HMS St Albans July Newsletter Portsmouth to London On the hazy morning of Monday 6 th July 2015, HMS Iron Duke slipped her berth and passed HMS St Albans who was still at Fountain Lake Jetty One and almost immediately the SERCO tugs, Bountiful and Independent, gentle moved her way from her berth and then, under her own power, she moved gently past HMS Victory saluting her, and the other warships 1, on her way past the Emirates Spinnaker Tower, now painted blue, past Round Tower and into the Solent. On board was the majority of her crew and also family and friends for the 36 hour voyage to London. Sinister Royal Marines Assault Craft lock gates and bridge in background The white lines are the centre road markings The Royal Marines were already in the Thames with three of their Offshore Strategic Raiding Assault craft from One Assault Group Royal Marines who had made their way from RM Tamar in Devon. They are 9.1 metres in length, manned by six Royal Marines and armed with twin GPMG forward and massive twin 0.50 calibre, GPMG with 40mm grenade launchers, protected by Dynema ballistic protection. Their Twin Steyr M0256K43 high speed diesel engines each developing 250Hp/184Kw at 4300rpm giving them a speed of under light load, 39 knots and full load, 32 knots. Each can carry twelve Royal Marines Commandos. They can be transported and launched by trailer, under-slung from a helicopter and has tie down points for securing it to the deck of a ship or hold of an aircraft. Their job was to protect HMS St Albans from seaward threats. On Tuesday 7 th July 2015, the first sign of HMS St Albans were the supporting police boats and then around the O2 dome bend, HMS St Albans appeared as the skies darkened. From this point on she was accompanied by Svitzer Cecilia at the bow and Svitzer Mercia at the stern she was turned bow first towards the lock gates of West India Dock. There is barely a couple of metres clearance on either side as the bridge was raised and Svitzer Cecilia gentle pulled HMS St Albans into the lock with Svitzer Mercia keeping her stern central. The lock at West India Dock is too short for HMS St Albans and the two tugs so she was secured to the lock side with Svitzer Cecilia while Svitzer Mercia remained in the Thames. 1 The tradition is that the junior caption salutes the senior captain who then returns the salute and not the other way around. This necessitates knowing the seniority of every captain to ensure that the protocol is maintained. HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 1
The three Royal Marine assault boats squeezing through on the north side to await the inner gates to open. HMS St Albans - Reflected in the glass of Canary Wharf Once the tide peaked the inner lock gate was opened and the Royal Marines burst in and the two main ships passed into the centre of West India Dock. The gates were then closed, equalised and then reopened to allow Svitzer Mercia through and then, as a team of three ships, gently berthed HMS St Albans against Thames Quay where a commercial crane installed the gangway. She was made secure at 1844 hours. Civic Lunch The following day, Wednesday 8 th July 2015, the Marketors Master, Andrew Marsden was invited by the Captain, Commander Richard Hutchings RN, to a civic lunch. Those also lunching were The Master of the Haberdashers, the Deputy Remembrancer, a representative of the Canadian Navy, City of St Albans and PR personnel from the royal Navy and MOD. Reception and Capability Demonstrations Lowering of the Flag at Sunset- West India Dock In the evening, six Marketors were invited to a Reception and Capability Demonstration. They were the Marketors Clerk, John Hammond (new to Ship), Court Assistant John Hooper, Chairman of the Marketors Trust, (new to ship) Liveryman Dr Keith Williams of the Heritage Committee (new to ship), Past Master John Fisher (new to ship) and Liveryman Frank Auton (new to ship), They were joined by Court Assistant, Hugh West. With plenty of gin and tonic and canapés and we heard presentations from the Royal Navy Presentation Team and the Ship s Captain. We were then split into groups and were given an informative tour of the capabilities of the ship. Towards the end of the evening the 1 Assault Group Royal Marines brought three of their Offshore Raiding Craft and decisively defeated the enemy, HMS St Albans own sea boat, using blank ammunition which must have caused some alarm to the residents of Canary Wharf and definitely to the police on-shore! The evening ended with the traditional sunset ceremony. Travel home was not helped by an underground strike. Over the weekend there we public open days and in the early part of the following week visits by various Governmental and Civic Service departments to emphasise the capability of the Navy s last Type 23 frigate. HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 2
