FROM the Baltic Sea, the Gulf and the Mediterranean, one Royal Navy sailor was looking forward to her favourite stop of all – Jersey.

St Peter-born Natasha O’Brien (28) has been working in the Navy for the last ten years and during a career that has seen her serve in many different places, she is still happiest when she docks in Jersey. ‘Of course it’s my favourite place,’ she said. ‘It’s home’.

Natasha sailed in from Belfast on the HMS Tyne last week for a three-day stop in Jersey. The Tyne is one of three Fishery Protection ships that patrol UK waters and it was docked in Jersey for the crew to be presented with the Jersey Cup, a prize awarded each year to the ship with the best record for checking fishing boats over the last 12 months.

‘We managed just over 300 this year,’ Natasha said. ‘We stop about a mile away from a fishing boat and contact them by VHF radio before launching the sea boats to board them. We inspect their boats, check their nets and the size of their fish.’

The best part of the routine boardings for Natasha, however, is when she is behind the wheel of one of the sleek seaboats. ‘They are very fast and fun to drive,’ she said. ‘There have been no big incidents with any of our boardings this year but driving the boats is exciting.’

The inhabitants of the HMS Tyne also have to cope with being boarded themselves, though not with any serious consequences. Each time the ship docks in a port in the UK, they welcome various school parties, military groups and sea cadets (or ‘sea sprouts’ as they are known) to have a tour around one of the Navy’s patrol boats.

Natasha always wanted to join the military forces – her grandfather served as a Marine – and began her career on much larger ships. After serving on aircraft carriers such as the Ark Royal and the Illustrious, where the crew can number up to 1,000 people, life on the HMS Tyne, with a crew of 33, was a stark change.

‘The boat moves a lot more when you’re at sea,’ Natasha said. ‘You also have to do a lot more jobs than on a big ship, like helping out with the cleaning, doing your own washing and even some sewing. The good part is that you know everyone and the food is much better.’

This is borne out by the extensive weekly menu posted to the dining room wall which includes chicken curry with ‘Pompeydoms’, a playful nod to their regular stops at Portsmouth Harbour. The next stop for the HMS Tyne was St Malo but Natahsa was instead looking forward to two weeks holiday in Jersey before rejoining her crewmates out on the waves.

• Picture: Natasha O’Brien, pictured on board HMS Tyne, is always happiest when she docks in Jersey. Picture by Peter Mourant (00604524)