Whaler drills, HMS Tenby, 1968
Bernie Bruen writes:
‘I have been trawling through some old photographs and send you their scanned images. The first three concern our class of officer Cadets from Dartmouth (in the days when we were Cadets – all old men now) carrying out seaboat drills in our Montagu Whaler; HMS Tenby, 1968. You can tell they are drills as the ship is stopped in the water. Any proper launch would, of course, have been done at 8kts. I am sure that those knowledgeable will be able to work out at what stage these drills have reached, just by looking; but in case not they are – ‘hooking on’, ‘preparing to hoist’ and ‘preparing to lower’.The last photo was taken during the Malta RN Regatta that year. I am sure that many will comment on the disparity between the port and starboard oars and, needless to say, we did not win. However, it does show the effort being put in and the enthusiasm displayed. From Cox’n to Bow, they are:Cadet Tsang (Royal Malaysian Navy), Cadet Bruen RN, Cadet Morgan RN, Cadet Beaumont RN, Cadet Vanus-Fadarami-Ramayen Royal Iranian Navy, Cadet Wheeler RN.That whaler was my personal reserve. I had managed to get myself assigned to it and, for our four month stay in the training-ship, worked endlessly to keep it in best condition.’ |