46 NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2010


● Just 335 miles to go... PO Scott Markham pedals through the Staffordshire countryside during the bike section of the Triple Iron UK


Picture: Nigel Farrow/www.nigelfarrow.com


‘Tiger stripes to the end’


THE sport he loved eventually claimed the life of one of the regular contributors to these columns in recent years. Motorcyclist PO(AET) Jamie


Adam (pictured here by his friend PO(Phot) Paul A’Barrow) was fatally injured when his bike collided with a fellow racer in the junior Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man. The two bikes came together at Alpine Cottage on the northwest stretch of the world-famous motorcycle course. PO Adam, who had just completed his PO air engineer technician course at HMS Sultan and was about to join 771 NAS, was pronounced dead at the scene by air paramedics.


The second racer injured in the accident, policeman Chris Bradshaw from the West Midlands, died shortly afterwards in hospital. Both men were experienced riders and veterans of the notorious Isle of Man race track. PO Adam joined the Royal


Navy in 1998 and brought with him a passion for motorcycling; his grandfather Jack Adam rode in the TT, joining an elite group of riders who averaged more than 100mph on the Isle of Man circuit. The Adam family’s love of


motorsports was matched by the senior rate’s passion for the Senior Service. A veteran of Iraq and


Afghanistan with the Commando Helicopter Force, PO Adam painted his bike in the legendary tiger stripe colours used by Sea Kings in the Balkans in the mid- 90s.


Smashing splashing in Guzz


THE Plymouth RN/RM Swimming Club Championships were held over a two-week period, with longer events being held in the evenings of club weekday water time. This was a change from previous years and seemed


to work well, allowing competitors to rest properly between events, writes Lt Paul Evans. The number of competitors, both male (20) and female (24) entering this year, was up, with a total of 294 swims – or ‘splashes’ as they are commonly referred to – an increase of 60 on last year. The competitors were mainly youngsters in the age


group of eight to 17, some of whom were competing for the fi rst time; a number of the more mature swimmers also took part. It was pleasing to see the increased number of male


over the year was evident as 35 new records were achieved; they will be ratifi ed at the AGM next month.


swimmers. In previous years there has been a lack of boys in the Club. The hard work of swimmers, coaches and teachers


and were introduced to jobs such as timekeeping, announcing and competitor’s steward. All the assistance was appreciated and helped make the championships a success. The swimmers can now look forward to the City of Plymouth Championships this month and receiving their awards at the club presentation evening next month at the WO and SRs’ mess in HMS Drake. As well as the club championships, the annual junior section gala was held at HMS Raleigh. This was a close competition between Drake and Raleigh, which the referee deemed a draw. Many swimmers took part, some as young as fi ve. They all tried hard and swam well to win points for their teams.


followed by a barbecue attended by approximately 200 club members and families. The two volunteer chefs did well to compete with


As well as playing a pivotal role in the RN Motor Cycle Club, PO Adam was well known on the racing circuit for his willingness to offer help and advice. One fellow Manx racer said simply: “The race paddock will be poorer without him.” Fellow Jungly Rob Crowe,


who served with the senior rate in Afghanistan, said PO Adam would be “missed by many far and wide”. He added: “Gone but won’t be forgotten – tiger stripes to the end.”


CS lose in rare outing


LT TIM Lomas was the sole RN representative in a rare fi x


ture – thanks to


operational commitments – for the Combined Services


hockey team. Players from all three Services


And from the rider’s CO Cdre Mark Slawson, Commanding Offi cer of HMS Sultan: “PO Adam was a professional and committed individual who had made a real success of his course. “His tragic loss is felt deeply both within HMS Sultan and throughout the wider Fleet Air Arm.”


Charity clash


AFTER the success of last year’s inaugural charity match, the Medics Rugby Challenge returns to Plymouth next month. The medics, in the form of


the Peninsula Medical School, challenged the Royal Marines to a game at Plymouth Albion’s ground. The green berets duly obliged and the net result was nearly £25K raised to help marines wounded in the line of duty return to normality. This year’s clash, at the same


venue, takes place on November 2. There’s a U16s match at 5.30pm, the Band of HM Royal Marines provide entertainment from 6.40pm and the big game kicks off at 7.30pm.


converged on Aldershot Sports Garrison for a training session ahead of a match later in the day against England Hockey League team Guildford, coached by the current RAF coach and one-time Army, CS and England player Ian Jennings.


The CS knew a good start was


imperative if they were to have a chance of beating their formidable opponents, writes team captain SAC James Havlin. The match began at a frenetic


pace. The CS, running at and pressurising the Guildford defence, were soon rewarded when 2Lt Josh Tester won a short corner. Cpl Scott Beach stepped up and


converted the subsequent corner by fl icking the ball into the left hand corner of the goal to open the scoring. A second goal soon followed from another short corner, this time converted by L/Cpl Shane Vincent.


