Patron: General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO / Exercise ATLANTIC UBIQUE
Directorate of Personnel Capability,
Ramillies Building, IDL 423,
Marlborough Lines, Andover,
Hampshire, SP11 8HJ
Tel: Mil - 94391 7706; Civ - 01264 381706
E-mail:
See Distr / Ref: RAYC/ExAU/002
Date: 20 Aug 14
EXERCISE ATLANTIC UBIQUE – FRAGO 002
References:
A. RAYC/ExAU/001 Exercise ATLANTIC UBIQUE Warning Order 1, dated 24 Feb 14,
B JSP 462 Ch 9 dated Jun 13 - MOD Sponsorship.
C. AGAI Vol 1 Ch 11 – Adv Trg.
D. JSP 419 – Adv Trg.
E. RAYC Rules and Regs, Bye Law X and AT instructions.
1. Background. The Gunners are conducting an adventurous sail training expedition as part of the Royal Artillery tercentenary celebrations “UBIQUE 300”. The expedition is open to all Regular and Reserve Royal Artillery officers and soldiers and will include the opportunity for participation by some qualified retired individuals. The RAYC flagship, St Barbara V, will depart Gosport mid-Sep 15 and return to the UK by mid-Aug 16. The route takes the yacht initially to the Canary Islands then, via the Cape Verde Islands, westward across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. This will be followed by 2 months of cruising around the Caribbean islands before sailing up the eastern seaboard of the USA and Canada, which presents excellent opportunities to reaffirm links with Allied and Commonwealth artillery nations. Finally, St Barbara will return eastward across the Atlantic back to the UK.
2. Exercise Aim. The aim of the expedition is to sail the Gunner yacht to America and back with as many Royal Artillery personnel participating as possible, in order to: further enhance the reputation of the RAYC as one of the Army’s premier yacht clubs, contribute towards Gunner ethos and esprit de corps, including the tercentenary celebrations, and gain all the well documented benefits of offshore adventurous sail training for the individuals involved, including enhancing offshore sailing qualifications and experience.
3. The aim of this FRAGO is to disseminate relevant information so units can begin planning for their allocated leg and commence training for crew members which is key to setting the conditions for success. It also serves to keep the Gunner chain of command and wider community informed.
4. Chain of Command Support. The exercise has the total support of the Gunner chain of command. Regimental 2ICs and Training Majors are strongly encouraged to be the focal point for their Regiment, overseeing and supporting their nominated sailing officer. Regimental Training Officers should also be closely involved in scheduling and booking relevant courses, as well as monitoring qualification acquisition and progression. Other organisations should identify their sailing officer who should be similarly assisted throughout the planning and organisational stages.
5. Unit Allocations. All bids for participation on Ex AU have been carefully scrutinised with the subsequent allocations detailed in Annex A showing dates, locations and duration of each leg.
6. After-guard/Individual Augmentees. Some units may not have, or be unable to produce in time, suitably qualified individuals to man the afterguard requirement for their leg. The Ex AU committee has already trawled the RAYC membership (and wider) for volunteers to fill skipper and mate positions but all units will be expected to provide, as a very minimum, the watch-leaders for each crew. If a unit requires assistance to fill afterguard appointments they should notify Lt Col White as early in the planning process as possible. This will allow the matching of afterguard volunteers to vacant appointments and early liaison between units and individuals. The crew and minimum sailing qualification requirements for each leg are shown in Enclosure 1.
7. Christmas Charter. The opportunity exists for any member of the RAYC (or a Gunner unit) to charter St Barbara V for 14 days over Christmas 2015 at reduced charter rates. Bids for this charter will close on 31 Jan 15. On current planning, the RAYC boatswain is scheduled to deploy with 16 Regt on the pre-Christmas leg. If no-one charters the yacht over the Christmas period the boatswain will remain in St Lucia over the Christmas period to conduct more in-depth maintenance.
