Vincy sailors in Royal Navy get surprise trip home

Five Vincentian members serving onboard HMS DAUNTLESS of the Royal Navy paid a surprise visit here on September 4, and got the opportunity to show off the ship to their families and go home for a quick visit.{{more}}

In the midst of its Atlantic AURIGA 12 deployment, and about to begin Counter Narcotic operations in the Caribbean, HMS DAUNTLESS took a small detour to allow Able Seaman Troy Dorsette, 31, a steward, Able Seaman Jason King, 23, also a steward, Able Seaman Stuart Trotman, 26, a chef, Leading Regulator Shelly Ann Prescott, 25, and Leading Stores Accountant Asha McMillan, 30, to have 48 hours leave ashore.

Dorsette, who is from Bellevue, was having his first visit home since 2009, while King, from Canouan, and Trotman, from Stubbs, had not been home since 2011. Prescott, who hails from Arnos Vale, was returning home for the first time since 2008. McMillan is from Mesopotamia, and was making his first visit home since 2010.

The visit was not planned as part of the overall deployment, but with the ship entering the Caribbean to take part in a multi-national maritime exercise, and conduct counter narcotic patrols, a clear opportunity presented itself.

On departing and being picked back up by his ship, McMillan said: “I feel like crying now that we are leaving again, but you have to look at it as a bonus; we never thought we were coming here on this trip, so a bonus it is.”

After five months on deployment, which have seen the Royal Navy Destroyer conduct maritime security operations down the length of West Africa, and more recently patrols around the cold and windy Falkland Islands, the ship arrived, bathed in warm Caribbean sunshine, at St Vincent on the evening of the September 4, ready to start the next phase of operations.

“I think it is incredibly important that when we get the opportunity, we support our Caribbean crew members and make the most of days like today. We may have been away from home for 5 months, but for these sailors, they have been away from their homes for much much longer. Not that you’ll ever hear them complain about that though; in fact, on the contrary, they are some of the happiest people, which, from my perspective, makes my life easy, as they are a pleasure to work with,” Captain Will Warrender RN, the destroyer’s commanding officer, said.