Week 5 of the 'Weekly Wednesday' blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster, HMS Daring

Boys are Back in Town


We left Portsmouth in April for the inclement shores of Cornwall and the South Coast Exercise Areas. Since then we’ve spent 19 days alongside in other ports (mainly Devonport) and 59 days at sea. Last Friday, 19th July we sailed into our home town of Portsmouth where the familiar sights of Southsea, Gunwharf and well wishers on top of Round Tower greeted us. It certainly feels good to be back in Sunny Pompey. We weren’t in long before leave was granted and we finally got a full weekend to go home. Being a Derby lad I hadn’t had the opportunity to go home for quite some time as it’s just too far away from Plymouth. It was good to get back in the tractor on the farm and get some of mother’s home cooking down my neck – beats those chips and beans I’ve been eating for so long.

Today is Tuesday and whilst we may not be at sea we’re back at it. Preparing the ship for the busy month that lies ahead in the run up to Navy Days 2010. Got to go now though, The Navigator’s looking for those charts I locked away last week...

Find our more about Navy Days at: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

Week 3 of the 'Weekly Wednesday' blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster, HMS Daring

In the lead up to Navy Days which is taking place from Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August at Portsmouth Naval Base (www.navydaysuk.co.uk), we will bring you ‘weekly Wednesday’ updates from on board HMS DARING - one of the ships open to public during the event.

The Start of Week 5 at Operational Sea Training and our penultimate week in Devonport commenced Monday morning with the Disaster Relief Exercise (DISTEX). This is an evolution that involves the whole ship.

In the North of Devonport Naval Base is a mock-up village – Old Grimsby which, in our scenario was hit by a hurricane the night before. Daring, exercising in the area was sent by the UK Government to render immediate Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Operations (HDRO). Working from the amunitioning buoys in the north of the River over looked by the Tamar bridge we set to work; deploying medical, fire fighting, search and rescue, command, recce and survey, engineering and public relations teams using the ship’s helicopter and sea boats. My Job was to conduct a survey of the local Port with the Navigating Officer. Using the old fashioned technique of swinging a lead line (a length of rope with a weight on the end) I measured the depth of water in various places to make a rudimentary chart of the area and assess the suitability for bringing a larger ship such as Daring alongside. The whole thing was a huge logistical operation and required lots of planning and briefing in the days leading up to the exercise.

Arriving in the hurricane hit island of Tresco we were greeted with devastation and it was our job to “Save Life and Lessen Suffering”. We put out fires, rescued casualties, built shelters, repaired the water plant and cooked food. All just another day at OST for Royal Navy ships which history tells us have a good chance of having to do this kind of thing for real.

For more information on Navy Days, please visit: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

Week 2 of the blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster - HMS DARING

In the lead up to Navy Days which is taking place from Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August at Portsmouth Naval Base (www.navydaysuk.co.uk), we will bring you ‘weekly Wednesday’ updates from on board HMS DARING - one of the ships open to public during the event.

Week 3 of Operational Sea Training – We’ve hit the wall, 3 weeks into the training, half way through and are now on the home straight. This week has been no less busy – already we’ve conducted Naval Gunfire Support practice using the Ship’s 4.5in gun. Firing against a sea target we used Royal Marines spotters to assess the accuracy of the gunfire from an airborne helicopter. One of our shipmates with an eye for photography managed to take a shot of the round leaving the barrel – Awesome!

Here at Flag Officer Sea Training we’re constantly being assessed. Despite Daring’s magazine being able to hold twice as many rounds as any other ship in the fleet we still conduct ‘Emergency Re-supply Drills’ – moving 28 rounds (105Kg each) up two vertical decks to the Gun bay ready for firing. We ‘smashed’ the drill completing it in under 15 minutes.

Meanwhile I was in the charthouse conducting the altogether less ‘steely’ but equally important job of correcting the paper charts and Admiralty Publications. Using the charts I had recently updated from the international amendments received onboard – The Navigating Officer was able to plan his next serial of the week in complete confidence – A stern Replenishment at Sea driving the ship to within 200 yards (1 cable) from the stern of Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker – Wave Knight.


For information about Navy Days 2010, please visit: http://www.navydaysuk.co.uk/

For information on HMS DARING, please visit: http://www.hmsdaring.com/

James Daly: Navy Days then and now

After this week’s announcement about Navy Days 2010, I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at Navy Days over the years. It’s very much a Portsmouth institution, theres nowhere else where you can see so much of the Royal Navy’s past and present in one place all together. Not only is it a great day out but it’s also a great chance for the Royal Navy to showcase what it does.


Not only does Navy Days tell us about the History of the Royal Navy, it is a part of Naval History itself. They have been taking place for many years - I’ve seen posters advertising Navy Days dating back to the early 20^th Century, showing rows of battleships decked out in flags. My Granddad can remember going just after the war, and watching Fairey Swordfish Biplanes attacking ships with bags of flour. I can remember my Gran telling me about going on the US Warships, and the American sailors serving up hot dogs!

I first went to Navy Days in June 1994. It was the 50^th Anniversary of D-Day, and there were plenty of interesting Royal Navy and foreign warships in the Harbour, to take part in the International Fleet Review later that week. I can remember going on HMS Ilustrious, and plenty of Destroyers and Minesweepers. I can also remember seeing the US Cruiser USS Normandy, and the wartime liberty ship Jeremiah O’Brien. But what I remember most of all is my dad showing me round the Dockyard that he worked in, explaining how the Docks and caissons worked, and pointing out the parts of the ships that he worked on – ‘oh look, there’s number two weapons shop!’ and ‘that’s number three basin!’ sounds quite impressive when you’re 11!

The last time I went to Navy Days was in 2008. What I remember most from then is the foreign warships – Japanese, Chilean, Danish and French. It was interesting to have a look at HMS Ilustrious again 14 years later, and the Landing Ship RFA Largs Bay was a rare visitor to Portsmouth. And of course theres nothing quite like watching the Royal Marines Band close the day.

I’m looking forward to Navy Days already. I had a sneak peak of HMS Daring last year at the Royal Navy past and present event, and she really is something else. It’s a long time since RFA Argus has been in Portsmouth too. A former merchant vessel that served in the Falklands War before becoming and RFA ship, it will be a rare opportunity to visit a Falklands veteran. Hopefully we can expect to see some foreign warships too.

John Daly, Guest Blogger