Royal Navy sailors swap aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales for a rare tall ship visiting Portsmouth
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Over the next four months, junior sailors will learn traditional seafaring skills onboard the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s TS Tenacious.
The three-masted, 35-metres-tall ship will stand-in for the Navy’s command and leadership school in the Brecon Beacons, which has been closed due to the pandemic.
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Hide AdIt is the first time in decades that junior sailors are undertaking tasks and duties that would be recognisable to a 19th century admiral, such as heaving and hauling lines to set the sails.
Sub Lieutenant Rory McMillan experienced a culture shock as he went from the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales to spending a week onboard Tenacious.
He said: ‘(It’s) brought home how challenging life would have been in the age of sail. It’s a great environment to develop leadership, as strong teamwork is needed for almost all activity on board.’
His shipmate Sub Lieutenant Tom Hoskins added: ‘Sailing on the Tenacious was a great opportunity alongside the wealth of training it offered. Hats off to the crew for delivering the exercise in a safe and enjoyable environment.’
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Hide AdFor some sailors, the experience marks their first time living or working on a ship, while for others it will act as a stepping stone to promotion.
Commander Adrian Coulthard, a Navy Command training manager, said: ‘In a difficult period for Royal Navy training due to the pandemic, the use of the Jubilee Sailing Trust has allowed us to continue to provide top quality core leadership and team training in a maritime context.
‘It has also meant we have been able to maintain our training pipeline throughflow, while providing our trainees with early and very valuable experience – from maintaining watches to living and working in the challenging maritime domain.’
Tenacious, which gives people of all abilities the chance to sail in a tall ship, is normally used by businesses and civilian groups for leadership and group training, but the ship hasn’t taken anyone to sea since the first national lockdown.