Navy People: Maitland Twosome take on the world
22 September 2009
Back in April when Maitland girl, Able Seaman Cryptologic Linguist Heidi Launer set off on her around the world voyage with the Royal Australian Navy, she expected to miss her hometown and the people she had left behind. To her surprise and delight however she discovered that friend and fellow Maitland Area School classmate Able Seaman Ben ‘Jonno’ Johnson would accompany her on Ballarat's 25,000km round-the-world voyage. Together they have taken in some amazing sights and made valuable contributions to a deployment that has supported Australia’s international security and diplomatic efforts.
Both Able Seaman are currently on the return leg of Northern Trident 2009 – an around the world deployment which has seen them involved in rescuing a merchant vessels under attack from pirates off the African coast as well as allowing them to visit ports in India, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, where the ship sailed past the Statue of Liberty before berthing in New York for a four day official visit.
“The trip has been amazing and an experience that I will never forget. We have seen so much; Rome was amazing, the people of Canada were really welcoming and while we were in New York, Jonno and I saw The Phantom of the Opera together at the Majestic Theatre, one of the oldest theatres on Broadway.” Heidi said.
The Maitland duo has also had the opportunity to sail through both the Suez and Panama Canals – something not many people will ever get to do.
As an Able Seaman Boatswain’s Mate, Ben Johnson’s primary duties are as a Survival equipment maintainer, a specialist role within the Boatswain category. It is his responsibility to keep in serviceable condition survival equipment that his crewmates rely upon everyday to perform their duties.
“It is my responsibility to check that items such as life rafts and life jackets are in good working order. Sailors working on the upper decks and aloft don these jackets every day and rely on them in an emergency – most of the time your work is unappreciated as the lifejacket is only employed in an emergency but it is reassuring to know that if they were needed my equipment will keep my crewmates safe”, he said.
In addition to these core duties Ben’s additional duties might find him on the bridge taking his turn at the helm of the 3600 tonne warship or on the upper decks manning a 50 calibre machine gun during actions stations. It was in this position that he found himself during Ballarat’s encounter with pirates off the coast of Africa in May.
“We practice our action station drills regularly so when we got called to action that day it was no surprise, but we quickly discovered it was no drill on this occasion. The presence of the Australian warships was enough to see the pirates off in this instance but it was good to put our training to work in a real situation and assist in keeping the merchant ships in the area safe.”
This is not the first overseas trip with the Royal Australian Navy for either of the sailors (Ben having worked in East Timor, Fiji, Noumea, New Zealand and Vanuatu while Heidi has worked in Noumea, New Zealand and Vanuatu), but this trip is certainly one of their most memorable.
“The experiences I’ve had during this trip will definitely not be forgotten in a hurry, that’s for sure. I never really thought I’d travel so far with the Navy and even when we were coming into the foreign ports it just didn’t quite feel real.” said Ben, a sentiment with which Heidi agreed: “I’d always dreamed of going to Rome and have been very lucky to get here with the Navy, as I expected, I loved Rome - I just didn’t expect to love it so much!"
And while being in the Navy has taken the Maitland duo to all corners of the globe, they are both looking forward to returning to Ballarat’s home port of Sydney in early October. Heidi’s fiancé Robert will be wharfside in Sydney to greet her as will Ben’s Mum Diane, Dad Graham and brothers, Fred and Jarred. Both sailors have firm plans for a return to Maitland for Christmas to catch up with friends and family over a good Aussie BBQ – something they have both missed in their six months deployed away from home.
