Arrived at the airport and lined up with a great crowd of people trying to get a flight out of Hobart - a flight had been cancelled - when I looked at my flight details and the arrangements I thought that had been put in place for me to catch a 10.30am flight were in fact for a 9.05am plane and it was now 9.45am. I stayed in the line and, because there was so much confusion about who was getting onto what plane to where, I managed to get a flight to Sydney and then an on flight to Brisbane where I arrived mid afternoon.
After arriving on board the ship I learnt that we were going ashore the next day for two or three nights depending on how quickly the damage that had been done to the propellers could be repaired.
Bed tonight was an early night after I had watched a little TV and got myself settled. I'll do a tour of the ship tomorrow and work a few things out.
Today has been a bit of a hit and miss affair as people went about getting the ship ready for going into dry dock tomorrow. We had a briefing from the Dock staff this morning helping us to know the OH&S implications tomorrow when the ship gets dry docked.
For me I have now been posted to Holiday Inn, Roma Street, Brisbane for the next few days but will need to keep my ear to the ground to find out when I might be needed to do whatever.
After breakfast I came back to my room and did some typing (material for the newsletter etc.) and then headed out and turned right and then left towards the river and wandered along the river until I got to Toowong Shopping Centre where I bought a hat to wear and another shirt - I was one shirt short for the time I am off the ship.
After grabbing a healthy lunch I then headed back towards town and wandered around there for a short time before hitting the rack for a sleep.
This evening I have had a meal and a Guinness and now I'm heading for bed to watch a little TV before trying for another early night.
Decided to go back down a little later to work out where we were going for the Wardroom Bash tonight and found out that there are serious problems with the work being done on the ship and it is now likely that my time on board might be drawing rapidly to a close.
The story is that we will need to leave here (HMAS Holiday Inn) tomorrow morning - Friday is a work day - but it also likely that I might be transferred to another ship to join the NEOC's who were supposed to be on board this ship as part of their training cruise.
This morning I went for a walk - this time along the other side of the river through Southbank and it was really interesting. I enjoyed the walk and managed to see a whole lot of the special parts of City. Along the way I also checked out the restaurant where the Ward Room (later) headed out for a meal at Friday's on the waterfront. It was a good night but the checking out of the venue was a smart move.
On the way back to the Hotel I met up with Judy & Carey McIver who are enjoying the last part of Carey's Long Service Leave. It was a good chat and they seem to be enjoying their break.
I'm back from the meal and the story of today is all over the place but it has been a good day.
At this stage I'm back in the Holiday Inn but will be moving from this larger two double bed room down to a single double bed room tomorrow morning. I'm being slack tonight and having a very early night so will be hoping to get an extra good sleep.
I then came back to the hotel and had a sleep before going off to Mass at the Cathedral for Pentecost Sunday. On the way home I got a bit annoyed because I went looking for a take away meal and managed to get a cold meal because the young fellow totally mixed up my name so that when a name was called out I didn't respond and it was only after another 10 minutes I went and asked what name was on the sheet and it was nothing like mine so I was a little bit miffed.
Now I'm ready for bed.
Now bed - tomorrow we are back on board for a work day.
Now bed and some more sleep.
It has been very hot on board and I'm beginning to understand why people might want to come north for the winter - I could cope with this kind of weather all year - although I'm told that the summer heat is unbearable, or at best uncomfortable.
Had tea with Lee Drage and Grant Coleman at a pub across the way and it was a good night but now it is time for bed.
Because they didn't want people running round on deck during the flooding of the dry dock most people not on specials for the evolution were in their messes and watching TV or a movie so it was very quiet during the couple of hours.
I spent most of the latter part of the afternoon upon the flight deck to watch the shift round to the berth so that was good. We got back home (to HMAS Holiday Inn) for the last time tonight as we will be leaving Brisbane tomorrow and heading for Broome to complete the major task still to be done by HMAS Tobruk before the Captain posts off on the 18th June.
Not long after we had arrived back at Cairncross Dockyards the NEOC Group arrived and started to make their way around the ship. It took a little bit of time for everyone to settle down and start to fit in but it seemed to happen without too much trouble.
