Queen Elizabeth II – in her position of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom – reviewed 167 ships of the Royal and Merchant Navies, and those of over 30 other nations, off Ryde on 28th June 2005.
Around 40,000 Islanders are believed to have gathered on Ryde and Appley shore and on the downs to witness the spectacle.
A giant screen on the seafront at Ryde broadcast the progress of the late Queen as she inspected the fleet from the ice patrol ship HMS Endurance.
At 17:00, the crowds were thinned by a torrential downpour. However, those that remained were treated to a spectacular display from the RAF’s Red Arrow jets, which was followed by a flypast from WWII aircraft.
In the late evening, the crowds returned to witness a re-enactment of the Battle of Trafalgar, with the tall ship the Grand Turk playing the role of Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory. The 17 vessels taking part in the mock battle were divided into blue and red teams so as not to offend the French, whose flagship – the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle – participated in the review.
The death of Nelson in the battle was commemorated by a beam of light shot into the night sky with fireworks representing a 9-gun salute.
The review ended with one of the largest firework displays in recorded history – 6 times larger than the annual firework display marking the end of Cowes Week.
The International Fleet Review – to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the victory over the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 – was the most recent fleet review.
The 2005 Review – a 600-year-old British tradition – was the largest on record in terms of number of ships and nations attending. Previous reviews had mainly consisted of Royal Navy vessels. However, on this occasion only 57 British warships were present – around a third of the total attending – demonstrating the sad decline of the strength of our armed forces.
Did you witness the 2005 International Fleet Review? Let us know in the comments…
Odd how the biggest part of this gathering and why so many ships were there has just been totally written out of history by the reporter.
The event was the 2005 International Festival of the Sea from 30th June to 3rd July 2005 at Portsmouth Naval Base with one of the biggest gatherings of tall ships, Naval vessels and pleasure craft of all types seen in UK waters.
Stokes Bay and Southsea became the biggest anchorages of pleasure craft probably ever seen, as everyone had one big party.
The fleet review formed part of this gathering but was not the reason all the foreign ships were there.
It was a great day, seems like only yesterday.
It is amazing how quickly 20 years goes by.