As I said, I'm joining the Royal Navy soon. So soon in fact that by the time the majority of anyone who reads this does, I'll probably be well into my Royal Navy career. Correction, before I even manage to publish this, I'll be well into it, that is to say I've been in now about 7 months and counting. So I'll put in corrections on the way down the page.
OK, I guess most of you wont know anything about what I'm about to go through, so I may as well put down what is to the best of my knowledge what I'm going to go through in the next six months or so.
First of all, I'm going down to Torpoint in East Cornwall, to HMS Raleigh, which is where all Royal Navy ratings go for basic training, I should be there for approx. eight weeks. I'll have to pass a fitness test and a swimming test, I'll learn about the history of the navy, and some current affairs. We learn how to march properly, dress properly and clean our clothes. They teach us knots, which in the Navy are always referred to as bends and hitches, I'm not so sure about this anymore, I think that's just a myth. We learn Fire fighting skills and Damage control, as everyone on a ship should be able to lend a hand in times of need.
OK, after basic training I go on to do a course in seamanship also at HMS Raleigh, this is a four week course, turned out to be only 3 weeks by the time I went on the course, which I don't know much about, so I'll let you know when I do. It's a more intensive course in tying knots, tying boats up alongside, sailing, general safety onboard.
Next I move over to HMS Collingwood in Portsmouth, where I will hopefully be doing my Specialist Communications training. This should take 18 weeks, and once I've finished this I'll get a posting, probably on a ship, for 18 months. On another note, I'm informed that they'll start treating us like normal human beings after basic training is finished. (Update:) They do treat us better, but on ship will apparently be even better. I've hopefully only got 2 weeks left, if I pass my morse code exam, it's not so much the morse that's difficult, but the amount of time between characters, or the speed. Everything else was fairly easy, a little work was needed, but I found it easier than some of the others. As for my posting, I should be joining HMS Cornwall at the beginning of March. Not necessarily the best ship I could've got, because it's one of the Flag Ships of the Royal Navy, ie. the head of it's group.
I should get four weeks holiday in August, so then I'll be able to update you all. This will be a welcome break, and hopefully a good opportunity to get in some races for my running club the South London Harriers. Nope, didn't happen, I'm now at the end of my Christmas Leave. Which I spent up north, so didn't meet up with the running club then either.
Well there goes. Happy New Year all.