295 (Hampshire Yeomanry) Battery Royal Artillery are a Portsmouth based air defence battery with lineage that goes back through the coastal defence batteries and the Hampshire Yeomanry. Following the Portsmouth seaborne traditions, an Adventure Training exercise was conceived that introduced the soldiers of the Battery to the delights of offshore sailing – Ex TRIDENT UBIQUE. This exercise split into 2 weekends, Ex TRIDENT UBIQUE 1 and TRIDENT UBIQUE II. Those taking part in both exercises earning their RYA Competent Crew qualification.
Ex TRIDENT UBIQUE II, 5 – 7 June 2016 involved the two Royal Artillery yachts, St Barbara V (a Rustler 42) and Bombardier II (an Ehlan 34) with 12 soldiers from the Battery sailing the boats.
After the boats were victualled and the crews given a safety brief, we set out into the Solent on a relatively flat sea in a steady force 3. All the new sailors were keen to take the helm and the crews scurried about the deck to keep pace with the many intentional and unintentional tacks en route to Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
The yachts anchored off Osbourne Bay for lunch whilst nautical stories of the crew’s adventures were shared, albeit after only 2 hours afloat. The Solent were extremely busy with other yachts and a lot of merchant shipping that was sometimes a navigational challenge for the novice crews to deal with. After a 45 minute rest we set sail for the next leg of the voyage to Cowes Yacht Haven. A relatively short trip but the crews’ first entry into a port which left many wide eyed with the criss-cross of yachts and ferries in mouth of the river Medina.
The yachts pulled into Cowes and a sightseeing trip of the town ensued. Cowes is not very big, so within the hour we were making our way to Beaulieu River to navigate the winding estuary in a force 4 southwesterly. Whilst the engine was running for safety, we sailed up the river until we got to the first buoys and moored to put on the wets.
After a short break with the light threatening to fade we headed east through the Solent taking in some great sights on the way. The Bombardier crew were loving the banter aboard and each took it in turn on the helm.
The pair of yachts now sailed on almost a dead run through the Solent, past Ryde and back into Gosport. The day had flown past and now the light was rapidly fading. The boats were moored up and the evening meal was cooked. By 10 pm all were asleep, looking forward to the next day’s adventure.
Sunday morning was another sunny day but the wind had switched to the south east. The yachts were prepared for sea after breakfast and both set sail back into the Solent. Practising man overboard drills and picking up buoys was the flavour of the day to ensure those on competent crew training earned their spurs. Soon after lunch the yachts were returned to their berths and all went to the Hornet club house to share stories of the exercise. Two soldiers earned their competent crew and the others were keen to do more sailing. The next adventure on the horizon is when the Battery sail St Barbara V to Lanzarote in Sept on the first leg of Exercise ATLANTIC UBIQUE, a yearlong exercise that circumnavigates the North Atlantic.
