NAVY NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2008 23
Sublime Bay
LYME Bay may not be bristling with 50s who grinned at the booming horn.
weapons, like HMNLS De Ruyter or
Other controls had to be isolated as an
USS Elrod, writes Mike Gray.
innocent finger sent out a distress signal
from the ship, and others set off man
Her biggest assets – a vast vehicle
overboard and general alarms.
deck and boat dock – may not have
But there was no impatience, no
been on show. irritation from either hosts or guests –
But the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s newest most RFA men and women insisted they
ship was a good choice to fly the flag for the were enjoying themselves, and the hard-
UK at Dutch Navy Days. working sailors and officers kept up an
The Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) impressive charm offensive.
was one of three foreign ships (the others Officers’ caps were placed on young
represented the USA and Belgium) heads as children sat in the Captain’s
alongside the jetties at Den Helder, home
chair, engine controls were pushed and
of the Koninklijke Marine.
spun, and requests and questions were
And her hosts had given the 16,160-
asked and answered with polite smiles.
tonne ship a prime slot, on one side of the
For RTO Debbie Oliver – formerly
slip where the all-action dynamic display
wardroom bar manager at RNAS Culdrose
was played out twice a day, which made
– it was just another good reason why she
Lyme Bay a popular viewing platform.
joined the RFA.
Opposite her was the Dutch landing
Debbie (47), whose brother is a warrant
ship Johan de Witt, and just across the
officer in the RN and whose son Adam is
jetty was the Rotterdam, both step-sisters
Some drive, some come by train and
serving in HMS Illustrious, went to sea late
of Lyme Bay and a reminder of the
use the free shuttle bus, many more walk
in life, having celebrated her 40th birthday
close links between British and Dutch
or, perhaps inevitably, come by bike.
before even considering the RFA.
amphibious forces.
According to Lt Pauline Handgraaf,
But now she could not even contemplate
The British Bay class was based on the
a PRO for the Dutch Navy, the event
the thought of working ashore.
design for Rotterdam, and the hulls are
provides an opportunity for potential
“I love what I do, and it is a bonus to
similar, although the superstructures are
recruits to test the water, but for most it is
get paid for it as well,” said Debbie, who is
quite different – and all three dominated
simply a nice – and cheap – day out with
making the switch from rating to officer.
the skyline as visitors poured into the base
the family.
“Right from day one it was fantastic
in their thousands.
Among the highlights were the twice-
– I loved it. And although this is a steep
The big ship and her three RFA sisters
daily dynamic displays, when Lynx
learning curve everyone has been so
are building an equally big reputation for
helicopters were thrown around the sky,
patient teaching me.”
themselves.
Dutch marines stormed ashore with guns
The Dutch laid on free entertainment,
Lyme Bay had just emerged from the
rattling, a self-propelled gun chugged from
including a live band, for visiting sailors
exacting task of impressing the FOST
a landing craft, and marines conducted a
every evening after the gates closed.
team in the West Country during Exercise
high-speed, daring routine in RIBs.
Lyme Bay just managed to put out a
South-West Leopard, stepping in at short
Children enjoyed hair-raising switchback
football team to take on the USS Elrod,
notice to replace a foreign assault ship.
rides around a sandhill course in Hägglunds
which resulted in a diplomatic 3-3 draw.
Despite her lack of bodies – the
all-terrain tracked vehicles, tugs toured
the harbour and Dutch marines ran a
AB John Roberts scored a screamer
69-strong crew had to be augmented
climbing tower and zipwire.
(although I promised not to say in which
because of the sheer complexity of the
A handful of visitors to Lyme Bay were
goal), although 3/O Richard Allan will
exercise as well as the relentless workload
slightly bemused there was not more to remember the match for other reasons,
– she headed to the Netherlands with a
see on the auxiliary. having dislocated his shoulder.
burgeoning reputation.
And British officers agreed that ideally On the final day the crew had to work
Her relief captain, Capt Kevin Rimell
there would have been a Sea Cadet party round an unscheduled replenishment.
RFA, said: “We have to sing the praises
to escort or direct visitors, opening up the As the visitors were invited to leave
of this ship. As a class they are incredibly
cavernous vehicle and boat decks, or a to allow the ship to sail a woman was
capable – we have proved how versatile
landing craft to add interest. found sitting in the corner of the bridge
they are.
But most visitors cheerfully clambered breastfeeding her baby.
“Granted, with high-tempo exercises we
the stairs to the bridge, with up to 50 at Preparations carried on around her,
have to augment, but no one should lose
any one time poking around, pressing with care being taken not to disturb them,
sight of the fact that the Navy gets good
buttons, peering at displays and asking and on completion mother and baby were
value for money out of these ships.”
intelligent questions in good English. escorted to the gangway and ashore, and
Dutch Navy Days Organisers were
Crew members had wondered how long Lyme Bay got under way for her next high-
pleased by the overall attendance – in
it would be before a child found the profile task, starring at the start of the Tall
indifferent weather – of 180,000, slightly
button to sound the ship’s whistle – all Ships Race at Liverpool. By coincidence,
down on last year.
were proved wrong as it was a man in his the race ends in Den Helder.
The Dutch Navy believes taxpayers
should be given the opportunity to see the ● From top: three amphibious ships – Johan de Witt, Lyme
navy their euros pay for, and Marinedagen Bay and Rotterdam – dominate the Den Helder skyline; 3/O
is the mainstay of that policy. Richard Allan defi es a dislocated shoulder to talk to visitors;
Large areas of the Den Helder base are a Den Helder worker cycles through the base to prepare for
thrown open to the public free of charge, the fi nal day of Marinedagen as dark clouds loom behind
and the Dutch respond in their thousands. Lyme Bay; crowds gather to watch the dynamic display
0023_NN_sep.indd 123_NN_sep.indd 1 119/8/08 12:38:559/8/08 12:38:55
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