A RAIDER sped up the Thames heading for the Royal Navy’s base near the Tower of London. But they weren’t a motley crew of buccaneers on the P2000 Archer Class patrol boat
A RAIDER vessel sped up the Thames heading the Royal Navy’s base near the Tower of London.
But the men on board weren’t a motley crew of buccaneers. These were a friendly bunch sailing a P2000 Archer Class patrol boat called HMS Raider.
Their mission was friendly when the vessel moored on Friday at the HMS President base at St Katharine’s Dock.
The Raider is used as a training vessel to instruct officers. Young sea cadets were shown how things work, like how to plot the ship’s position on the bridge using charts and compasses, how quickly to put on a survival suit, how to check engine oil and water and even how to press the button to start the ship’s engines.
The cadets, all from East London, spent two hours on board with the ship’s commanding officer, Lt Adam Riddett.
The visit was also a goodwill public relations exercise to show what the navy’s made of, before HMS Raider weighed anchor and set sail back down the Thames on Sunday.
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