Navy People: Wollongong Sailor sees the world
21 September 2009
One of Wollongong’s finest young men, Dale Farley will soon return home from a 25,000km round-the-world voyage, and what an adventure he has had.
Able Seaman Farley is currently on board HMAS Ballarat, that together with HMAS Sydney left Australia in April on Northern Trident 2009 – an around the world deployment aimed at supporting Government of Australia priorities such as diplomacy, international security and Defence industry interests in Western European, Northern American and Asian countries.
The deployment has had plenty of highlights, from rescuing a merchant vessel under attack from pirates, visiting ports in India, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada as well as 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. How many people get to go around the world, see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, swim in the waters of the Bermuda triangle and surf in Hawaii on work time?” Dale said with a grin.
However the voyage has also included some intense periods of work for Able Seaman Farley, a Marine Technician who works as the Damage Control (DC) Yeoman on board Ballarat. As DC Yeoman he is responsible for the serviceability of equipment used to fight fires and floods in emergency situations and he is also involved in training his shipmates in the use of this equipment.
“While in the UK, Ballarat spent two weeks putting the Royal Australian Navy’s damage control equipment and training standards to the test before the world’s best. It was a draining couple of weeks filled with simulated fires and floods but the crew pulled together; we relied on each other, our training and our equipment to get us through.”
Having joined the Navy in 2006 to ‘travel and get a trade’ he had little expectation that he would travel so far so soon but appreciates his luck so early in his RAN career. “The trip has offered such a range of experiences, from being involved in diplomatic functions, flying to San Francisco to see an NFL game and then later unexpectedly meeting the San Diego Chargers when they were training at the San Diego Naval base.”
“The main thing I will take away from this trip though is how welcoming everyone around the world was to Ballarat and her sailors. People were genuinely interested in what we did, some even thanking us for the job we do – it was a little overwhelming but it made you proud too” Dale said.
And while the Navy has taken Dale to all corners of the globe and provided him with a multitude of lasting memories, he is keen to get home after 6 months away and looks forward to seeing his Dad waiting for him on the wharf. “For a while there my friends thought I’d joined the Army but the emails and photos I’ve sent home have set them straight. I think they’re pretty impressed that I’ve travelled the world like this with the RAN. I’m keen to get back to my friends, tell them all about it and get to the beach in Wollongong for some surfing.”
