It’s not everyday you get the chance to step onboard a Navy vessel, so if you get the opportunity, take your family and friends and have a look around. That’s what happened this week. The Australian Navy had an open day to visit the HMAS Adelaide at the passenger terminal in Outer Harbor, South Australia.

Now, I’ve worked in the maritime industry for the past 24 years, so I’m not inexperienced when it comes to going onboard ships. The opportunity of meeting the crew, walking along decks and stepping inside the accommodation areas of these vessels is a weekly occurrence. Those large merchant vessels have nothing on the excitement and intrigue you get from stepping on a navy ship, with all that cool defence force gear.

The interest that the HMAS Adelaide generated publicly was evident very early, with queuing occurring on the road, and in through the security checkpoints of the small passenger terminal. Upon arrival you can tell that the Port of Adelaide passenger terminal is a seasonal passenger port. The inside of the terminal is relatively stark, with no terminal shops or café for visitors and a couple of promotional stalls to advertise the state. The security is the same as an airport, remove belts, jackets and everything out of your pockets, walk through the metal detector and hope the sirens don’t sound.

Once through the security checkpoint you make your way up the gangway and onto the entry deck, straight through a metal reinforced door and down some steep steps to the medical bay. This medical bay is very impressive, it’s fully stocked and wanting for nothing. There’s an emergency area, two surgical rooms, an intensive care ward, pharmacy, and just about every other machine a modern hospital would want to have. I’m sure a few doctors in our suburban hospitals would like access to some of this equipment.

As you walk along the decks you notice straight away that everything is spotless. The floors, the ceiling, the walls and even the sewage pipes running along the decks are squeaky clean.

We walk towards the stern of the ship and out the rear access hatch and out onto the sterns mooring area and right in front of you are the mounted Typhoon stabilised weapon systems. From there we enter the main hangar where we have the navy band greet us with some music. As we walk along the long deck you notice two large Australian flags attached to the walls and a couple of visitor stations set up with firefighting and personal protective equipment, with helpful crew interacting with the many visitors, especially the children. The hangar also has a couple of other pieces of equipment that the crew use whilst on assignment, like zodiac motorboats, excavation equipment in case they have to build or clear something and other military vehicles.

Again we walk through another hatch way and climb some more stairs and enter the accommodation areas. The HMAS Adelaide has a crew of 400 and can accommodate another 1000 military personnel during conflicts. The mess rooms are large and service the crew around the clock, with fresh food and a selection of dishes from a buffet style setting. Continuing along the corridor you notice the many recreation rooms and gyms and realise they have just about all the luxuries you could ever want. Since they protect our shores and are away from their families for months at a time who can deny them that bit of comfort.

Whilst walking down corridors there is crew stationed at various places on the ship giving out brief points and to stop us from making a wrong turn and getting lost, we climb up more steps and appear on the flight deck. Just like a mini aircraft carrier that you see in the movies, the flight deck is just a big landing strip.

We head back into the control bridge and head back downstairs to a huge cargo hold, now this is just like a roll on, roll off vessel, with a large port-side ramp and rear doors that can lower and flood the berthing compartment to allow the four landing craft to exit if required. We are told the vessel has six landing craft, four stored onboard and two held in Sydney for maintenance and testing. From here we walk out through a hatchway and head towards the exit, we say our goodbyes to the crew and get a couple of photos as we leave.

Now, if I had the opportunity to visit a navy ship when I was young, I may have been inspired to join up. Where else do you get to travel the world in relative comfort, and serve your nation doing so? So for all of you still trying to find a career, maybe the defence force is for you!

Finally thank you to the Australian Royal Navy for opening up your impressive vessel for the community to enjoy, and thank you to the Flinders Ports Group for giving us access to the passenger terminal.

Overall, I would highly recommend getting out and visiting a naval vessel, and the Australian Navy does give the community limited chances to visit. So visit their website at (http://www.navy.gov.au) to see when their next open day will be and book your spot or join up for a life long career.