Sailing Course in Germany - By Corporal D Gibbs AGC (SPS) (243 HQ Squadron RLC)

A party of 12 soldiers from different squadrons of 159 Regiment RLC arrived at Kiel Yachting Club early in the afternoon of Friday 16^th May.  It was a beautiful place with views from the harbour looking across the Baltic ocean to the coastline of the rugged landscape of the northern fjords in Germany.  

Once all the logistics of accommodation had been organised we were introduced to the instructors and split into two groups, one for sailing the other for powerboating.  After collecting our prospective wet weather gear for the following four days, the rest of the day was ours and we took the time to explore the local town and surrounding harbour area.

Saturday morning began at 5am with beautiful clear skies but by breakfast fog had come in from the ocean reducing visibility to about 500 metres.  However by 10am, beautiful blue skies again, a sharp warning of how quickly the weather could change in this area.  The day began with a lesson in the classroom regarding safety and the aims of the course.  We then all piled out to our various boats.  Myself, WO2 Williams (243 Coventry Squadron) and Sgt Johnson (123 Telford Squadron) made up a three man crew for our powerboat with instructor Nigel.

We spent the morning learning basic navigation in the harbour.  At a speed of 2 knots we learnt how to steer, moor and leave a jetty and how to keep a boat motionless. After lunch we left the harbour area and Nigel demonstrated controlled faster moves, at 7 knots, which we all had a go at.  Below is Sgt Johnson practising steering with Nigel and WO2 Williams looking on.

Sunday morning was spent consolidating low speed manoeuvers, learning how to turn the boat 180 degrees on the spot followed by some slalom navigating. We crossed the bay to Laboe for lunch and  visited the German submarine.  It was fascinating to see where so many men lived underwater in exceptionally cramped conditions, even the officers.  Below, sleeping quarters for seven men and a torpedo!

After lunch we ventured further out into the ocean where we could travel up to 20 knots and learnt high speed turning and emergency stopping. ‘Bob’ was used for man overboard drills, which came in very handy as I was thrown overboard the next day, just hours after we were awarded our personal certificates for power-boating- enough said!

Monday morning we took our test, which we all passed.  To celebrate we returned to Laboe for their famous fish and chips.  We spent the final hour of the afternoon speeding around the open ocean doing amazing figures of eight and just generally having fun.  

Our course only lasted three days, so all six of us who were on the power-boats had a spare day on Tuesday.  We were allowed to take a yacht out (with an instructor) to learn some basic yachting skills.  This was a completely different experience from power-boating, a much slower but definitely more difficult skill to acquire.  Below, myself and Sgt Johnson are raising the sails.

With beautiful weather, we again crossed the bay to Laboe.  We visited the War Museum and climbed the Naval War Memorial which stands a staggering 279 feet above sea level.

The whole adventurous training package was a truly remarkable and amazing experience.

For more information on sailing and other adventurous training opportunities, all paid for, visit your local Army Reserve Centre or search for Army Reserve careers.