Joyful reunions as HMS St Albans returns home
There were joyous reunions in Portsmouth today as sailors who helped rescue Britons from war-torn Lebanon returned home.
More than 240 people were ferried to safety by the crew of HMS St Albans as Israeli jets pounded the Lebanese capital Beirut last month.
It was the most dramatic incident in a six-month deployment that saw Britain's newest frigate travel 32,000 nautical miles - equivalent to one-and-a-half times around the globe.
Commander Steve Dainton, the ship's captain, said the frantic operation had been carried out by a 'south coast task force' of Portsmouth-based ships.
He said today: 'We were on our way back home when we had the call to ship out 243 people from Lebanon. The men were tired and were ready to relax but everything changed when we had the call and the extra adrenaline kicked in. Everyone pulled together.
'We joined up with three other Portsmouth ships, Gloucester, York and Illustrious, and it felt like a south coast task force.
'When the people came on board everyone had to adapt and the atmosphere changed completely to try to keep spirits up.
'The whole crew are very proud of what they have done and this is the first time for a lot of them they have had to evacuate people. A lot of them have made good friends while on board and swapped e-mail addresses - friendships which I'm sure will be life-long.'
The crew and their ship coped with temperatures that ranged from sub-zero in the Black Sea to the blistering heat of the Arabian Gulf.
St Albans visited 16 countries including Algeria, Albania, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Lebanon twice - the first occasion some weeks before the current crisis erupted.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
