page 13
While much of the training
for the Devonport-based
Santos’ big
Tributes from the Ayr force
warship is generic to the Fleet
– fire-fighting and damage-
control exercises, fending off
helpers
air attacks and the like – the
final two weeks of the work-
up are tailored specifically to
THE Saints left the chilly waters
the needs and challenges of
of the Falklands behind for eight
amphibious warfare.
days in the Brazilian port and
The training culminates with
resort of Santos, a short distance
a fortnight of amphibious raids
from its largest city of Sao Paolo.
and assaults upon the Devon
The spell in Santos allowed
coast – Exercise South West
engineers to carry out some
Sabre – undertaken by Bulwark
maintenance on the destroyer,
and the 200 Royal Marines of
four months into her South
42 Commando from Bickleigh
Atlantic deployment.
who will embark in the assault
And while their ship was
ship.
receiving a ‘service’, her sailors
mingled with the Santos
community.
Cumberland
Footballers challenged local
armed forces sides to matches,
while the more adventurous
is fi t 4C
donned scuba gear for a spot of
diving.
COMING to the end of an
The most moving – and
extensive overhaul in her native
enjoyable – aspect of the visit,
Devonport, Type 22 frigate HMS
however, was the chance to host
Cumberland has been crammed
20 youngsters with special needs
with IT wizardry.
from the Lar Mae Do Divino
Computer experts have vastly
Amor hostel.
enhanced the existing network
The children were given a tour
of NavyStar – the standard
of Southampton before the big-
intranet system in the Fleet
hearted sailors threw a party for
– in Cumberland, doubling
their guests on the flight deck.
the number of places it can be
There was another spell of
accessed aboard.
maintenance once the destroyer
NavyStar – the latest variant is
returned to East Cove, her home
version 4C – grants sailors access
from home while based around
to e-mail and a vast information
the Falklands.
database.
And that permitted yet more The Information-Technology
off-ship activities for her sailors. work aboard Cumberland has
Two groups spent a week with TWO RN vessels were on hand to help The decision cost 130 Russian sailors off the Ayrshire village of Lendalfoot, finally also seen a new ‘secret’ network
the adventurous training centre Russian sailors commemorate one of their their lives, but still the Japanese did not disappearing beneath the waters five years installed – but to power the
in Stanley, kayaking, fishing, navy’s greatest ships. sink the cruiser; it was left to her crew to later. improved NavyStar and ‘secret’
mountain biking and clay pigeon The cruiser Varyag foundered off the scuttle her. The Russians unveiled a memorial to the network, engineers have also had
shooting. Their shipmates were Ayrshire coast near Girvan in 1920 as she The Japanese subsequently raised her, ship 12 months ago, and this year sent their to enhance the frigate’s existing
also active; many used the spell made her way to a breaker’s yard. put her back into service and eventually anti-submarine destroyer RFS Severomorsk 115-volt power supply system to
alongside to pass the RN fitness That brought an end to a remarkable handed the Varyag back to the Russians. to the Clyde to pay its respects. cope with the extra demand.
test. career – but not the legend of the Varyag. The cruiser was sent to Britain for a HMS Lancaster shepherded the Russian Cumberland is due to emerge
Maintenance complete, The ship sailed into immortality during the refit before she could be pressed into warship, part of her Northern Fleet, in UK from refit later this autumn.
Southampton resumed her duties, Russo-Japanese war. service by the Tsar’s navy – but revolution waters, while minehunter HMS Bangor – Other work carried out on
joining tanker RFA Gold Rover Ordered to surrender when vastly superior subsequently consumed Russia and the which was present at ceremonies last year the frigate includes improved
and islands’ guardship HMS Japanese forces surrounded the Russian Varyag was forgotten. – hosted the Severomorsk throughout her satellite communications, water-
Dumbarton Castle for a series of fleet in the Korean port of Chemulpo (today And so in 1920 she was sold to the stay on the Clyde, as pictured above. processing plants and a new
joint exercises. Inchon), Varyag chose to fight. Germans to break up – but she struck rocks Picture: LA(Phot) Nick Tryon, FRPU North torpedo defence system.
004_NN_Oct.indd 1 18/9/07 16:33:41
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