Today we pay our respects to a fallen comrade. Even more than that, we shall spend the day raising money for a charity that dedicates itself to supporting the loved ones of such men and women; Forces Support. The organisers of Forces Support shall be at the box to meet and greet and get to know a little more about CrossFit and what we are capable of doing as a community.
CrossFit Cardiff WoD
Paul Woodland, 32, of the Special Boat Service, was thrown out of the upturned 15ft-long twin-engined Rib and apparently became snagged by his drysuit underneath the vessel.
His four comrades dragged him clear within a minute and a half, but as they pulled him up he was unconscious. The four men, who were only identified as soldiers B, C, D and F to protect national security, gave the inquest graphic accounts of the incident during a surf skills course off Saunton Sands, north Devon, in 2012.
Soldier C was the coxswain and he and soldier B said both engines became flooded and inoperable by the large breaking waves. He said a wave up to 5ft high hit them 50 to 80 yards from the shore, capsizing the boat and throwing the five-man crew into the water.
The crew each shouted out their number to register that they had surfaced, but there was silence when they reached number five who was Mr Woodland.
They fired safety flares which alerted safety jet skis to the scene. Mr Woodland was flown to North Devon Hospital in Barnstaple where minutes after arriving he was pronounced dead.
Soldier F said that the exercise was part of a boat-handlers course for Royal Marines, based at Instow in north Devon. He said this was the first time he had lost a “student in troop training” and losing both engines on the Rib was a “freak accident”. Paul Woodland was a highly trained operative and a good swimmer.
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the Naval Service.
It was founded in 1940 during the Second World War, when it started as the Special Boat. In the 1980s it was renamed as the Special Boat Service.
The SBS is under the Operational Command of Director Special Forces and is based in Hamworthy Barracks in Poole, Dorset.
The Royal Navy said its role is to ‘be carrying out daring, undercover raids using the element of surprise possible with small, highly-trained teams’.
The SBS is manned by ranks drawn mostly from the Royal Marines and its main tasks include intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism operations (surveillance or offensive action), sabotage and the disruption of enemy infrastructure, capture of specific individuals, close protection of senior politicians and military personnel, plus reconnaissance and combat action on foreign territory.
Around 200 to 250 service personnel make up the SBS at any one time and once qualified, they are known as ‘Swimmer Canoeists’.
They are elite military personnel who show physical and mental aptitude to make the step up to the next level. Many have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They are also experts in swimming, diving, parachuting, navigation, demolition and reconnaissance.
Members of the SBS wear a green commando beret with their own cap badge.
Paul Woodland
5 Rounds For time of:
5 Squat Snatch (70/50kg) 32 Double Unders 5 Burpee Muscle Ups 32 Box Jumps (20") 5 Thrusters (70/50kg)
