During this time the ship was visited by staff from: Flag Officer Maritime Aviation (FOMA) who assessed the way HMS Richmond conducts her flying; Captain Surface Ships to Commodore Portsmouth Flotilla, Captain Dickens, who assessed the overall performance and running of the ship; and a team from Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) who visited in order to refresh the perishable skills of fire-fighting and damage control by exercising all members of the Ship’s Company in training scenarios.

These visits to HMS Richmond lasted for two weeks and the Ship’s Company was able to unwind in the intervening weekend with a number of whole ship entertainment events. After the FOST staff had finished their training, HMS Richmond visited Muscat for five days and was berthed in company with HMS Chatham, a Type 22 Frigate and the senior ship.

Despite having some technical problems with our aircraft and its handling system, the visit by FOMA was a successful one and the staff were satisfied with the aviation performance and capabilities of the Ship.

The assessment involved not only scrutinising the flight team onboard, but also the way the whole ship responds to incidents such as a crash on deck or the helicopter ditching in the sea. Captain Dickens spent several days onboard and had meetings, some formal and others informal with members of the Ship’s Company.

He noted that the ship had performed well during Operation TELIC/IRAQI FREEDOM and that it was now time to ‘unwind and de-tune’ from their high state of operational readiness which has been the norm since February.

After the first week of visits this advice was promptly put into action with a weekend of whole ship entertainment.

On the Saturday, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Chris McLean led a team made up of members from all messes onboard to prepare an evening barbecue. Once again LAEM ‘Bomber’ Brown made two potato curry masalas, Leading Chef ‘Spider’ Kelly mixed up a Chinese marinade for the chicken and some of the steaks, the remainder being prepared with garlic and red wine.

In the searing heat of the early afternoon, and notwithstanding the live transmission of the England/Australia rugby match on the Ship’s television system, willing volunteers collected the barbecue fixtures and charcoal from the funnel and the equally hot winch-well.

Meanwhile others were busy on the Flight Deck adding the last touches to their rafts, bird-man costumes or working on the assembly of the ‘stage’ for the Ship’s Raffle presentation.

In the early evening the barbecue got under way with a number of ‘chefs’ working in rotation, but with sterling efforts from the Marine Engineering Officer, Lieutenant Commander Colin Moores, Leading Chef ‘Spider’ Kelly and Chef ‘Gav’ Parfitt. Luckily the Petty Officers’ Mess laid on a bar so there was sufficient cool, liquid refreshment for those toiling in the heat.

Once darkness fell, and everyone had had enough to eat, the Ship’s Raffle Draw was made. The Ship’s Raffle was organised by Steward ‘Louis’ Lewis, and raised over £12,000. The main prize was a new car and this was won by the lucky LOM ‘Ginge’ Gee. There were a number of runners-up who won generous cash prizes and electrical goods. On completion of the draw, budding singers were able to take to the stage and perform their own versions of their favourite songs in a Karaoke evening.

On the Sunday the whole ship entertainment took place in the afternoon and included a ‘Birdman of Richmond Competition’ and a ‘Raft-Race.’ Detailed rules had been promulgated by the ‘Club-Swinger’, LPTI Jay Gorton, who had orchestrated the two events. HMS Richmond stopped in the water, the aft Flight Deck nets were struck and a wooden launch-pad was projected over the stern from where the ‘Birdmen’ would commence their aerial displays.

Competitors were marked on their ‘birdlike’ appearance, enthusiasm and distance flown by three impartial judges, the maximum score being 45, the minimum 9. The ‘Birdmen’ assembled on the Flight Deck and posed for photographs in all their splendour prior to their inaugural flights. The competition was won, narrowly, by OM ‘Brum’ Smith who scored 36 points.

Other memorable performances were made by the Logistics and Supply Officer, Lieutenant Commander Dan Bryant, who incorporated a scuba theme into his outfit. Lieutenants Willing and Fitzpatrick, the normal aircrew, could not resist the opportunity to get airborne in a mock-up second-world-war two-seater bomber.

OM ‘Nobby’ Clark challenged traditional aeronautical design with an unorthodox wing structure. LOM ‘Buster’ Brown achieved a high score by actually diving in, whereas the Commanding Officer, Commander Wayne Keble, came last with a disappointing 9 points after his rotating mono-blade helicopter design failed to impress the judges.

Once all the competitors were safely recovered it was time to move onto the ‘Raft-Race Competition.’ Teams were entered by both messes and departments who had assembled rafts from various materials found onboard. The Wardroom raft featured a silvery mermaid. The 2KP mess raft failed to get underway. The 3K mess raft was helped along by a certain amount of towing from onboard.

The clear winners were the Marine Engineers who had constructed a superb raft consisting of a wooden frame supported on metal gash cans packed with empty plastic bottles to increase buoyancy. Not a successful day for the CO, Commander Keble, who devised a paddle-powered raft out of a bicycle, came last after his design failed to include a steering mechanism and the chain fell off.

At the mercy of wind and tide, he drifted somewhat off course but was rescued in time to present the winners of the afternoon’s competitions with their prizes.

After this weekend of entertainment, it was back to work the next week with the FOST team. During their visit all departments were put through their paces and the overall assessment was satisfactory.

Once again CPO(S) ‘Stu’ Black organised another ‘It’s A Knockout NBCD Competition’ with teams from all messes and a guest team consisting of the FOST staff. After a ‘re-count’ and some interesting interpretations of the rules, the 2J mess team were declared the winners and received a prize case of beer.

Next it was time for HMS Richmond to go alongside in Muscat, Oman and conduct her port visit. The Ship’s Divers were once again in action carrying out dives on the hull and jetty searches as were the Ship’s Scuba Divers who managed to dive a number of local sights including the recently sunk wreck of an Omani troop carrier.

Some members of the Ship’s Company left for advanced leave whereas those remaining were able to enjoy the Combined Services Entertainment show. This proved to be an excellent evening out for the whole ship who were entertained by musical, dance and comedy acts.

HMS Richmond sailed from Muscat, proceeding west in order to hand-over to HMS Sutherland a Devonport based Type 23 Frigate who will take over the role of Armilla Patrol ship.