Early in the afternoon, just after we had started down the river, we went to emergency Stations to check that everyone knew where they needed to be so that all personnel could be checked off to see that they were alive and not lost somewhere on board the ship. Then we went to leaving ship stations – again to make sure we knew where we had to be.
I made the most of the day to have an early night, hopefully a pattern that I will be able to continue throughout the trip.
Sitting in my cabin after breakfast I had a visit from the Training Officer and the Divisional Officer of the NEOC's to say that one of the young guys who had been part of the previous NEOC Group on board Tobruk had been killed in a car accident near Jervis Bay last night. Four other members of the group were in hospital.
After chatting with the Captain the partner of one of the injured NEOC's was called to the Captains Cabin and informed that her partner was in hospital and we were uncertain of his condition. After making a few phone calls we found out the condition of all four of the young midshipmen and then were able to inform the whole group of the condition of the injured members.
It was a very subdued group of NEOC's who wandered around the ship today trying to be part of what was going on but struggling a little. One of the officers suggested that in order for them to be able to cope into the future they needed to be able to get back to work ASAP. Whilst I'm not completely certain of that I suspect that there is more than an element of truth in what he is saying.
After everything else that is happening I'm heading for bed – I've sent off a couple of e-mails to try to get a copy of a Memorial Service we might be able to use on board when we learn the day and time for the young man's funeral.
We started into the DCX (Damage Control Exercises) in a big way today with Man Overboard – it seems the sailor who was on board HMAS Sydney two years ago is now on this ship because he just keeps jumping.
There have also been two fire exercises, one was a false alarm when a fire board indicator registered excess heat in a compartment and sounded the alarm. The difference between an exercise and the real (even if false) alarm is that the announcement is made over the Main Broadcast Circuit as SAFEGUARD, SAFEGUARD, SAFEGUARD. At that stage everyone runs.
Not much else has happened although there was a Planning Meeting today just after lunch and Mass is scheduled for 1330 tomorrow afternoon – a bit later than I would normally be celebrating my first Mass on a Sunday but that's when it fits into tomorrows timetable.
Time for bed.
The rest of today has been quite although we did manage to have a couple of DCX's during the day, one before we'd finished the cleaning and one after. The one before was a toxic hazard DCX which meant that people had got into a dangerous work area without the correct apparatus.
There were 7 at Mass so that is almost the same as normal so there is not too much difference from what might have been at Bothwell this afternoon anyway.
Bed is looking good.
Some of the NEOC's are struggling with the fact that a lot of their work is chipping paint and sand papering back. It isn't that they are afraid of hard work – it just seems that there isn't sufficient paint to make a difference after they have done their work.
I've played a couple of rounds of uckers – I don't think that I'm very good at it but it looks as if I will be part of the Wardroom Uckers Competition so that will be interesting.
Nothing much else has happened although we now know that the funeral service for the late Midshipman Robert Maguire will be celebrated in Mackay on next Friday, the day we are due to arrive in Broome so it looks as if we will be able to celebrate the Memorial Service at the same time as the funeral Service is to be held.
Bed is again looking good – there is nothing much on the Ship's Video program at the moment so reading a good book looks a better option.
Today ended with a bit of a bang. Just when I thought that I was going to be able to hit the sack the alarms started off again – this time it was a Safeguard – although it turned out to be a false alarm. The ship has been running on higher revolutions for the past twentyfour hours and the temp in the Machinery Space was a little higher than usual so the alarm kept tripping. Hopefully that is now fixed and it is time for hitting the rack.
Late this afternoon I thought that we might have missed out on having a DCX at some stage because there had been a Steyr shoot – anyone who wanted to be part of the activity only had to be on the aft flight deck and was given the necessary instruction. There were lots of holes in the targets hung along the quarterdeck railing.
Tonight the 'Uckers' competition started in the Wardroom. I have been teamed with one of the Army Officers – our team name is 'Beauty and the Priest' – and we fluked a win from an almost impossible position.
Then, basking in that success, I thought it safe to go to bed and sleep (after reading for half an hour and almost finishing the big book I purchased in Brisbane) the alarms started ringing and there was another DCX. That's why this is being written at the end of the day and not reported in tomorrow's notes – I'm awake and not able to get back to sleep.
Anyway, I'm going to hit the sack again in the hope that this time I'll get to sleep and have a good night.
