Hugo Mitchell-Heggs
Submariner ethos: Unity & Heritage
Hugo Mitchell-Heggs
Team manager’s blog 13 Feb 2019

When we go to sea, we don’t get there solely through the actions of our own team. We rely on the

hard work, dedication, intellectual horsepower, imagination and expertise of thousands of people

who form part of the Submarine Enterprise across the United Kingdom. This list of people who get

our Submarines to sea, forming the United Kingdom’s strategic nuclear deterrent, and our

formidable Attack Submarine force, is long and varied, and is reflected in the partners who have

stepped forward to support us in HMS OARDACIOUS.

Team manager’s blog 13 Feb 2019
Hugo Mitchell-Heggs
“Today I will do what other won’t so that ...

This week sees our strength and conditioning programme come to the forefront with a fantastic plan professionally put together with the help and support of our S&C advisor, Pat Coy (Royal Marines). The aim of the first Block of our programme is to build a strength baseline, with our go to movements being Back Squats, Deadlifts and Bench-press… backed up with some significant accessory work!

Though it may be difficult for individuals to trust a new training regime, by trusting a shared programme and buying into a mutual mentality, we can promise ourselves that best shot to be in the best physical shape we can be in at the start of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge race and take part with a view to win! By no means are we taking our eye of the rowing element of the prep with plenty of ERGO/Rowing Machine sessions planned in too!

A key part of our Strength and Conditioning plan is Nutrition, and we are very lucky to welcome our latest HMS Oardacious Bronze partner: The Weston Biltong Company; a fantastic fourth generation British farming family who have kindly supporting the HMS Oardacious crew with a small mountain of high protein Biltong to help sustain us during our training as well as on our Atlantic Crossing

“Today I will do what other won’t so that tomorrow I can do what other can’t!"
Hugo Mitchell-Heggs
Happy New Year CASD50!

Happy New Year! 2019 also marks a very special milestone for the Royal Navy:

Since April 1969, and the fifth patrol of HMS Resolution, there has always been a Royal Navy Ballistic Missile Submarine at sea, providing a Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD), and ensuring that the UK remains safe. This year marks 50 years of unbroken service in maintaining CASD. We could not be more proud to be a part of the many events showcasing the human endeavour and commitment necessary to sustain this vital operation.

We are also delighted to kick start 2019 announcing our second Silver Partners TPGROUP.

We will be rowing across the Atlantic Ocean THIS YEAR! We promise to remain focused, we promise to prepare diligently and we promise to give it our absolute best, if not for ourselves but for all of you wonderful people supporting us and our fantastic Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity!

Happy New Year CASD50!
Hugo Mitchell-Heggs
Merry Christmas!

Another week has rolled on and the HMS Oardacious crew are all finished in their respective roles for the festive period and are all back celebrating Christmas at home with family and friends, something that, with the nature of our jobs and the ever changing submarine program is a treat in itself. Many of our forces personnel will not get this luxury in 2018; across the Tri-service many of our servicemen and woman will not be with their loved ones this Christmas and we would like to spare a thought for these selfless individuals who have the nation’s security at the top of their priorities.

Merry Christmas!

Submariner ethos: Unity & Heritage

“There is a Democracy of Things Real in the boats which is a very fine kind of Democracy. Both men and officers in a submarine know that each man's life is held in the hands of any one of them, who by carelessness or ignorance may make their ship into a common coffin; all ranks live close together, and when the occasion arises go to their deaths in the same way. The Fear of Death is a great leveller, and in submarines an officer or a man's competency for his job is the only real standard by which he is judged.”  Written in “The Story of Our Submarines” by John Bower (1919), himself a World War 1 submarine Commanding Officer.  

As our HMS Oardacious campaign evolves and grows, so does the wonderful story.  A very special element of being Submariners is our involvement in a much wider community, one that stretches out to our industrial partners, affiliates, families, friends and of course our veteran community who form such an integral aspect of our Submarine service.  Heritage forms a key part our ethos and a cornerstone to what being a Submariner is all about.  We were humbled to have been invited to attend the Submariner’s Association AGM which had us present the HMS Oardacious endeavour to more than 100 submarine service Veterans; we could not have been more proud to have shared this story with our veteran community, those who have sacrificed so much and to share this adventure with these incredible people truly reinforced our purpose.  We will continue to build on this story, to inspire others as we have been inspired by those before us.

This story would not however be possible without the incredible support from our Official partners who support both HMS Oardacious and the wider Royal Navy Submarine Service.  We would take this opportunity to announce our Gold partners BAE Systems who design, build, test and commission the most advanced Submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.  

