Day Two (Part II) Games in The Bay
| Hobart practised coming alongside and bearing away again.
An impressive sight to see 4000 tons of ship moving up so close and so
rapidly with such good manoeuvrability. |
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Now, THIS is close! Hobart accelerates up to the mark abeam
of Kanimbla. Like a HUGE knife, it slices the water. |
| Late in the afternoon, I heard a radar operator's call to the bridge,
that a fast moving object had been spotted on the horizon, travelling at
high speed. Eyes swivelled to see a small black jet suddenly bank hard
towards us. It seemed like only half a second before this RAAF F-111 fighter-bomber
screamed over our little fleet and then flew up into the sun to return
with wings tucked, in a screaming attack dive along the two ships. The
noise of it's afterburners, as it climbed almost vertical to leave, was
awesome. |
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Hobart's upper decks were also well populated with seariders for the
trip south. It is interesting to note the use of good old-fashioned semaphore
(circle centre) as a means of close quarters communication between ships
in this age of technical wizardry. The flap of two flags is very difficult
to eavesdrop on. |
| "Man Overboard" is a call nobody wants to hear, so it is practised
at every opportunity. The Chief Coxswain threw a dummy dressed in orange
overalls over the port side and announced the drill exercise for man overboard
over the ship's PA. Everybody concerned sprang into action immediately.
Boat crew launched the "Zod", medical team gathered on the main deck with
all the goodies and the ship itself was stopped while the rescue took place. |
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The zodiac returns to the ship with the unfortunate victim laying in
the bottom of the boat and the boat crew once more flies into action to
gather the chick back into the nest.
I found that it is hard to pay attention to the horizon when you are
hanging over the side of the ship and trying to stay out of the way at
the same time. |
| With the cable attached, the boat's crew sits to port to balance the
weight of the "victim" as they are winched to safety. Quite a lift on a
ship this high. |
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Back on deck, the unfortunate "victim" is carefully removed to the
stretcher whilst the Petty Officer PT Instructor at far left supervises.
It was her responsibility to ensure the smooth operation of the exercise.
The rescue was a success all but for the fact that the boat's main fuel
tank contained water which caused them some trouble on their return to
the ship. |
| Back to work for the PT staff as a large number of the crew take advantage
of the luxury of a large clear area on the flight deck to participate in
a series of varied exercises designed to maintain a peak level of fitness
within the confines of a warship. |
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Some, on the other hand, find it a good time to simply lay back &
take it easy and enjoy the sumptuous deck furnishings. |
| After all that activity for one day, the most popular place onboard
is the cafeteria. Here my son, Tony (at right) serves dinner in the galley
alongside the supply officer. Top class food with a varied menu makes for
happy & healthy people. |
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Night lighting at sea is a flattering shade of red which serves to
maintain the crew's night sight whilst preventing injured shins and cracked
heads in the dark.
Hatch on right leads down to my mess which is shared with about 35
others when fully manned in a space normally associated with a domestic
lounge room. |
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