A Tyne Example for Northumbrian URNU

Northumbrian Universities Royal Navy Unit (NURNUs) new crop of students were recently shown the ropes (literally!) during their New Entry sea weekend on board Royal Navy Patrol Vessel HMS Example

This was their first of the new term, and first for her new Commanding Officer Lieutenant Duncan Napier.

20 new students from Newcastle, Northumbria and Durham universities took part, with assistance provided by second and third years already in the unit. 

The weekend started with lessons on sea survival equipment, giving the students a great opportunity to try on the full rig of once only survival suit and lifejacket.

They were also talked through the correct handling and names of berthing lines. This then nicely translated into the practical evolution after lunch, during which they were the line handlers on part of ship for berthing and un-berthing evolutions under the watchful eye of the XO.

The second lot of new entry students had a slightly different experience, sailing up the river Tyne on a nice balmy Sunday morning and meeting up with the Tynemouth Lifeboat for some MOBEX practice outside the mouth of the River Tyne.

The Tynemouth Lifeboat, RNLB Fraser Flyer, and HMS Example took it in turns to recover ‘Ruth’ from the water and then proceeded back to the river together.

This gave the ship’s company and the new students a fantastic insight into how the RNLI conduct their core business at sea, and Ruth was recovered cold but conscious each time!

The weekend was well received by all and thanks go to Tynemouth RNLI for taking the time to conduct training with Example.

HMS Example has a core crew of five, and is a part of the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron. She undertakes a wide variety of tasking ranging including wider fleet tasking and Maritime Security operations around the UK coast, deployments overseas in support of NURNU and local area engagements such as sea cadet sea days.