RETURN TO DRAKES ISLAND!

LAST YEAR WE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF REPORTING ON COMMANDO FORCE AIRSOFT’S DRAKES ISLAND AND A PRIVATE GAMEDAY ORGANISED BY CHRIS OF SWINDON AIRSOFT AND THE AIRSOFT UK FACEBOOK GROUP. DESPITE WEATHER THAT COULD ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS BIBLICAL DURING THE 2024 EVENT, RICH WAS HAPPY AS A HAPPY THING WHEN CHRIS ANNOUNCED HE WAS ORGANISING A RETURN VISIT TO THIS UNIQUE AO, AND NOW WE CAN SHARE THE STORY OF “THE RETURN TO DRAKES ISLAND 2025”!

Ihave to say that Drakes Island last year was epic, not just for the gameplay which was well-organised and great fun, but for the absolute uniqueness of the site itself, and I’m pleased to report that this time was bigger and better as we had both Saturday and Sunday on the island… and it stayed dry the whole time!

The next instalment of this tale of airsoft saw fellow teammates Harv, James, and I heading out for the long drive to Devon, meeting other teammates Craig and Simon there. Commando Force Airsoft was founded in 2019 by Bryan and Dave and in 2022 they were approached to run games on Drakes Island; in January 2023 they ran their first skirmish on the island, and the rest, as they say is airsoft history!

Like last year we booked into Riverside Camping and Caravan site just outside Portsmouth. They don’t normally allow same sex groups, but we must have made a good impression last year as there were more of us for 2025. I suggested to Chris that he print out a few rule sheets to hand out along the lines of no guns on display, no shouting about, and abiding by general politeness, and I’m happy to say that everyone followed them and we got good feedback from the site after we got home. After pitching the tents we went to the on-site bar for a couple of adult beverages before heading back to fire up the BBQ where banter and laughs ensued before hitting the sack.

Saturday morning saw us all heading to McDonalds for a breakfast before the 09:00 ferry where we were met by Bryan from Commando Force Airsoft who ticked the 60 of us off the list before we embarked for the short hop over to the island. The biggest change this year was the lack of rain, to be replaced with close on 30 degree heat on the first day… though to be fair this didn’t stop it being a good day.

“COMMANDO FORCE AIRSOFT WAS FOUNDED IN 2019 BY BRYAN AND DAVE AND IN 2022 THEY WERE APPROACHED TO RUN GAMES ON DRAKES ISLAND; IN JANUARY 2023 THEY RAN THEIR FIRST SKIRMISH ON THE ISLAND, AND THE REST, AS THEY SAY IS AIRSOFT HISTORY!”

CLASSIC GAME MODES!

After the Safety Brief and the visit to the chrono we had a short while to get ready for the first game which was a Team Death Match game. This was played just using the lower tunnels. When you got shot you went back to your respawn point and pressed a button on a counter then went back in. This was played and then reversed with both sides being fairly evenly matched.

Next up was King of the Hill. The defenders had to dig in around the flagpole at the top of the island and they had three lives while the attackers had unlimited respawns. The objective was to get to the flagpole and drop the flag which neither team managed; this may have been due to the numbers that day. The reverse of King of the Hill was played after lunch though with slightly fewer players as some went swimming in the sea to cool down!

The last game of the day was Hostage Rescue where one of the marshals was taken and hidden in the tunnels, which were defended while the attackers had to find him. We Reds defended first and I took the opportunity to get out of the sun and guard the only way in in the shade; again this game was reversed and due to there being a lot of places to hide neither team found the hostage, but a lot of good firefights were had.

Chris had managed to bag some goodies from Ratty at Viper Tactical as a giveaway for things like good play. Tony Jeens walked away with a chest rig, Paul Frost chose a kit bag, Benji Griffiths chose the plate carrier and Jasmine Growden walked away with a new sling.

After that it was time to pack up and wait for the ferry which due to it being a public ferry the trip had to be done in two groups as there were already passengers on the boat.

Back at the campsite I took full advantage of the cool swimming pool before heading to the restaurant for a fantastic plate of fish and chips.

