Captain Bob Cooling, commander of the Royal Navy frigate Montrose.

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The Royal Navy frigate, Montrose will be open to the public today and tomorrow and her skipper, Captain Bob Cooling, said that his crew would be more than pleased to welcome Bulletin readers aboard. The Montrose is one of the most modern warships in the fleet. She is moored at the Dique del Oeste in Palma, along with other warships from NATO navies which will also be open to the public this weekend. The Montrose is a Type 23 frigate armed with Sea Wolf and Harpoon missile systems, a 4.5 inch gun, and a Lynx helicopter. The warship was built by Yarrow shipbuilders and launched in 1992. She has a crew of 17 officers, 57 Senior Ratings and 111 Junior Ratings. This her first visit to Palma.Captain Cooling, who joined the Navy in 1978 from Keele University, is also Captain of the Sixth Frigate Squadron and he has eight Type 23s under his command. “The modern-day Navy is leaner and fitter. When I joined the Navy we had a fleet of 55 escorts (frigates and destroyers) while these days we have 32. But I think that all the dead-wood has been removed from the Navy and we now have an extremely modern and professional service,” he said. The end of the Cold war has also meant that the Royal Navy is operating world-wide, from the Falklands to the Carribean and from the Atlantic to off the coast of Africa.