Let the winds blow!
The 12th August saw the Paviors' annual opportunity to join HMS Argyll on her "affiliate's day". Most of those attending took advantage of an opportunity to meet up the night before in PLymouth and stay in a wonderfully appointed hotel. The inevitable "run ashore" to the old town quay (the details of which remain quite hazy) was certainly well attended, and if you hadn't had the chance to meet with your fellow Paviors by the end of the evening, a further opportunity was afforded by the fire alarm which went off at 3:00am the next morning and saw us huddled in the rain outside the hotel in a poorly attired but defiant group.
These events having established a certain Dunkirk spirit, we set off bright and early to join Argyll at Devonport, undaunted by the stair rod rain and howling gale that has come to typify the summer 2004. Her Majesty's Type 23 Frigates, of course, don't stop for the weather and as we boarded there were a few expressions of concern as we surveyed various small yahcts bouncing wildly in the considerable swell and wondered what was in store for us.
Paviors' Man of the Year 2004, Leading Chef Jonathan Crane, receives his award
We needn't have worried, Argyll, which is 436ft long and weighs in at 4,900 tonnes, possessed a superiority which was immediately apparent, and whatever the sea threw at her, the ship appeared miraculously stable. What is also noticeablye is that her engines, despite their capability of propelling this leviathan at over 28 knots, are all but inaudible. Of course, this engineering feat has all been achieved in the interests of firing missiles, landing helicopters and running quietly past submarines, not for the comfrot of a Pavior or two, but we were all never the less thankful as we were wafted out into open sea whilst an officer pointed out interesting sights of Dartmonth. Inexplicably, he gave us a particularly detailed account of the building where the Royal Navy used to hang their French prisoners, supposedly the most haunted structure in Britain.
We were treated to a remarkably open tour of the ship, and I mhave to say the professionalism of everyone we met, not to mention a most genuine welcome, was really very apparent. A recuperating curry lunch in the wardroom rounded off our morning, and the afternoon saw a number of impressive demonstrations including a man overboard drill involving the launch of a rib from the side of the moving ship - what a job!
Paviors and their hosts
During the day John Carpetner took the opportunity to present the Paviors' Man of the Year 2004 award to Leading Chef Jonathan Crane (a chef who was co-incidentally responsible for production of the excellent curry) for his enthusiastic voluntary involvement in the running of the ship and in particular his work in the fire fighting team. He was clearly popular and despite the merciless and immediate crew ribbing he managed to look quite pleased that he'd been honoured by our Paviors' award.
It would appear an almost impossible task to impart a full picture of Argyll and the life of its crew in such a short period, and our thanks go to Commander Ewan Kelbie, his officers and every member of her 180 number crew for a most memorable and remarkable day out.