The Royal Navy’s ultimate trainers and assessors spent six days aboard HMS Clyde preparing the patrol ship’s latest crew for the challenging conditions in the Falklands.
Clyde has been patrolling around the South Atlantic islands since 2007 with her crew changing roughly every six months – trading places with sailors on fishery protection ships operating around the UK.
The six-day work out saw the three-dozen sailors tested across the gamut of what is expected of the Royal Navy.
So first there were the basics of sailing and navigation, operating in the harsh environment of the South Atlantic, capable of dealing with recovering a man overboard, machinery breakdowns, fires, floods and casualties.
And then the training shifted to working with other forces based in the Falklands – including the RAF’s Typhoon jets, landing and launching an RAF Search and Rescue carrying out maritime security patrols, providing lifesaving assistance to fellow mariners in distress.
The ship’s new Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Robert Laverty, said:
After an intense period of demanding training, Clyde proved her mettle to our Operational Sea Trainers and is now fully prepared to conduct her duties.
Once FOST training was completed and senior officers were satisfied that the required standard had been achieved by team Clyde, the ship moved on to the next stage of her training by embarking soldiers of the Grenadier Guards as part of a regular tri-Service exercise.
Once done with the sailors, the ship is moving on to her more regular mission of patrolling the Falkland Islands, offering assistance and reassurance to inhabitants, exploring the outer reaches of the archipelago, visiting isolated settlements and experiencing the diversity of wildlife.
[mappress mapid=”15315″]
Images: Royal Navy