Salcombe’s affiliated ship HMS Magpie (H130) will be re-visiting the town over the weekend of Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10.

She is the newest addition to the Royal Navy’s hydrographic squadron and was commissioned in June 2018 to replace veteran survey launch HMS Gleaner.

The Commanding Officer is Lieutenant  Commander Nicholas Radue.

HMS Magpie is the first of numerous new small craft to replace ageing work and support boats.

She can reach areas that other parts of the squadron cannot thanks to her size and shallow draft.

The main work carried out is updating charts of UK ports, harbours and waterways. She is a survey ship used for inshore and coastal survey work and is based at HMNB Devonport.

Magpie is small as Navy vessels go at 18 metres long, a beam of 6.2 metres, has a draft of 1.4 metres, and a compliment of 12 people.

Her motto is “Lux in Tenebris Lucet”m which translates as Shine Light into Darkness. She also acts as an extra pair of eyes in home waters for anything untoward happening.

Her built in and towed sonar systems can scan every inch of the working part of a harbour to provide 3D imagery and a better understanding of the seabed than ever before.

She will be moored at Normandy Pontoon on Saturday, March 9, and will be open to the public between 10am and 12 noon and again between 1pm and 3pm.

There is a limit to the number of people allowed on-board at any one time and children will have to be accompanied by an adult.