100 Regiment RA recently completed Leg 10 of Exercise MEDITERRANEAN UBIQUE aboard St Barbara V – bringing to a close a demanding deployment that took our flagship yacht deep into the Mediterranean from March to September, and that gave around 90 serving gunners the opportunity to experience high-quality offshore sailing.

For the final leg, 100 Regiment took on the challenge of bringing St Barbara V home, joining her in Vilamoura in southern Portugal before sailing north along the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Spain to A Coruña. Eleven personnel took part over the two weeks, covering an impressive 574 nautical miles, including three overnight passages and 30 hours of night sailing.

It proved a suitably adventurous final leg. The crews faced large Atlantic swells, demanding night watches, seasickness and the additional challenge of navigating to minimise the risk of orca interactions. An exhaust leak during the 174-mile passage from Lagos to Cascais also required some resourceful running repairs before the yacht could continue north. Stops included Lagos, Cascais, Nazaré, Porto, Muros and Corme before St Barbara V finally reached A Coruña.

As with the other legs of Exercise MEDITERRANEAN UBIQUE, the voyage gave both novice and experienced sailors the chance to develop their seamanship, leadership, resilience and teamwork, while building valuable offshore miles and night-sailing experience. A fitting conclusion to a hugely successful six-month deployment for St Barbara V and the RAYC.

Click on the following link to download 100 Regiment’s full exercise report.