Page 21 - RADC 2016

...there were indeed sandy beaches and we certainly all came back with a decent suntan...
was ying sh and dolphins, who raced and jumped around our hull in their pods. I vividly remember looking at the GPS instruments and seeing a depth of 6,000 metres of ocean beneath us...Mind blowing. We supplemented our rations with freshly caught sh and at night we navigated by the stars.
In the end we had a race to Miami to
beat a tropical storm (‘Colin’) heading our way as we didn’t want to be caught at
sea when this hit. We made it in time and treated ourselves to a run ashore on our rst night for burgers and Margaritas in the local Hooters (a family restaurant). We had a few days in Miami harbour to carry out essential repairs/maintenance and a thorough deep clean of Disco ready
to handover to her
next crew. (This
included hosing down
our sweat drenched
hammocks...Lovely).
Whilst in Miami, a
few of us got caught
short with the rapidly
changing conditions
brought on by Tropical
Storm ‘Colin’ and
there was a rapid evacuation of South Beach after getting absolutely soaked in a torrential downpour, thankfully followed shortly after by more glorious sunshine to help dry us out. We also had time for a hovercraft ride Croc spotting in the Everglades as well as a day trip down to Key West.
As an exercise, I would like to highlight how I believe this was highly valuable and relevant training/experience for Military personnel. I admit, jest even, that for our leg, there were indeed sandy beaches and we certainly all came back with a decent suntan, however there were extended periods that were challenging and every one of us gained a great deal from this experience.
We were 15 individuals ranging from Lance Corporal to Colonel, who not only lived in very close quarters for a 3 week period, but we looked after and relied upon
each other. We cooked for each other, washed each other’s clothes, made sure everyone was wearing sun cream and a sun hat, made sure everyone was drinking enough water (we were all medics!) When our fellow crew-mates succumbed to the dreaded ‘mal-de-mare’, we made sure they were clipped on, (held the ladies hair back) and brought them ginger biscuits (a highly recommended remedy).
When on Mother watch we didn’t just cook food, we strived to make tasty meals for our crew mates, whilst baking ourselves in the Caribbean heat, wearing full coverage Oilskins to reduce the risk of scalding when at the stove (safety rst!) and all while getting
tossed around in a galley pitching 90 degrees between
left and right due to the swell. We were resourceful with the long-life (mostly tinned) ingredients that we had to work with; we made brownies and birthday cakes and even the vegetarian lleted the freshly caught Barracuda to serve to his hungry crew mates (who appreciated the change from mincemeat and stale wraps).
We bonded and we trusted each other to sail us safely.
We did this all in the con nes of a steel boat with a living area of approximately 12 x 3 metres, sleeping in hammocks stacked in 3s on top of each other, with no air-con (of course, it’s a training vessel), at almost 100% humidity and close to 100 degrees.
I would say that is the de nition of team work...And it certainly was adventurous.
Fair winds.
RADC BULLETIN 2016 19