The pressure continued when


2Lt Tester, working well up front, claimed a third goal – and at 3-0, the CS had control of the match. Guildford rallied,


however,


Tickets are £5 for adults or free for children and are available from medicsrugbychallenge. co.uk.


and scored three goals in quick succession to draw level. Shortly before the break a rebound off the Guildford keeper found its way to forward SAC James Havlin who took full advantage, slipping the ball past a hapless defender on the line to give the Combined Services a 4-3 lead at the break. At the start of the second half, there were signs that Guildford were beginning to settle and fi nd gaps in the CS defence.


Despite frequent downpours of rain, the gala was


the weather and the evening was successful and enjoyed by all.


Many parents assisted with the running of the event


The loneliness of the long-distance rider


diffi cult and emotional 336 miles on the cycle. Road conditions were quite poor for long stretches and this led to additional fatigue for the competitors. Concentration levels had to be high at all times to avoid many dangerous pot holes; indeed, the senior rate was forced to take three ten-minute ‘power naps’ to avoid crashing on the bike when it became an all too real danger. The 24 laps of the bike course took the senior rating 21h 45m 51s


AFTER a solid fourth-place fi nish in last year’s Double Iron UK race, triathlete POAEM Scott Markham was hoping to make a good impression in the fi rst Triple Iron distance race to take place in the UK. The race comprises a 7.2-mile swim, followed by a 336-mile bike race (14-mile laps), fi nishing with 78 miles of running around a 1.2- mile multi-terrain course, all centred on Lichfi eld in Staffordshire. The race began at 6am on a morning with 24 of the fi nest ultra endurance athletes from the UK, Germany and Italy eagerly anticipating the suffer-fest ahead. PO Markham had a solid swim, managing to complete the 456 pool lengths in a time of 3h 42m 7s, climbing out of the water in sixth place. A controlled transition led to the start of what was to become a


and saw PO Markham move up to third. After the torture of almost 22 hours on the bike, the relief of starting a 78-mile run was clearly evident with the air engineer setting off at a blistering pace (relative for this type of event), putting immediate pressure on the second-place athlete who was over an hour in front after the bike ride.


marathon PO Markham had moved into second. Positions then changed hands several times as the war of attrition


The time difference crept down and by the middle of the second


began. It wasn’t until the fi nal 15 miles that the result was certain as the entire fi eld ground to walking pace and were unable to maintain anything that resembled a run. Although the fi nal time of 44h 44m 4s was a bit longer than hoped for, the second-place fi nish was an amazing result.


Portsmouth end ten-year drought


● Lt Tim Lomas, the sole RN player in the Combined Services team, races away from goal during the narrow defeat to Guildford


A scrappy period of play saw Guildford


score twice to take


the lead for the fi rst time in the match.


Both teams were playing at a blistering pace and frequent substitutions were required to maintain the momentum. With only ten minutes to go excellent work by the Navy’s Lt Tim Lomas and 2Lt Andy Smith kept the pressure on the Guildford defence,


however, some tough


tackling from Maj Craig Pope resulted in him being shown a yellow card and he incurred a fi ve- minute suspension.


This loss in the CS midfi eld –


and a quick break from Guildford – enabled the opposition to increase their lead to 6-4. Despite being a man down the


Services kept up the pressure and an impressive piece of individual skill by former GB international Maj Guy Fordham, chipping the ball into the goal over the diving Guildford keeper, brought the CS within touching distance. The CS didn’t give up and were unlucky not to be rewarded with a short corner with the fi nal minutes counting down, but it was too late: the match ended in a 6-5 win for Guildford.


Despite losing the match,


PORTSMOUTH entered cricket’s Navy Cup looking to banish years of misery by going all the way and winning the competition, writes LPT Craig Horsman.


were awarded a bye in the opening round which allowed them to sit back and await the winners from the Excellent-Neptune game. Ahead of the tournament,


Portsmouth were beginning to take shape and were going strong in the Twenty20 league. They faced an Excellent team in


a 35-over quarter fi nal – the only team to have beaten Portsmouth in the 2010 season. Revenge came in the form a


And things began well. They


Last season’s winners Collingwood were the opponents in the semi-fi nals and the Fareham team were dismissed for 108. Collingwood’s bowlers tore into the opening order, leaving Portsmouth 19-5 at one point before the ship was steadied and LS Barker hit the winning runs to book Pompey’s fi rst fi nal in more than ten years. The fi nal at Burnaby Road saw


comfortable Pompey victory by 60 runs. LS Barnwell showed the reason he was selected as captain with a very pleasing innings of 78 before being eventually caught out, while the pick of the bowlers was ET(WE) Hill with 4-14.


Portsmouth win the toss against Commando Logistics Regiment and promptly set the Royals a huge total (246). CLR were up against it from the off and never looked like winning despite some positive displays from their opening batsmen. There were strong performances


from the entire Portsmouth team with ET(WE) Hill once more the star of the show; he deservedly won the man of the match title for his 126 with the bat and 3-30 bowling.


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