Summer In The Atlantic
4 August 2009 By LEUT Jemma Power
HMA Ship’s Sydney and Ballarat’s transit of the Atlantic Ocean from the United Kingdom toward the coast of Canada was eventful to say the least. Though short, the journey from Plymouth to the Newfoundland port city of St John’s, has lead to some very unique ‘summer’ experiences for the crew of the Northern Trident 2009 vessels.
HMAS Ballarat and HMAS Sydney’s transit of the Atlantic was being undertaken during summer, but while summer to the average Aussie means the beach and hot sun, the crews soon appreciated that summer in the Northern Hemisphere is another matter entirely. During the five day transit, beanies, thermals and doona jackets were the rig of choice as temperatures hovered around the 10 degree mark. For those who had packed for a more Aussie like summer, the temperatures tested their limits and the ship’s canteens did a roaring trade in beanies and polar fleeces for the duration of the transit.
If the cold and the accompanying chilly breeze were not enough, day three of the transit added some unusual summer excitement – thick fog and the prospect of icebergs. With the ships to pass within 200 nautical miles north of the location of Titanic’s fateful encounter with an iceberg, warnings received from the United States Weather station at Norfolk were passed with renewed urgency. The Norfolk weather station warned the ships that their transit route was currently covered by an area known to contain numerous icebergs, bergy bits and growlers (2-3 tonne sections of ice that are awash). The task group pressed on with due caution nonetheless.
The iceberg warning necessitated the posting of iceberg lookouts, an unusual step for RAN ships that would usually operate in far more temperate climates. LS Writer Kristy Archbold, was one of the personnel who stood lookout during the cold weather.
"We were stationed out on each bridge wing for the duration of our watch and even with two jackets and thermals on it was still cold. I never thought I’d get much use out of my issued thermals but I was definitely grateful for them during this duty," she said.
The thickening fog added an extra challenge to the lookouts already stressful task. "I’ve stood lookout as a life buoy sentry before but that was only ever during rain or sunny weather, the thickening fog on the Atlantic made me worried that I wouldn’t see anything at all. However I reported a white mass at one point and although it turned out to only be floating plastic, my sighting left me more confident that I would actually see an iceberg in time in the fog," said Kristy.
At times during the watch, visibility closed to less than 100 yards and at one stage the forecastle from the bridge could not be seen as it was completely engulfed by thick fog. On a positive note the modern sensors onboard Ballarat and Sydney meant that the ships were not totally reliant on visual sightings with both ships employing radar and sound signals to assist in maneuvering safely in the thick fog. "At one point we were notified by VHF radio by a passing fisherman of two icebergs in the area. Using our radar we could locate their position as well as determine that they were the size of a small family home - all while remaining at a safe distance and without actually visually sighting them," said Seaman Officer Liam Walters.
The fog also brought about an additional challenge for the iceberg lookouts and ensured that they were not the only personnel exposed to the cold temperatures. Reduced visibility meant that sound signals were commenced for the first time on NT09. Sound signals are used in situations where visibility is restricted to less than two nautical miles as an additional method for ships to warn each other of their location. As an audible signal it is important for the bridge personnel to be able to hear the signal of any passing ship, meaning that the bridge wing doors were thrown open day and night – leading all on the bridge to ‘appreciate’ the Atlantic ‘summer’ on a first hand basis for the majority of the Atlantic crossing.
With the fog persisting for over 36 hours and the whistle sounding approximately every two minutes both day and night, patience of both ships as well as their sleep patterns were certainly challenged but undoubtedly all onboard appreciated the unique experience that was the Atlantic summer.
