By Mal Butler
While around 500 yachts were battling it out on The Solent during Cowes Week, keeping a close eye on the spectacle were Royal Navy (RN) vessels, HMS Tyne and HMS Puncher, along with their crews.
HMS Tyne is skippered by Lt Cdr Hugo Floyer, while HMS Puncher is captained by Lt Alex Snow, who grew up in Shorwell, attended Carisbrooke High School and lives in Ventnor.
The Tyne is a River-class offshore patrol vessel that serves as a fishery protection unit within UK waters. Lt Cdr Floyd, whose grandfather was an RN cadet at the naval college at Osborne, said: “We work with our allies in north-west Europe and will patrol from their Atlantic to the Baltic and north of the Bay of Biscay.
“We’re here in Cowes to further the relationship of the Navy with the Island. We’re often on The Solent and the ship is out for up to 290 days of the year with the rest of the time in for maintenance and logistic operations.”
After a chat with Lt Cdr Floyd, as part of Royal Navy Day, the IW Observer was taken to the other side of Cowes to tour HMS Puncher, where we caught up with Lt Snow, who gave us an exclusive tour around the harbour in the vessel and a close-up look at HMS Tyne.
HMS Puncher is an Archer-class patrol vessel based at HMNB Portsmouth and forms part of the Coastal Forces Squadron. It is primarily tasked with training the officer cadets and midshipmen of the University Royal Naval Unit (URNU) and has a permanent crew of five.
Lt Snow started as a mine clearance diver in bomb disposal and has worked north of the Arctic Circle, with Norwegian Commandoes. He said: “Because it’s a training vessel where we train sailors on frigates and destroyers, it has a lot more equipment than a vessel of this size would usually carry. We are training for underwater warfare and this includes using robots on the sea beds.”
Isle of Wight Observer