Royal Australian Navy’s hydrographic survey vessel HMAS Leeuwin set sail from Cairns early January to begin a transit to conduct military data gathering operations in the Bass Strait.
A number of Australian Navy cadets and family members from the ship’s company joined the ship for the first day of the deployment.
Once the ship had made it to sea a man overboard drill was undertaken with the ‘man’ recovered by the ship’s seaboat, and a blank firing demonstration took place to illustrate the procedure undertaken in case of a potential shark attack on personnel in the water.
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Adam Muckalt, said the “hands-on” experience was invaluable to increase understanding of what Navy people do out at sea.
As the ship pulled into Flying Fish cove, a number of family members departed the ship via boat transfer, while the cadets stayed on for the evening.
Through the night, the cadets participated in a watch keeping routine, manning various areas of the ship for the entire evening, taking the helm and steering the ship, maintaining a proper lookout for contacts and other obstacles, and experiencing time in some of the machinery spaces.
The following morning, Leeuwin made its way towards Magnetic Island where the Cadets were landed via the ship’s jet RHIB.
Continuing her transit, HMAS Leeuwin visited Port Adelaide on January 23 ahead of Australia Day celebrations taking place on January 26. HMAS Leeuwin was also the biggest ship ever to enter Adelaide’s Inner Harbour.