UKMCM1 Crew 7 Self-Propel Themselves Around UK for RNRM CharityWhen you are deployed to far off shores one of the many things you think about is home and this was no different for MCM1 Crew 7 when they took charge of HMS Pembroke in August of last year. It would have been easy to while away our spare time (what little there was) dreaming of rain and green grass but instead the Coxswain, PO(D) Garth Spence, set the crew a challenge:
“To circumnavigate the UK using onboard gym equipment.”
So as Pembroke set to sea for the first time with her new Crew last summer she also left Faslane to begin her UK circumnavigation. 8 months to complete 1820 nautical miles - no small feat. Linking this plan to raising money for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) came next and, on writing, the Crew 7 has raised £900 from personal donations, fundraising onboard and support from families and friends via the
www.virginmoneygiving.com website.
HMS Pembroke isn’t a particularly large ship and squeezing gym equipment onboard meant it was stored in some unusual places. The team used a cross trainer on the upperdeck, bike in the hangar and a rowing machine in the gyro space. Each time a piece of equipment was used the distance was noted down and plotted on the chart edging ever closer to our goal. The crew relished the challenge and soon set up several mini competitions, most notably the sub 3 ½ minute group for 1km on the rowing machine.
There was a time coming towards the end of the deployment when there were fears that we wouldn’t quite make it back to Faslane. However, the crew pulled together over the last few weeks, hitting the gym equipment in the hope of reaching the target and burning a few final calories and successfully covered the last 200 miles. Not only have they made it all the way back to Faslane but they return to the UK fitter and safe in the knowledge that they have helped to raise money for a good cause.
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