48 NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2008
NNext monthext month
‘Something
striking and
brilliant’
– Zeebrugge
raid 90th
anniversary
supplement
May the
gorse be
with you
– a day with
Britain’s
busiest SAR
fl iers
● Lord of leaping... An RN snowboarder fl ies off a jump against a picture-postcard Alpine backdrop Picture: Cpl Scott Robertson, RAF
Land of slopes and glory
A
FTER the snow worries of 2007 came the snow
gave them any grief about that.
fl urries of 2008.
After all, rule number one of the boarders’ code, according to
As the skies darkened and snow began to fall in early December
Nick, is to look good at all times, even when face down in the
a number of individuals were crossing their fi ngers hoping that
snow.
Come on in,
by the start of the 2008 RN Winter Sports Association Alpine
Over the two-week period some 180 people took part
Championships the mountains would be bathed in sunshine and
in beginners ski and snowboard instruction which
the water’s
the pistes in perfect condition with abundant snow, writes Lt Cdr
culminated in the weekly beginners’ race.
Andy Hurry, 815 NAS.
This remains one of the event’s highlights,
When the advance party arrived in Les Menuires on January 11
with hundreds of people coming out to
lovely –
the snow started to fall, and fall and fall and continued to do so
the Les Bruyeres area to watch and
winter war
for the next 24 hours.
marina Continued on page 47
Of course, snow is always welcome in a ski resort but
over a Friday and Saturday it can also lead to chaos on
games in
‘transfer day’ – and Saturday January 12 proved to be one
of those days.
Norway
Fortunately, despite aircraft being diverted to various
airports and the mountain road only being passable using
snow chains, the hordes of die-hard Royal Navy skiers and
boarders and those yet to be initiated made it to Les Menuires
PPluslus
by late evening.
Thereafter followed two weeks of excellent conditions with
snow falling overnight leaving blue skies to reign supreme
during the daytime.
Changes for
The 2008 event was well attended by 900 serving personnel
and 300 civilian members of the RNWSA – an impressive
total considering the continuing operations in Iraq and
the better
Afghanistan and a large contingent of the Royal Marines
away training in Norway.
– how the
An increased number of people over both weeks
took ski instruction, particularly at the intermediate
Admiralty
and advanced levels, which kept Tommy Wallace
and his team of instructors extremely busy.
Interview
Snowboarding continues to grow in
popularity at the event with even a few skiers
trying it out for a couple of days under the
Board is
expert tutelage of Nick Daukes, the discipline
manager.
getting it
The snowboard instructors were all smartly kitted out in very
dapper black suits to help them blend into their surroundings
right
and, to make sure they couldn’t be missed when instructing, they
sported magnifi cently bright Day-Glo orange bibs – not that anyone
● An RN skier kicks up the snow as he races down the
Les Menuires slope Picture: Richard Olsen
100%
NEW LIFESTYLE. NEW ZEALAND. NAVY
See page 39 for information on the exciting new opportunities available now.
Published by Navy News, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth and printed by St Ives (Andover) plc.
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