Mayor of Romsey captains a super tanker
Romsey Rotary Club members, led by John Burgess, Mayor of Romsey, practised their ship handling skills when they visited Warsash Maritime Academy’s new ship handling training centre at Timsbury Lake on Friday 19 August.
Warsash Maritime Academy, part of Southampton Solent University, is a leading provider of training for seafarers from all over the world and the new centre, opened by the former First Sea Lord, Lord West in June, specialises in training marine pilots and ship’s officers in the art of slow speed ship handling.
The Mayor and guests were given first hand experience of the difficulties faced by seafarers when they went afloat in some of the centre’s scale model tankers and bulk carriers.
Bob Joughin, Deputy Director of Warsash Maritime Academy gave a presentation on the development of the centre, and the vital work that it carries out, and Senior Lecturers Gordon Maxwell and Peter Barber, together with Technician John Waterman, were on hand to help the visitors develop their ship handling skills afloat.
Several yachtsmen in the group commented on how the experience had given them an understanding of the ‘big ship’ point of view when manoeuvring in confined waters, surrounded by small craft.