RAOC Gazette - page 15
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1980 |
| Late date | 1980 |
| Transcription |
APPRENTICES IN CYPRUS EXERCISE AUTUMN WIND was an adventure training ex- pedition designed to provide a small party of Apprentices with the opportunity to undertake offshore sailing in Mediterranean waters. The following is a day to day account of the exercise by Apprentice Private Atkinson and Apprentice Private Boyd. Our adventure started at 0330 hours when three members of the permanent staff and seven Apprentices boarded one of the last remaining Britannias in service, bound for Cyprus. It was thought the exercise would be cancelled due to limited aircraft space so we were indeed grateful when our friendly Britannia touched down in RAF Akrotiri 1200 hours, Cyprus time. The first day at sea was meant to be just familiarization, but once aboard ' Lady Heather,' a thirty two foot, five berth, clipper yawl, we soon settled down and had a very enjoyable day's sailing. Her top speed was about five knots, and, al- though she proved to be quite a ' wet boat' top side, she was very easy to handle in rough weather. The second day began with an early morning swim outside Akrotiri harbour. At 0930 hours we were under sail again, making our way westerly along the coast. Because the prevailing winds are westerly the going was fairly rough. Apprentice Private Boehm spent most of the voyage leaning over the side looking a greenish colour. Apprentices Barker, Brown and Atkinson spent much of the morning dozing below. Clearly, they found the rocking movement an inducement for sleep! Mid afternoon we turned and with the wind directly behind and all three sails up, we skimmed home in record time. Photo Captain M. E. Parsons Apprentices Kevin Davies and Eddie Atkinson aboard ' Lady Heather ' a thirty two foot five berth clipper yawl. opportunity to have a close look at this historic island and stop at all the beaches on the way for a quick dip and an icecream. (I wonder if Aphrodite would approve). Our final day on the sea was one to be remembered. It was rougher than it had been previously but quite safe for ' Lady Heather.' However, as a precaution our skipper selected the more experienced sailors and we started off for our last sail with Apprentices Barker, Boyd, Atkinson and Brown. We sailed for three hours and every minute held excitement. The exercise, from our point of view, was the experience of a life time. We have savoured the atmosphere of the island and sailed on the warm waters of the Mediterranean. None of us have a year's service in yet! Photo A/Private David Newton. Off to Troodos. On day four we decided that a road trip to Troodos, in the mountains, would be an excellent way of seeing the terrain, the villages and the people. We were not disappointed and stopped many times. Captain Parsons took several photo- graphs of us with some of the locals gathering grapes one of which is the cover photograph of this months GAZETTE. A stop in Limassol, to sample some coffee, and buy some souvenirs, finished a perfect day. Day five was our attempt to reach Paphos. Captain Parsons and Mr Watson, a civilian instructor at the College, accompanied by Apprentices Barker, Atkinson and Davies left Akrotiri harbour at 0200 hours to try and cover the forty five miles before dark. I should explain that the harbour at Paphos is extremely dangerous for night entry and it was for this reason that we turned back at 1600 hours, not having made sufficient progress. We did, in reality, easily cover the distance but because of prevailing winds we were constantly tacking. The trip back to Akrotiri was very fast and enjoyable and we soon forgot our disappointment. On day six we set off for Paphos by road. It was another Photo A/Private David Newton. Left to right: Captain Mike Parsons A/Private Andrew Barker of B Company and A/Private Eddie Atkinson of A Company Apprentices College. — 242 — (Cover photograph by Captain M. E. Parsons.) |
| Book number | R0403a |