This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
NAVY NEWS, APRIL 2007 3
● A Sea King fl ies past HMS Pembroke as her crew conduct
Operational Sea Training before fl ying to the GulfPicture: PO(Phot) Tam McDonald, FRPU North
Picture: PO(Phot) Tam McDonald, FRPU North
No Gulf between us
THE men and women of Her Majesty’s
the Straits of Hormuz and Abu Dhabi, taking part Saudi Arabia. thrilled to receive such a nice surprise and didn’t
Ships Pembroke and Penzance will
in a joint exercise with the Royal Saudi Navy off He highlighted the important diplomatic effects stop talking about it all day.”
soon be swapping the Scottish lochs
the port of Al Jubail, and exercising with US Navy the visit of a relatively small minehunter could Sometimes it is the little things and the little
minehunters off Bahrain. have, particularly when the opportunity existed ships which make all the difference...
for the glimmering warm waters of the There was little rest back in Manama because to operate with local navies, as it did with two Food seems to be a recurring theme aboard
Gulf as they exchange places with their
after a brief spell of upkeep, the Aintrees were Sandown-class minehunters owned and Ramsey and Blyth. With personnel working in
comrades in Task Force Aintree.
back at sea, this time alongside US and French operated by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces: defence watches (six hours on, six hours off), the
The crews of the two Sandown-class
mine countermeasures forces. His Majesty’s Ships Shaqra and Al Jawf. galley team often has to provide four meals a day;
minehunters have been given ‘top up’ training
The efforts of the minehunter crews have not Even better, the combined Blyth and since sailing from the UK in early November, the
around the Clyde courtesy of the team from Flag
gone unnoticed. Ramsey football team were able to hold two ships’ companies (80 men and women in all)
Offi cer Sea Training before heading to the Middle
The Prince of Wales was briefed on the their heads high after holding a much have eaten their way through over 35,000 meals
East.
deployment during an embassy reception younger team from the Saudi – more than 400 meals per sailor.
Already in the Gulf are HMS Blyth and Ramsey
in Abu Dhabi and commented on how Naval Academy to a 2-2 draw With no stores accountants aboard, the
– Task Force Aintree – which are approaching the
important the work of the Royal Navy was in front of a packed stand in responsibility for ordering and maintaining stocks
first milestone in a deployment expected to last
in encouraging peace and stability in the King Abdul Aziz Naval Base in falls on to the shoulders of petty offi cer marine
up to three years.
region (he also visited HMS Sutherland; Al Jubail. engineers with full watchkeeping responsibilities
Working from Manama in Bahrain, the duo are
see page 10). The last word must be go while the admin tasks normally performed by
almost a sixth of the way through the marathon
Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, to LCH Shauna Coles: writers in larger vessels fall to the ship’s petty
deployment.
Commander-in-Chief Fleet, “When I found out that offi cer diver.
The aim is to rotate all Sandown sailors
also took the opportunity the captain of HMS “With his intensive training in Explosive
through the Aintree force, hence the need
to visit t h e Shaqra had a sweet Ordnance Disposal but lack of touch-typing skills,
for Penzance and Pembroke’s crew to be
ships in tooth, I baked him a he occasionally has to resist the urge to strap a 4lb
‘up to speed’ ahead of changing places
chocolate and orange explosive pack to his laptop to clear his in-tray,”
with their Ramsey and Blyth counter-
cake, which we quipped Blyth’s CO Lt Cdr John Craig.
parts.
passed to him
As for the latter, they have spent the
during a boat ● Saudi minehunter HMS Al Jawf follows HMS
last month or so hard at work sur-
transfer. Ramsey (M110) and HMS Blyth in the Gulf
veying shipping routes between
“He was Picture: Lt Cdr John Craig, HMS Blyth
03_NN_Apr.indd 1 16/3/07 15:43:23
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com. Publish online for free with YUDU Freedom - www.yudufreedom.com.