“WE WERE MET BY BRYAN FROM COMMANDO FORCE AIRSOFT WHO TICKED THE 60 OF US OFF THE LIST BEFORE WE EMBARKED FOR THE SHORT HOP OVER TO THE ISLAND. THE BIGGEST CHANGE THIS YEAR WAS THE LACK OF RAIN, TO BE REPLACED WITH CLOSE ON 30 DEGREE HEAT ON THE FIRST DAY…”

I could not fault the food at all!

RINSE AND REPEAT… WITH A TWIST! Sunday morning saw a lower temperature which many were thankful for, and was a repeat of Saturday in regards getting to the ferry with food, travel to the ferry and park up then embark on the boat though the numbers were lower at 45 which made the games flow better to my eyes. Normally the numbers are capped at 50.

As before there was the Safety Brief followed by the chrono and tagging the RIFs... but then followed the madness of Statues, a quick game to get new players used to shooting and being shot at. Only thing is, when you’re hit the only way back into the game is for one of your teammates to shoot you back in. Let’s just say that a couple of my teammates including my son took full advantage of being able to shoot me!

Next up was Capture the Flag using just the lower tunnels. A lot of flags had been put all over the site with on being worth 10 points. Both teams had to find as many flags as they could and tally the score afterwards.Again the game was reversed and both teams took a win.

The next game was another King of the Hill which actually saw the flag come down both times and again the reverse was played after lunch. The Blues managed a time of 23 minutes while the Reds managed to drop the flag in 18 minutes. During lunch-time we were encouraged to explore the island and tunnels which quite a few of us did.

After King of the Hill we played Infected; a small number were attackers while the rest of us dug in at the top of the island. When you were shot you just took your armband off and started shooting those around you and when the attackers were shot they went to a respawn point and came back in.

This game was more about fun than any kind of objective. After that there was a small TDM game

HAD MANAGED TO BAG SOME GOODIES FROM RATTY AT VIPER TACTICAL AS A GIVEAWAY FOR THINGS LIKE GOOD PLAY. TONY JEENS WALKED AWAY WITH A CHEST RIG, PAUL FROST CHOSE A KIT BAG, BENJI GRIFFITHS CHOSE THE PLATE CARRIER AND JASMINE GROWDEN WALKED AWAY WITH A NEW SLING” for those that wanted to take part. Quite a few at this point were pretty tired so the numbers were quite low and I donned the purple hi-vis again to snap a few final photos before sorting and packing away my kit before the ferry came to pick us up.

Back at the campsite we hit the showers before a couple more adult beverages at the onsite bar before firing up the BBQ for the evening meal with banter and chat before hitting the sack.

Monday morning saw us packing the cars for the long drive home. I had a five hour journey but the guys from Watch My Six airsoft had to travel back to York, some 345 miles away!

Last Words

I’ll leave the last words to Bryan and Chris.

Bryan: “It was great to see the return of Airsoft UK’s annual trip to Drakes Island with players from all over the country coming together for a weekend of pew pew fun.

“Drakes Island continues to be a popular site due to the uniqueness of the location and players battled well across the island and through the tunnels. Please keep an eye on the website for future dates as we continue into 2026.”

Chris: “I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who attended my event at Drakes Island. Your presence made it truly special and I couldn’t have asked for better company.

“I’m happy with the way the weekend turned out and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. The energy, laughter and conversations made it an unforgettable experience.”

I’d like to thank Bryan and Dave of Commando Force Airsoft for hosting the event and Riverside Camping and Caravan site for allowing us to stay again, along with a big thanks to Ratty at Viper Tactical for the giveaway goodies.

Here’s to Drakes Island 2026, and to making more amazing memories with good friends on an amazing site in the future! AA

“AS BEFORE THERE WAS THE SAFETY BRIEF FOLLOWED BY THE CHRONO AND TAGGING THE RIFS... BUT THEN FOLLOWED THE MADNESS OF STATUES, A QUICK GAME TO GET NEW PLAYERS USED TO SHOOTING AND BEING SHOT AT. ONLY THING IS, WHEN YOU’RE HIT THE ONLY WAY BACK INTO THE GAME IS FOR ONE OF YOUR TEAMMATES TO SHOOT YOU BACK IN…”