We left the relative safety of the COA at 0200 this morning and re-entered the FIPZ.
This meant that there was an increased risk to the ship, as we were then within theoretical striking distance of the Argentine mainland for missile-carrying aircraft, so we went to a higher state of damage-control readiness, and we had to wear two sets of clothing again, as well as once more sleeping in overalls or whatever.
The increased state of readiness made getting around the ship a lot more difficult, as all the watertight doors were closed, and on the hatches, only the small ‘kidney’ hatches were open. I have not yet worked out why these small openings are called kidney hatches, but having clambered through several, I strongly suspect that it’s because they smash you in the kidneys as you try to scramble through, pulling one-piece suit, life-jacket and so on behind you.
It was a really beautiful day today, with flat calm seas and brilliant sunshine. In the afternoon, I went up on deck and had a look at the Falkland Islands, as we were only a few miles off. Not, frankly, a great deal to see, as we were still too far off to make out any detail, but I could see three low-lying humps on the horizon, so I can in all honesty say I’ve seen the islands, I suppose, even if that’s as close as I ever get to them.
We are still running an effective anti-submarine screen, and our escort vessels are fulfilling their primary task of protecting us by carrying out anti-submarine measures as appropriate, while the Sea Harriers have been flying CAP as required, though no Argentine aircraft have infringed the FIPZ since we arrived down here. We now have the Admiral – Rear Admiral Reffell, Flag Officer Third Flotilla – on board, and he went on ITV last night and, in a recorded programme, outlined what he thought we would be likely to be doing in the future.
No real surprises there, but he was a little more pessimistic about the time-scale involved on the Port Stanley runway programme, believing that mid-October, or perhaps even later, was a more realistic date for completion than the end of September, which had been mooted previously. He, too, suggested that we would be visiting an American port before returning to Britain, but would not be drawn on where or when. He also said that he had requested that Hermes be prepared to relieve us if required by mid-November, if there is an excessive delay on the runway, so that we will almost certainly be home for Christmas.
There was a Wardroom, or rather an ITV, film called ‘Game For Vultures’ about the guerilla war in Rhodesia, but it really wasn’t all that hot so I retired to bed, for my first long lie-in for some time, as I was not required on watch at 0200, due to the helicopter flying being called off.