Late in the afternoon we were told that there was going to be a whole of ship search and we would be required to stand fast in our cabins whilst everything was checked. Not certain of the reasons but it has come down from on high and the suggestion is that it is a whole of Defence Department requirement.
The rest of the day has basically been uneventful with the clocks being retarded one hour so we are now on WA time (2 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.
Tonight Helen and I completed our second win (best of three series) again by fluking a last gasp win. I'm almost embarrassed to tell people that we got over the line. Sadly, the team will be broken up tomorrow as she heads off up the Peninsula with 21 Construction Company so I'll probably team up with the remaining member of the losing team we played against as his partner was the other Army officer so that will be interesting.
Bed tonight is looking good, as, for some reason, I'm feeling more than a little tired.
We arrived in Broome Harbour and anchored and I got ready to lead the Memorial Service for the late Midshipman Robert Maguire who had died in the car accident a week earlier. His funeral was being celebrated just outside Mackay, Qld, at the same time as we gathered (0930 our time) so it was a poignant moment and emotional for many of the NEOC's who knew him well.
After the service I rang my friend Helen who lives in Broome and organised for her to collect me this afternoon when we finally came alongside. Unfortunately we had to wait for quite some time before we were allowed to go ashore as there were a couple of things that didn't work out quite as well as they ought to.
Finally got away and I met up with Helen at the end of the jetty and we walked back to the ship and I showed her through the parts of the ship that were open to visitors. I've collected some clothing and now I'm heading off into the night with her to stay for the two nights we are in port.
Saturday morning I woke reasonably early and after breakfast I headed off with Cathy to look around Broome. Our first port of call was to the Broome Market where we walked around looking at some of the craft and things on offer as well as buying some Threadfin fish for lunch and some lovely fresh bread.
We also called into a Battery Shop to see if they had a power pack for my laptop. On Friday afternoon there was some serious sounds emanating from the power pack and the resulting burnt plastic smell didn't recommend any further use. We weren't able to get one in Broome but I have ordered one to be sent to Darwin and, hopefully, I will be able to collect it on Wednesday afternoon.
We went for a drive out to the point at the far end of Broome Harbour where we were able to look back towards Cable Beach and observe the blue of the sea, the white of the sand and the red of the desert dust – all within a few metres of each other.
A quick visit to the Cable Beach Resort where we met up with a number of the ship's crew who were staying there on good rates for either the night or the weekend. Cathy and I had a coffee overlooking the beach before heading back to the house for lunch.
After our fish dinner we decided that we would go for a swim at Cable Beach and so joined hundreds of others on the beach, although there were noticeably fewer actually in the water. One of the things that we had thought of doing, earlier in the day was to come back to Cable Beach to watch the sunset so we got out of the water and started to head home. When we got back to the car we found that it was almost 5pm and we only had about 30 minutes to get back so we raced home, had a shower, got dressed and headed back and arrived about 5 minutes late but saw the golden skies. So we sat and had a cocktail anyway before heading home to go to Town Beach, just a short walk from the house, for an Indonesian Curry meal.
All in all it was a great day and now I'm heading for bed.
After a quick breakfast – Eggs Benedict – we headed back to the Ship and I had a chance to show Cathy as well as Helen around parts of the ship. Now that the 21st Regiment have departed there is quite a lot of space on the vehicle deck that wasn't there on Friday.
There was a little bit of a delay on getting underway but eventually it all happened and we are now back at sea. The afternoon has been quiet and people have been wandering around getting gear restowed and everything ship shape.
I celebrated Mass at 1630 and got a small crowd of six (6) so that wasn't too bad.
Tonight I've wasted time by sitting at the computer and I'm late hitting the rack so I'm going to bed and hoping to make up some time. We are advancing clocks by 1 hour tonight as we head back to Darwin and then, I suspect, advancing a half hour tomorrow night.
The sea state is much rougher and we have been heading into some reasonably strong winds (gusting to 25 knots) but it is not uncomfortable.
I have managed to get round to see quite a few people and have managed to talk to a number of the NEOC's today so that has been helpful. I hope to catch the remainder later in the day.
We have had one DCX today and that went off without a hitch.
There was another couple of games of uckers today - Tim Cox and I won the first of our 2nd round games. Lee Drage and Grant Coleman won one and lost the second of their 1st round games and will need to front up tomorrow for the final game to see whether they or the XO and SAVO (also known as Steptoe & Son) advance to the next round.
