Lord Coe, who was also visiting the Olympic Venue at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, gained a brief insight into the role of personnel onboard the Royal Navy’s Flagship.
Lord Coe took a tour of the Operations Room and admired the grandstand view from the Bridge of the Ship that overlooks Portland harbour where the Paralympics sailors were competing for Gold out on the water.
Escorted by the Maritime Force Commander and Captain of HMS Bulwark, Captain Alex Burton, who at the height of the Olympics activity in August was responsible for over 1000 military RN and Royal Marines personnel, he praised the contribution of the men and women who had shown such good spirit in keeping the Olympics and Paralympics safe: He said:
“ I am delighted to meet representatives of the Royal Navy, Dorset Police, and Maritime Coastguard Agency Officers on board HMS Bulwark today.
“ Everyone based here has had a valuable part to play in securing the Games.
“ It is clear that the cooperation between the military and civilian agencies here in Dorset involved has been outstanding throughout the Olympic Games and Paralympics Games and I offer my sincere thanks for providing a safe and secure sailing arena so the world’s best sailors could deliver outstanding performances at sea. ”
Lord Coe took the time to talk with many representatives from each department on the ship, Captain Burton said:
“ It’s great that Lord Coe came along to meet the team that delivered the maritime security at Weymouth – be they LOCOG, Dorset Police, sailors or marines.
“ It means a lot to us all that the man who brought us the greatest sporting spectacular on earth was able to find time in his whirl of Olympic engagements to thank the team ”
[mappress] Press Release, Septembar 5, 2012