London to Portsmouth On Wednesday 15 th July 2015, Middle Warden, Susan Garland Worthington OBE, Court Assistant Andrew Cross (new to ship), Court Assistant David Williams, Liveryman Andrew Robinson, Vice Chairman (Navy) and Court Assistant Hugh West (Chairman AFCC) joined the ship, the plan was simple. Transport the Ship from Dockland to Portsmouth. However getting through the West India Dock was not simple as the inward passage showed. Pilot boat instructed not to come alongside from Liveryman Andrew Robinson Passing through the Thames Barrier (photo - Andrew Cross) The exit from West India Dock was the reverse of her entry but with Svitzer Bootle at her stern and Svitzer Cecilia holding her bows. Most previous frigates visiting West India Docks have scrapped their sides but, with inches to spare, we made it just! Through the Thames we dropped of the House of Parliament s Treasury Select Committee who went down the pilots side steps onto the departing pilot boat whilst both were still moving, their handbags following, and then we started to building up speed as we moved into the Channel. Sinner, the ship s Merlin Mk11, departed for a weekend of air shows soaking some of the Marketors as she flew past. The Marketors then toured the ship and were given a detailed briefing of the Operations Room and the Mechanical Control Room. The ship is always thoroughly clean even down to the flight deck being vacuumed by hand! After dinner, a new Marketors Guide to HMS St Albans was presented to the Captain and then sent to the Wardroom. Even the flight deck was vacuumed! Through the evening we crossed the Channel sea lanes to start our transit in the company of other ships steaming south, the difference was that we were doing in excess of 23 knots probably at least twice the speed of other ships. HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 3
The plan was to use the Turbines at full power and for maintenance purposes kill the turbines instantly this was to ensure that when it returned to port there would be minimal carbon build-up in the engines. Thick Fog off Nab Tower Thursday morning However, thick fog dropped out speed from 27.2 knots to 6.5 knots until we reached our holding square 2 off the Isle of Wight. The fog horns sounding throughout the night and the ship maintained its position with other ships travelling south west. The Marketors were bedded down in Petty Officers accommodation and then grouped for breakfast at 0700 hours although earlier, at 0445 hours, some Marketors visiting the bridge to see the sun rise on what looked like a bright and sunny day. Middle Warden presents the voucher to Cdr Richard Hutchings RN However, again, the fog came down as we made our way from the holding square off the south east coast of the Isle of Wight past Nab Tower and to the Outer Spithead Buoy where we made our turn into the Portsmouth Channel and passed the America s Cup boats which were being prepared for the following weeks events. In classical naval tradition, we even gave way to a sailing craft in mid channel! Turning in Fountains Lake Portsmouth HMS Endurance and Type 45 Destroyers in background We passed along Southsea waterfront where the Admiral s Cup Village was taking shape even though it was a week before the event started. We eventually entered Portsmouth harbour exactly on time. Some of the America s Cup boats were being prepared within the Royal Dockyard with the Japanese contender, SoftBank, exiting from Number One Basin which lies alongside Nelson s famous flagship HMS Victory and the recently opened Mary Rose Museum. The British Admiral s Cup base at The Hard Passing the North West Wall, we needed to reverse the ship from the normal east-facing to west-facing necessitating a complex manoeuvre outside Fountains Jetty using the ship s engines with only a little help from tugs Bountiful and Indulgent. Before we disembarked, Middle Warden Susan Garland Worthington presented the Captain with a voucher for 250.00 to enable the ship to purchase an A3 2 At night the ship enters a predetermined square about 5 miles x 5 miles she must keep moving at above 5 knots to keep her stabilisers working, but she must also stay within the square until permission is granted to move to her next waypoint. HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 4