Bed is looking good although I don't have a power pack for the laptop yet – there is one that is exactly the same as the one I've ordered to collect in Darwin on board so hopefully, tomorrow, I will see if it works with mine.
This morning we have had two DCX's. The first was a hole in the ship's side which caused some flooding and took a while to get under control. The second happened just as we were finishing stand easy (1030 h) – this time there was an electrical fault and a casualty but there was no main broadcast as the power went out so it was a case of people finding out by phone to DCC and then word of mouth as people went about their business. It seemed to be successful so that was good.
The power pack works but unfortunately I have done something to the fan which is kaput at the moment so will get it checked by one of the techo's on board to see whether he can fix it or will I need to get a new fan in Darwin tomorrow.
Bed is looking good as we will probably be late tomorrow night after the Wardroom function and the State of Origin game.
Rang the battery people and the battery hasn't arrived but I went out and paid for it to be sent on to home so it should be there when I get back. The tech on board has fixed the fan connection (somehow it had been jolted loose) but I haven't had any luck with using the power pack on board as the officer I need to borrow it from is always busy and using his machine.
Came back on board and did some reading – purchased two second hand books – and then had pre-dinner drinks before we headed out to an Italian Pizza Restaurant for the meal. It was a good night with lot's of laughter and taking the 'mickey' out of people so that was good.
Most people stopped off at a bar on the way home – I called in for a few minutes and then headed back here to the ship and dropped into my rack for a 'reasonably' early night.
The rest of the day has seen us having some DCX's to keep us out of mischief. People seem to be getting used to things and new activities seem to keep people on their toes.
The uckers competition headed for the finals today with the XO & SAVO (alias Steptoe and Son) winning through so there are now three teams remaining – that part of the competition takes over from tomorrow.
For me it is time for bed and some more reading of my novel.
As we were preparing for some exercises with HMAS Kanimbla we came across the French Corvette – La Glorieuse, 'The Glorious', which asked if they could join in some games so we had a light transfer between the two ships. Later, when we joined up with Kanimbla, she joined in the Office of the Watch manoeuvres as well.
The rest of the day went quietly until I attempted to start my laptop and found that the hard disk had died – not sure why but I've put a call into Tom Young but it doesn't look good.
Played two games of uckers tonight. Lost the first of the round robin games against Steptoe & Son (SAVO and the XO) but won against Apples and OPSO so Tim and I will be playing in the bets of three games Finals starting tomorrow night.
Bed is looking good although I stayed and watched the movie after winning the game which wasn't really smart.
The first event was the dummy spitting event and Lee Drage won that for our team. The second event was the frog person team event. Six people had to perform various things and then run the length of the aft flight deck wearing flippers and goggles. I went first after eating a very hot sausage roll which burnt my mouth and have an empty mouth before putting on the flippers and goggles and heading off. The second person had to do 20 pushups before starting, the third had to drink a can of soft drink, the fourth had to do 20 arm curls using a barbell, the fifth had to eat five dry biscuits and the last person had to just run the length of the flight deck and get back. We didn't do so well in that one.
The next event was an iron man event, which was very, suss. After running to the end of the flight deck each of the four contestants, one from each team, had to do 20 pushups and then run back to the start. Sit and then eat a 450 gm tin of tuna. On completion they had to they ran to the end of the flight deck and do 20 star jumps then back and drink a milkshake. Back to the end of the flight deck and do 20 sit ups then back to drink a warm stubby of porter beer before heading back to do 20 back arches before running back to the start to finish. One of the young NEOC's completed the whole course before any of the other three had finished their tin of tuna so he won convincingly.
The next event was the tunnel ball event. Each team needed 10 members (we had to borrow two of the NEOC's to make our numbers) and involved a throw to each member, passage over the head of each member and then the tunnel finishing with the captain of the team doing a pushup off the basketball.
Next was the wet mop throwing competition with each team having two contestants and two attempts each?
The last event was the tug of war and we lost our first round tug off against Supply/SAD. By the time it came for us to go against the Executive Branch some of the techo's had come out of the bowels of the ship and I was relieved of my duties and the team beat them to get third place. It didn't stop us from coming fourth in the competition.
