ROYAL ASCOT DAY TWO
Wednesday 17 June 2026
Surely it can’t be true that a Russian warship has fired shots on a British Yacht mid-Channel? HMS MERSEY was monitoring the Russian vessel at the time. HMS Mersey is a Batch 1 River-class Offshore Patrol Vessel, operated by around 50 personnel under the command of Lieutenant Commander Daniel Wardle. It is armed with an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon and two GPMG - so about the same as a “Technical “ in Yemen or Somalia. Just in case the rabbit hole beckons, let me cut you off by informing you that, while a 20mm Vulcan on a 4x4 provides incredible, rapid-fire devastation, it sacrifices almost all vehicle suspension and mobility. These particular builds are often—ironically and affectionately—dubbed “shitty technicals” by those tasked with advising them. Meanwhile, a seaboat from Mersey’s sister ship, the wittily named HMS TYNE, visited the yacht to gather details and check that they are safe and well enough to give interviews.
The Russian ship is the Admiral Grigorovich, which is a touch bigger than Mersey and Tyne, and the ship’s main armament consists of eight Kalibr or Oniks cruise missile cells, which can be used against ground targets or ships. This is complemented by a 100 mm naval gun, anti-aircraft missiles, two AK-630 close-in weapon systems, and an anti-submarine armament consisting of two double torpedo tubes and an RBU-6000 rocket launcher. The ship also has a Ka-27 series helicopter.
On 8 April 2026, The Daily Telegraph reported that the Admiral Grigorovich was escorting two Russian tankers through the English Channel in defiance of UK Prime Minister Starmer’s threat to seize sanctioned vessels. The frigate escorted the Russia-flagged Universal and the Cameroon-flagged Enigma. A Russian presidential spokesman said afterwards that Russia is defending itself from piracy.
Monday’s mid-channel seizure of the Russian shadow-fleet oil tanker Smyrtos and its cargo of 704,962 barrels of Russian oil, by 42 Commando, and the Russian Navy’s chest beating might not be entirely coincidental.
Talking of the spirit of Nelson in the face of apparently insurmountable odds, we didn’t do too badly on Day 1, although I am kicking myself for not making more noise about ADAAY OF SCARLET and PADDY THE SQUIRE.
So we go into Day 2 with a 15pt+ profit