We are also delighted to announce our latest Bronze partners Lockheed Martin who have operated in the UK for 80 years and not only support the Royal Navy and Royal Marines under, on and above the sea, but are incredibly proud to provide ongoing support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC).

Submariners Association AGM - photocredit RN phot Belinda Alker

Submariners Association AGM - photocredit RN phot Belinda Alker

Team manager’s blog 13 Feb 2019

Team manager’s blog 13 Feb 2019

When we go to sea, we don’t get there solely through the actions of our own team. We rely on the

hard work, dedication, intellectual horsepower, imagination and expertise of thousands of people

who form part of the Submarine Enterprise across the United Kingdom. This list of people who get

our Submarines to sea, forming the United Kingdom’s strategic nuclear deterrent, and our

formidable Attack Submarine force, is long and varied, and is reflected in the partners who have

stepped forward to support us in HMS OARDACIOUS.

“Today I will do what other won’t so that tomorrow I can do what other can’t!"

“Today I will do what other won’t so that tomorrow I can do what other can’t!"

This week sees our strength and conditioning programme come to the forefront with a fantastic plan professionally put together with the help and support of our S&C advisor, Pat Coy (Royal Marines). The aim of the first Block of our programme is to build a strength baseline, with our go to movements being Back Squats, Deadlifts and Bench-press… backed up with some significant accessory work!

Though it may be difficult for individuals to trust a new training regime, by trusting a shared programme and buying into a mutual mentality, we can promise ourselves that best shot to be in the best physical shape we can be in at the start of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge race and take part with a view to win! By no means are we taking our eye of the rowing element of the prep with plenty of ERGO/Rowing Machine sessions planned in too!

A key part of our Strength and Conditioning plan is Nutrition, and we are very lucky to welcome our latest HMS Oardacious Bronze partner: The Weston Biltong Company; a fantastic fourth generation British farming family who have kindly supporting the HMS Oardacious crew with a small mountain of high protein Biltong to help sustain us during our training as well as on our Atlantic Crossing

Happy New Year CASD50!

Happy New Year CASD50!

Happy New Year! 2019 also marks a very special milestone for the Royal Navy:

Since April 1969, and the fifth patrol of HMS Resolution, there has always been a Royal Navy Ballistic Missile Submarine at sea, providing a Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD), and ensuring that the UK remains safe. This year marks 50 years of unbroken service in maintaining CASD. We could not be more proud to be a part of the many events showcasing the human endeavour and commitment necessary to sustain this vital operation.

We are also delighted to kick start 2019 announcing our second Silver Partners TPGROUP.

We will be rowing across the Atlantic Ocean THIS YEAR! We promise to remain focused, we promise to prepare diligently and we promise to give it our absolute best, if not for ourselves but for all of you wonderful people supporting us and our fantastic Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Another week has rolled on and the HMS Oardacious crew are all finished in their respective roles for the festive period and are all back celebrating Christmas at home with family and friends, something that, with the nature of our jobs and the ever changing submarine program is a treat in itself. Many of our forces personnel will not get this luxury in 2018; across the Tri-service many of our servicemen and woman will not be with their loved ones this Christmas and we would like to spare a thought for these selfless individuals who have the nation’s security at the top of their priorities.

Season's Greetings

Season's Greetings

Season’s Greetings!

Another week goes by and the HMS Oardacious campaign continues to build on its success to date!

We are proud to announce our latest Partner: “Babcock International Group”, who for more than a century have been trusted to deliver bespoke, highly-skilled engineering services.

As we enter this festive period, thoughts remain with our deployed Submariner brothers and sisters as well as all those serving in the armed forces deployed over this holiday period.  Similar thought also goes out to the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2018 teams who set sail from La Gomera this Wednesday gone and start their epic trans-Atlantic journey!  We will be following closely.

Royal Navy Heritage

Royal Navy Heritage

 We were privileged to have the use of Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory, where we held interviews, and reflected on the enormity of our challenge, in comparison to the perils that were faced by the Ship’s Company of that great vessel. We are embarking on an adventure into the unknown, with unknown perils ahead of us, and those similar thoughts must have been in the minds of every sailor on board that ship as they entered into battle.  We don’t face a fierce enemy, but the Atlantic Ocean can be just as unforgiving and hostile, and we need to be ready to face down that danger, and ensure the boat and the team pulls together and conquers that peril. 

The Journey

The Journey

An entire month has passed since we announced our campaign start; the pace has not slowed down one bit!  We are truly humbled by the level of support shown by all those we’ve reached so far with this endeavour.  We are delighted to welcome new Bronze partners Xpedite and Advanced Marine Innovation Technology Subsea Ltd (AMITS) to the HMS Oardacious family.