8. Yacht Maintenance. In order to keep the yacht in a safe and seaworthy condition whilst ensuring maximum availability for all units participating, yacht maintenance will be conducted as follows:
a. Pre-deployment (Sep 15), when all aspects of the yacht will be fully examined, prepared and checked prior to this demanding expedition.
b. During the exercise there will be at least three week-long periods when all ongoing maintenance work will be undertaken by the boatswain.
c. During the exercise every crew will be expected to conduct its own low level maintenance ensuring the yacht is handed over in a seaworthy condition.
d. Post exercise (Aug 16), when the yacht will be fully examined and worked on prior to her becoming available again for routine RAYC charters.
9. Finances. Ex AU will be funded by a combination of central ATG funds, individual contributions (ICs) and unit level funding, with the possibility of some expedition and local sponsorship to be confirmed. The allocation and management of funds will be by a combination of central and local/unit management as follows:
a. Central ATG funds will be allocated to offset overall expedition costs (charter fees, insurance, non-serving afterguard, equipment, and a berthing and fuel allowance). The remaining ATG funds will be allocated to each unit, leg and individual participants to subsidise flight costs. These funds will be centrally managed through an expedition account managed by the Artillery Centre.
b. The level of IC will be set at approximately 40% of actual leg costs, taking into account the price of flight but calculated before unit-provided funding is taken in to account. Units will be responsible for managing and funding flight costs for their allocated legs. An initial central ATG allocation will be agreed based on estimated flight costs and confirmed when flights are booked.
c. Units will manage and arrange CILOR for their legs.
10. Sponsorship. The Ex AU committee is responsible to the MOD, Army and RAYC for any activity that might have brand and reputational effects. Any sponsorship must be managed within MOD sponsorship regulations (Ref B). In principle, sponsorship or donations that apply to more than one leg will be managed by the Ex AU committee, whilst units will be allowed to engage with local sponsors for unit leg activities.
11. JSATFA. One JSATFA is being produced for the expedition – units will not be required to provide another. If a JSATFA is required for local, regional or unit funds, the Ex AU JSATFA is to be used. That said, unit-specific appendices, eg. nominal roll (Appx 1) and sailing activity details (Appx 7), must be submitted to ATG(A), copied to the Ex AU committee, by each unit at least two months prior to unit deployment in order to comply with ATG(A) direction and guidance as per Refs C & D.
12. Training. Training and qualifications are absolutely key to the success of the entire expedition. With just under 13 months until the initial deployment date there will be many courses and much refresher training to be completed by those who volunteer as skippers, mates and crew. Several Services organisations offer shore-based and practical “afloat” courses and mile-building sailing trips can be organised in order to establish new skills, update current competences and gain valuable experience prior to participating in the expedition. Ex AU will consist of 17 sailing legs requiring a total of 5 x Yacht Masters Ocean, 17 x Yacht Masters Offshore, 22 x Yacht Masters Coastal and 24 x Day Skippers. Those crew members not skippering or watch leading need not hold any sailing qualifications or have any previous sailing experience. However, a RYA Competent Crew qualification and some recent sailing experience prior to deployment would enable crew members to contribute to and benefit more from their leg. For safety and individual satisfaction reasons, all those participating in long ocean passages must have had at least some experience of offshore sailing and should be Competent Crew qualified.
13. Additional Qualifications. Detailed minimum sailing qualification requirements for each leg are shown in Enclosure 1. Units are advised to bid for training places at JSASTC and/or BKYC as soon as personnel are selected to sail. The RAYC will also be offering some skipper, mate and crew training courses in late 2014 and throughout 2015; unit sailing officers should scan the RAYC website www.rayc.org.uk regularly for information on these opportunities. All crew members on the ocean legs must have completed the ISAF Safety course and Sea Survival course (each element is one day long). In addition, individual crew members for the ocean legs (preferably not the skipper) must be nominated to complete the Long Range Communications Course and the Advanced Medical Management at Sea Course. These latter courses will be organised and convened centrally by the Ex AU committee. More details will follow in Jan 15.
