ACTION woman Samantha Borthwick from Wrexham had a highly unusual way of marking her 21st birthday – steering a 4,500 ton warship.
For most young women the landmark event would usually be spent on an evening out with friends and family and maybe a fun activity like a ride in a stretch limousine.
But Sam is in the Royal Navy and was hands-on involved with transport of a much bigger and more imposing nature for her 21st – she sailed out to the Middle East onboard HMS Somerset on the morning of her birthday.
The Type 23 Frigate is now en-route to conduct operations off the Horn of Africa, enforcing freedom of navigation to shipping which is key to the global economic recovery.
Before she followed in her uncle’s footsteps and joined the Royal Navy Sam was a pupil at Ysgol Rhosnesni. After passing out of HMS Raleigh in 2007 Sam trained to become a Seaman Specialist and was involved in learning the type of skills which are often associated with a thrilling scene from a James Bond film. Sam soon found herself driving speedboats, firing machine guns and learning to pass tactical information by use of flags, flashing light and Morse code.
Adventurous Sam plays a vital role in ensuring that the ship can conduct its mission to a high standard: contributing to security of international shipping in the area and maintaining the strong reputation of the UK and Royal Navy in the region.
As well as being equipped with long range communications and sensors, HMS Somerset is armed with an air, surface and sub-surface weapons capability – able to respond to any task ranging from humanitarian aid to full conflict.
A spokesman for the Royal Navy added that HMS Somerset is scheduled to return to the UK in February next year.