Bryan Young
(This story was originally written for a non RFA/RN audience)
After the “shake-down” it is fairly usual to nip into Devonport or Portsmouth for a few days to do whatever needs doing.
On arrival at Portland, more often than not, an RFA is stuck on a buoy. Most RN ships are given an alongside berth. Well, I suppose it is “their” harbour! I think I mentioned some time ago that the RN define the seasons strictly by date and totally ignore what the weather is actually doing. A good example of this pottiness is the mooring to a buoy. If you are going to a buoy before the 20th of May then you have to have 2 anchor cables attached to the buoy…even if the weather is sub-tropical.