RN Messina.
RN fleet tender Messina was launched by Richard Dunston Ltd at Thorne, Humberside in 1982 as HMFT Messina A107, one of a quartet of 29m RN fleet tenders of the Manly Class, the others being Manly, Mentor, and Millbrook. She was attached the Royal Marines in Poole as a training vessel before being de-commissioned after a little over a decade of service. There followed a short commercial career before being purchased by the Pride of Bristol Trust in 1994.
Since 1994 she has acted as a community boat. Operated by the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Old Comrades Association. They provided a means whereby members could use their training and experience to provide a useful service to the local community and charities. Underprivileged and special needs groups were assisted, as were local schools and cadet/scout organisations providing sea going, firefighting, ship and boat handling, first aid and general team building experiences. Also subjects such as the maintenance of the ship were covered. In all it must have been a really useful local asset.
Time has moved on and during the summer of 2022 she moved to the Royal Navy Museum in Hartlepool which was where I came across her as I was taking my lunch break. I had a good chat with the crew who were more than impressed with their recent addition.
Photographed on my iPhone.
RN Messina.
RN fleet tender Messina was launched by Richard Dunston Ltd at Thorne, Humberside in 1982 as HMFT Messina A107, one of a quartet of 29m RN fleet tenders of the Manly Class, the others being Manly, Mentor, and Millbrook. She was attached the Royal Marines in Poole as a training vessel before being de-commissioned after a little over a decade of service. There followed a short commercial career before being purchased by the Pride of Bristol Trust in 1994.
Since 1994 she has acted as a community boat. Operated by the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service Old Comrades Association. They provided a means whereby members could use their training and experience to provide a useful service to the local community and charities. Underprivileged and special needs groups were assisted, as were local schools and cadet/scout organisations providing sea going, firefighting, ship and boat handling, first aid and general team building experiences. Also subjects such as the maintenance of the ship were covered. In all it must have been a really useful local asset.
Time has moved on and during the summer of 2022 she moved to the Royal Navy Museum in Hartlepool which was where I came across her as I was taking my lunch break. I had a good chat with the crew who were more than impressed with their recent addition.
Photographed on my iPhone.