Then followed a steel deck BBQ with the cooking done down in the tank deck by the NEOC's which went off well with plenty of food but a slightly subdued feeling amongst the NEOC's that they were robbed as they felt that they had done enough to win. Supply/SAD won but it must have been close.
The rest of the day has gone quietly after a power nap for me this afternoon and by some quiet reading time.
Then followed Game One of the Uckers final which we lost after I took forever to get on the board and after only throwing 2 sixes for the whole of the first half of the game I really didn't get into it. Hopefully Game Two will have a better result.
Bed and another half-hour clock advancement so that we are now back on Eastern Standard Time.
In the middle of the afternoon we played Game Two of the Uckers final and got beaten. One of the major hurdles in Uckers is throwing 'sixes' – you need to throw a six to start and then there are times when you need to throw a six three times in a row. Then there is a time when you throw five sixes and you have to return all your counters to the starting position – irrespective of where you are on the board or how close you might be to finishing.
I got off to a very slow start not throwing any sixes in the first 7 or 8 throws and then I got started and was doing reasonably well. Then came five sixes and back to the start. Not too bad because I threw another six soon after and got back on the board and after awhile was back in the game but then threw another five sixes and Steptoe and Son cleaned us up – winning the best of three – two nil.
More indignity later in the day when, after Dinner, I managed to throw 5 sixes in a row two throws in a row. We got done again so I think that I will give up for awhile.
Bed tonight is looking good – need to put some moisturiser on the tops of my feet after a slight touch of sunburn during the mini-olympics yesterday.
This morning there was a SAFEGUARD with one of the NEOC's coming to a little bit of grief in his mess - the place he sleeps not the start of his cabin! (although the two are not necessarily incompatible). When it is a person on the deck there is an immediate scare of a toxic hazard so people come to life very quickly.
As we travelled through the Whitsunday Passage we passed Great Palm Island – the scene of my previous experience within the Great Barrier Reef when I was on HMAS Stalwart some 14 years ago and travelled around and around and around the island as Phase 2 Officers did their Navigation and Pilotage exercises.
This afternoon to came to anchor near Townsville to offload the LCM8 and it's cradle plus the spare cradle on board to return to the Army. It was a tidy evolution and since we arrived a little earlier than planned it was able to be completed before dark so that was extra good.
I have managed to ring home and mum is in her new room – this time it has it's own ensuite so that makes life a little more comfortable for her.
This evening has gone well and I'm going to get an early night.
The rest of the morning was a wander around saying hello and then, after lunch, we headed ashore on Whitsunday Island for a Banyan – a bit of a day at the beach. The weather was great, not too hot and not too windy and the water was warm so it was enjoyed by all that went ashore.
Later the Wardroom was in charge of the Steel Deck BBQ so a few of us help get the final things ready before starting the cooking. At the conclusion of the meal there was a Debate between two teams of the NEOC's which was enjoyable although their debating skills left a little to be desired.
Then a couple of us finished off the tidying up before I hit the rack – it had been a long day and I was really tired.
This afternoon I played an uckers game and didn't throw 5 sixes and managed to be on the winning tea, - I thought that I might have run out of luck and might never win again. The rest of today has been quiet, seeing a few people and chatting as I travelled around and checking to make sure that there is nothing that I have left undone before I get ready to depart on Saturday afternoon.
Bed is looking good tonight.
We had two DCX's – one a man overboard, that same sailor who was on HMAS Sydney two years ago. He just won't talk to me and chooses to do a runner rather than face the fact that he is not cut out to be a sailor so he jumps – still hasn't worked out that waiting until we get to harbour is safer. The second DCX was a fire and most of the people who turned out for that were the NEOC's and that went reasonably well.
Another major event of the day was the gathering of all the officers in the Wardroom at 1000h. There was an air of uncertainty – many feeling that there might have been a bit of a problem but it turned out to be a gathering for the Captain to present a Bravo Watchkeeping Certificate to Leut Justine Archer – and was she a happy little vegemite.
The rest of the day has been quiet with little happening as we come to the final countdown. Two sleeps to go and then people are home in Sydney and a bit of a break from ship board life as Tobruk goes into a Maintenance Period for the next two months.
Bed is definitely looking good.
