Real Test For New Sea Legs
Illawarra Mercury
Monday June 25, 2007
THE rough weather of the past week had cast doubts over the HMAS Wollongong's voyage from Sydney to Port Kembla, and yesterday morning the signs were not good.
Drizzle and high winds whipped the Woolloomooloo wharf where waiting passengers stood huddled together.Navy personnel made a routine safety presentation and warned the crowd about the horrors of seasickness."There are two phases," Lieutenant-Commander Mark Taylor said dryly."Phase one is that you think you're going to die, and phase two is that you're afraid you're not going to die."Shortly after 9am, the maiden voyage of the HMAS Wollongong began."We'll head out past Ben Buckler and see what the sea's like," Lt-Comm Taylor told his passengers.Fortunately for those on board, the skies began to clear. Although the air on deck remained chilly, the sun emerged from behind the clearing cloud cover as the Wollongong pulled out past the heads near Bondi.Bon voyage!Below deck, it was hard to miss the nods to the ship's namesake city.With corridors named after Wollongong's streets, and sleeping quarters after suburbs, it was clear that some extra steps had been taken to ensure a little piece of Wollongong would always be aboard.The sighting of humpback whales breaching off Botany Bay was the highlight of the trip, though some passengers were too queasy to appreciate the spectacle. Although the seas were safe enough to sail, the motion of the ocean remained sufficient to turn several stowaways green around the gills.Dave Allen, from Bulli, won his way aboard the Wollongong in the Illawarra Mercury Sea Ride Competition, and admitted the ship's up-and-down undulating took some getting used to."The sea legs are OK - but the stomach's not quite as good," Mr Allen said.By the time the Wollongong eventually pulled into Port Kembla around 1.30pm, a dockside welcoming party had assembled.An open ship event will be held on Saturday, before the ship heads north to Cairns.
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury