Remember the naval ship I mentioned on Thursday? They allow civilians on for tours, and so it was that we were at the docks at 8.45 for the official tour of the RFA Gold Rover. We had to wait for the Gannet Three to be able to pull alongside the landing steps as there was such a huge swell, but once the water was a bit calmer we all donned lifejackets and enjoyed the ten minute trip out to the ship. 
The Gold Rover is a RAS ship, which means Replenishment-At-Sea – its main function is to replenish Royal Navy warships with fuel, lubricants, fresh water and refrigerated stores. 
We had a very interesting tour of the ship, which is a relatively small one in the British fleet – we saw the bridge, the officer’s lounge and mess, the refueling area and the flight deck where helicopters can also replenish supplies. The boys had a few questions to ask – Caleb’s request to fire off a large gun was turned down, but at least he tried! The tour lasted just under an hour, and then it was time to suit up again for the trip back to land. We marveled at the wonderful opportunities we’ve had and the things we’ve seen on the island. 
We had a combined service at Knollcombes during the afternoon (good timing, otherwise we couldn’t have done the ship tour). The church was quite empty which was a pity because Nick preached an excellent message on Paul in Corinth from Acts 18, drawing in a few applications for us all which were very relevant. After church we just came home and scattered in various directions – the boys outside, Nick to the computer and me to bed for a snooze.
The Gold Rover is a RAS ship, which means Replenishment-At-Sea – its main function is to replenish Royal Navy warships with fuel, lubricants, fresh water and refrigerated stores. We had a very interesting tour of the ship, which is a relatively small one in the British fleet – we saw the bridge, the officer’s lounge and mess, the refueling area and the flight deck where helicopters can also replenish supplies. The boys had a few questions to ask – Caleb’s request to fire off a large gun was turned down, but at least he tried! The tour lasted just under an hour, and then it was time to suit up again for the trip back to land. We marveled at the wonderful opportunities we’ve had and the things we’ve seen on the island. We had a combined service at Knollcombes during the afternoon (good timing, otherwise we couldn’t have done the ship tour). The church was quite empty which was a pity because Nick preached an excellent message on Paul in Corinth from Acts 18, drawing in a few applications for us all which were very relevant. After church we just came home and scattered in various directions – the boys outside, Nick to the computer and me to bed for a snooze. 
1 comment:
It looks amazing. What a wonderful opportunity....
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