Helston father and son reunion at sea (From Falmouth Packet)

Helston father and son reunion at sea

7:00am Monday 3rd September 2012 in News

Two Royal Navy frigates at anchor in the Red Sea saw a family reunion of father and son from Helston.

Chief Petty Officer Sean Pinniger, a 42-year-old air engineer onboard HMS Westminster, had the rare opportunity to meet up with his 21-year-old son Nick, a serving Royal Marine, as the Royal Navy’s “Capital Ship” handed over security duties to HMS Sutherland.

Whilst Sean, normally based at RNAS Culdrose, was looking forward to his homecoming after being part of HMS Westminster’s gruelling seven month deployment in the Middle East and Indian Ocean, Nick is part of the Fleet Protection Group based in Faslane and is assigned to Devonport-based Type 23 Frigate HMS Sutherland, which is about to begin operations.

Sean joined the Royal Navy in 1989, whilst Nick is a relative newcomer, having completed Royal Marine basic training in September 2010 and is now embarking on his first operational deployment.

Attached to 829 Naval Air Squadron 02 Flight, Chief Pinniger has had an enjoyable deployment, saying: “It’s been hard work but ultimately very satisfying. Our Merlin helicopter has done incredible work during all of the ship’s successes, plus after 23 years I finally got to do the Crossing the Line ceremony.”

(Crossing the Line is an ancient tradition of a sailor’s first crossing of the equator).

The Pinniger family are no strangers to serving the nation’s interests, with Sean’s two brothers having served in the Royal Air Force and the Army, and his nephew a Royal Naval rating.