14. Continuity Skippers/Crew. In order to provide some continuity throughout the expedition, the intent is to identify continuity afterguard and/or a boatswain who will undertake sequential legs. The purpose is to simplify yacht handover/takeovers, provide a ‘systems expert’ on board and facilitate appropriate maintenance and repairs during sailing and maintenance periods. Any volunteers for such a role should make themselves know to Lt Col White as soon as possible.
15. Route Planning. The expedition route, with associated leg dates, is shown at Annex A and Enclosure 1. Leg skippers will be responsible for passage planning their allocated leg in accordance with Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations and Refs C & D. Charts and publications will be available from the Ex AU committee and RAYC boatswains before the exercise to assist skippers with passage planning.
16. Media. The intention is to publicise Ex AU using a range of traditional and more modern media methods. It is essential these activities are coordinated at the Ex AU committee level but conducted at the Unit level to maximise positive media coverage and publicity for the expedition.
a. Face Book. By 1 Sep 14 there will be an Ex AU Face Book page linked to the Army Face Book page. Search “Atlantic Ubique” and “like” in order to keep up to date with planning, training and other aspects linked to the expedition. Units should plan to maximise usage of their own Unit Face Book page and include photos, sail training updates and establish a blog linked to the main Ex AU FB page.
b. RAYC Website. The RAYC website www.rayc.org.uk will have all the key Ex AU documents linked via the homepage.
c. Twitter. The intention is to establish an Ex AU Twitter blog probably through Army FB/Twitter accounts via the Army Media and Communications (AMC) branch. Unit Twitter blogs should be established early to capture aspects throughout sail training, preparation, deployment and then post-expedition.
d. Media. The expedition committee will engage and coordinate with wide-reaching media such as BFBS Radio and TV, Soldier Magazine and other Service-related publications. The aim is to conduct a series of events pre-, during and post-deployment. At a more local level Units should also aim to maximise positive publicity by linking with local radio, print and TV media outlets to cover stories of soldiers deploying on this challenging expedition. Each Unit will be expected to produce a short article with photos for inclusion in the Gunner magazine.
e. Fair Log. Each crew will be expected to produce a daily “Fair Log” for their leg. This should capture events, locations, photos, stories, etc so they can be kept as a record of the expedition from the participating soldiers’ perspective for posterity.
17. POC and Timeline. Contact details for each member of the Ex AU committee and their areas of responsibility are shown below. Questions should be addressed to the relevant POC by telephone, using , or direct to the email address shown beside each specific committee member. An Ex AU timeline to assist Unit planning is shown graphically at Annex B.
POC / CONTACT DETAILS / AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITYExercise Director –
Col Neil Wilson / Mil - 94391 7706;
Civ - 01264 381706
Mobile: 07795 122009
E-mail: / Overall D&G
Liaison with the chain of command
Risk Duty Holder
Discipline
Exercise Plans and Finance –
Lt Col Tim Wood / Mil - 94393 7003;
Civ - 01264 887003
Mobile: 07769 301862
E-mail: / Finances
JSATFA
Flights
Sponsorship
Yacht QM and Training Adviser –
Lt Col (Retd) Mac McCormack / Mobile: 07910 217086
E-mail: / Yacht preparation
Yacht maintenance
Skipper/Mate specialist training
Route planning
Exercise Coord, Media and Comms –
Lt Col Matt White / Mil - 94344 8280;
Civ - 01980 618280
Mobile: 07850 172486
E-mail: / Unit leg bids/coord
After guard/individual crew coord
Individual crew training
Media & comms
18. Conclusion. Detailed planning for this ambitious, challenging and exciting adventurous
training expedition is now well underway. This FRAGO allocates units to legs, thereby enabling units to immediately start detailed planning; it is by no means too soon to do so. Such planning should include: