The Plymouth-based Royal navy survey ship HMS Enterprise held an action-packed open day to give families and friends a rare chance to see how their loved ones live and work.
To make the day one to remember the ship laid on demonstrations of its ability to tackle a wide range of challenges while deployed far from home. The activities highlighted the potential threats and issues which could befall the ship. The crew demonstrated exercises such as fire-fighting, first-aid scenarios and how to tackle intruders attempting to gain entry onto the ship.
Families were also shown first-hand by their loved ones where they live and work on board, often for lengthy periods on the far side of the world. The event happened in Falmouth where HMS Enterprise is the docks for final maintenance before taking on any potential tasking.
HMS Enterprise commanding officer, Commander Derek Rae said: “Despite a busy programme and preparations for any future deployments, having families onboard was always a top priority. My ship’s company have pride in their ship and the impact of being able to share that with our loved ones by actually having them onboard, if only for a few hours, cannot be underestimated.”
Children played ‘Fireman Sam’ and enjoyed themselves by dousing passing yachts, practising for a sailing regatta, with water from the fire hoses. The day ended at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club where amongst the children’s entertainers, barbecue and a never ending supply of ice cream, families from across the UK also enjoyed the unusual chance meet each other and share tales of dealing with family life when their partners and friends are away at sea.
HMS Enterprise returned from a deployment to the South Atlantic in April followed by Exercise Joint Warrior off the West coast of Scotland and trained under the staff of the Flag Officer Sea Training organisation. The ship is therefore, again, ready for operations.