printer in order to aid their internal and external communications more allow them to make more professional material. 1906 picture showing Royal Train alongside Royal Yacht The ornate shelter, top right, is still there From Fountains Lake to Railway Jetty South At 0845 hours on Wednesday 22 nd July 2015, HMS St Albans was moved by the Serco tugs Independent, Powerful and Mr Marshall from her berth in Fountains Lake Jetty One to the most southerly berth being South Railway Jetty (South) in preparation for her four days as being the guard and lead-out ship for the America s Cup activities. The railway was extended on 2 nd October 1876 to enable the Royal Train to carry Their Majesties with Household in Attendance from Waterloo station to Portsmouth and it had too trundled over the railway pontoon (now demolished) which carried the line in a sweeping curve out into the harbour and directly to South Railway Jetty which lay at the southern end of the naval base at its closet point to Portsmouth Harbour railway station. It is here that the Royal Yacht was birthed. The ornate shelter was built in 1893. America s Cup Parade Day On Thursday 23 rd July 2015 Marketors returned to the ship at the invitation of the Captain together with representatives of the other affiliates - The City of St Albans; The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers; 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment; The Royal Naval Reserve; RAF Marham; Haileybury CCF; Ryde School CCF and 1st Luton Sea Scouts Those attending were - Master Andrew Marsden, Chairman PR & Communication Court Assistant (D) Andrew Cross, Liveryman Ian Barclay (new to ship), Liveryman Andrew Dugdale (all the way from Spain) and Liveryman Timothy Royle (both new to ship) and Court Assistant Hugh West. Only the Marketors were given chairs to sit on, everybody else just stood! Gate a walk of almost eight minutes! We travelled down by train from Waterloo on the 0830 hours train, two joining us at Guildford, and arrived at Portsmouth Harbour Station at 1007. Had the Royal Train track being still there we would have been at the ship in no time. However, we had to walk through the bus station and meet our hosts at the Dockyard s Victory On board we assembled on the flight deck and met our fellow affiliates. HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 5
From the flight deck we were yards from the America s cup boats as they were being prepared and lowered into the water. After a safety briefing, which was brief, we assembled in the hanger for our trip out of the Solent. The itinerary for the day was The Swedish, New Zealand, British and USA entriesoff Spithead Forts 0830 Assemble at Waterloo 1045 Affiliates will be met at Victory Gate to proceed on foot to South Railway Jetty & embark. 1200 Ship will sail for Spithead Anchorages 1245 Ship will anchor 1300 Buffet lunch 1350 Merlin flypast & embark 1415 Ship tours - view Americas Cup Racing 1500 Weigh anchor 1545 Alongside 1615 Affiliates disembark on foot to Victory Gate 1730 Dinner at Water Margin, Gunwharf Quay 1945 Return train to London At 1145 we were joined by HMS Express, the Cardiff University Training ship and HMS Dasher the Bristol University Training Ship. At exactly 1200 hours, with the assistance of the Serco tugs Bountiful, Indulgent and Mr K Marshall, we slipped our mooring and drifted into the main channel accompanied, rather closely, by the British Contender and press helicopters. New Zealand Contender returning to Portsmouth Harbour On the way out of the harbour, on the port side, was the impressive Land Rover BAR building towering over the dockside on the Hard Quay and is where Sir Ben Ainsley s British Challenger will be based. It cost 12.0 million and its 74,000 square foot facility opened in June 2015. Passing Round Tower we gave a single gun salute past Spitbank Fort and moved out of the channel to moor about 2 km off-shore with the America s Cup boat between us and Southsea beach. HMS St Albans provided a hot buffet lunch with sparkling wine and then we toured the ship before America s Cup boats waiting to be lifted from the water HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 6
we were given freedom to watch the action from any part of the ship. At 1400 the Ship s Merlin Helicopter made a number of flypasts and eventually landing on the stationary ship and in the process yet again soaking the Marketors. The pilot afterwards said it was just too tempting! At 1500 we raised the anchor and turned to Portsmouth and maneuverer with the assistance of the Serco tugs Bountiful, Indulgent and Mr K Marshall, so the bows were seaward we docked at 1545. Master, Andrew Marsden off Isle of Wight The Chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, Court Assistant Hugh West, presented the Petty Officer s Mess with a copy of The 700 page Royal Navy Day by Day by Sainsbury and Phillips and also a copy of his book L15 The Fifth HMS St Albans the sad sinking of Jastrząb 2012 (141 pages) After the affiliates had left the Captain, Commander Hutchings RN, thanked the Master for the new A3 colour printer that the Marketors had donated and the ship s photographer took a team photograph with the captain and his family and within minutes a framed, signed copy was presented to the Master who proudly carried it away. The group then had a quick drink in the 18 th Century Ship Anson and ended the evening with a Chinese in Gunwarf Quays before arriving back at Waterloo at 2130. Team Photographs HMS St Albans July Newsletter - Hugh West - Page 7