O.T. Submariners!

[Esses]

Just watched Episode 2 of this ABC series shot on HMAS Rankin, 1 of the Collins Class. Very interesting & insightful. These guys (& girls) are on a SIX MONTH deployment. Wow. I'll soon have to spend 9 or 10 weeks away from my family due to a change in jobs but at least I'll get to see them weekends. I can't imagine being away for 6 months.

[BILLFORD1]

It's the ducks guts if you don't happen to be married, have kids etc. From memory over a period of 20 years, I managed to spend almost exactly 14 of them "outside Australian waters"!! (Many in those days were 5 to 7 month stints). That probably explains how I got into collecting model cars....eventually had to terminate the swizzel stick & beer coaster collections when I pulled the pin !!! :D

[BILLFORD1]

Forgot to mention, I never actually served in "Gosunders". (Submersibles). You can't bail out & swim if it all turns to duck putty !!! Carriers, Destroyers etc were great machines. :)

[Esses]

My Dad was RAAF for 20-some years & as such we travelled all over Eastern Aust. plus Malaysia. Dad went to Vietnam for year but I was little enough only to remember Daddy being "away". Must've been hell for Mum, though. Stuck at the opposite end of Aust. from all of her Family & friends with 3 small kids.
A family friend (my God-daughter, she's 12) whose Mother keeps on shifting stumps (I think she's had 12 "homes") can't comprehend that Wifey & I have lived practically ALL our married life in this house & that our kids only know this ONE home. Diametric opposite of both my own AND Wifey's childhoods.

[Esses]

Originally posted by BILLFORD1
Forgot to mention, I never actually served in "Gosunders". (Submersibles). You can't bail out & swim if it all turns to duck putty !!! Carriers, Destroyers etc were great machines. :)

Have you read any J.E. MacDonnell? One of my all-time favourite authors. Writes almost exclusively Australian stories, mostly Naval, mostly in Destroyers.:)

[BILLFORD1]

Ref J E Macs books, yes they were I seem to recall read by almost every member of the RAN at some stage during the 1960s/70s !! Having been in the outfit himself, all of the books, though mainly fiction, were very big on fact & realism when it came to the ships/equipment/technical aspects of his stories so were always a good read. In the days before mess VCRs became the norm, spare time at sea was usually spent reading books, writing letters, or playing cards along with a bit of eating/showering/sleeping. :)

[Esses]

Yeah, realism is the key plus the Oz connection. Dutchy Holland is my favourite. I forgot to mention that in this "Submariners" series a few of the Crew ARE Married with kids. One (Male) has a new baby with another (ex) Submariner - the first in the service. The baby was Christened on board "Rankin" using the Ships Bell as a Font with sea water instead of Holy Water. Kid's name is engraved inside the bell. Another (Female) crew member is leaving behind a 6 month old baby. She'll come home to a most likely walking toddler. How she does it I don't know, especially as comms between home & these boats are extremely limited. I couldn't do it, not now.

[xtreem2001]

I have worked as a contractor at ASC (Aust Submarine Base) for the past 10 years and the Submariners are certainly a breed unto themselves. Most of the crews are based in W.A. and these guys think nothing of jumping into their cars and driving home to see loved ones. Driving is preffered to flying for some reason. That is a strange thing when you consider they spend months under water but dont like the idea of flying.

[Ford Boy]

Originally posted by Esses
Have you read any J.E. MacDonnell? One of my all-time favourite authors. Writes almost exclusively Australian stories, mostly Naval, mostly in Destroyers.:)

These are great books, I have a collection of somewhere around 100books.... absotlutly great read. Dutchy Holland... what a great character...

[Esses]

Ford Boy, you're about where I am. About 100 books. They're getting hard to find now though. Every second-hand bookshop I see, I'm in there.:D

xtreem. I'd bet that the car thing is as much about freedom, "personal control" & out in open space as a dislike of flying.

[Ford Boy]

Yeah theres a local second hand book shop that has in the vicinity of mabe 400 books, lots of double ups obviously, but are priced very dearly... around about $20 to $40... I used to be able to buy them for $4 when i was 13 or 14! Now 20, but yeah!

[Esses]

Holy Schiessenhausen, you're kidding!!! I can still find them down here for $5 - $6.00!!! I got some last June in Qld. for $4.00!!! Find yourself another Bookshop!!:eek:

[Ford Boy]

Yeh I reckon. The only other place in town that has them shut down just before Christmas! Ah, to be having our own little conversation in a thread everyone else lost interest in, quite a few days ago!

[Esses]

That's the beauty of the net. Who knows, someone might think J.E. Mac-Who & go buy one of his books.:)

Whenever we're away I always keep a lookout for 2nd-hand bookshops. Found about 40 in Batemans Bay once. Found 12 in Caloundra last year. Now the trouble is avoiding double-ups & getting the rare ones!:D