National training vessel enters refit
The MVS’s Eastbourne-based national training vessel East Sussex 1 (ES1) has been lifted out of the at Premier Marinas’ Trafalgar Wharf shipyard at Portchester, Portsmouth Harbour. Over the next four weeks she will undergo an extensive refit that will ensure she is able to to continue in her important role for the foreseeable future. She is operated by the East Sussex Sovereign Harbour Unit whose members spent a long day on Monday 23rd travelling to Gosport and then taking ES1 to Trafalgar Wharf, an operation that had to be timed precisely with the high tide.
ES1 had been at Gosport since completing an Autumn schedule of exercises in the Solent that included a number of trips taking Merchant Navy cadets from Solent University’s Warsash Maritime School.
On her return to Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne, has a busy schedule ahead including taking youth and community groups out on sea experience trips, providing coastal voyage training to members from Units around the country and carrying out environmental protoection work during the summer when she will transport plastic debris washed ashore near Beachy Head to port for proper disposal.
ES1 will also act as accommodation for members taking their RYA Powerboat 2 course at the MVS’s afloat training school which is also located at Eastbourne.
After a long day, East Sussex Unit’s crew take a look at ES1 on the shiplift before returning home.
Several of the Unit spent two days later in the week preparing the vessel for the specialist contractors undertaking welding and replating work.
