WARM WELCOME FOR NAVY SHIPS DURING TASMANIA NAVY WEEK

The Navy opened their ships and Tasmania opened their arms to welcome three major fleet units as part of Navy Week 2011 in Tasmania at the weekend.

The week commenced with the transmission of a local FM breakfast show from the hangar of HMAS Parramatta as they steamed in company with HMAS Ballarat along the Derwent and into Hobart.

Navy Week also coincided with the Tasmanian Wooden Boat Festival, the Royal Hobart Regatta, the Hobart Cup and Festival in Devonport with some magnificent weather over one of the busiest long weekends of the year in Tasmania.

With nearly every bit of spare accommodation in Hobart fully booked, there were plenty of Tasmanians on hand to visit HMA Ships Ballarat and Parramatta for their open days on 12 February when more than 3500 people took the opportunity for a guided tour of both ships.

Navy week concluded with HMAS Ballarat performing as the flagship for the Royal Hobart Regatta, an open day in Devonport aboard HMAS Diamantina, a range of activities with STS Young Endeavour, and a wet winch demonstrations by HMAS Parramatta’s Seahawk helicopter.

Ballarat, Parramatta and Diamantina departed Tasmania for the final days of Navy exercising as part of Triton Storm 1-11, a newly developed exercise conducted annually on the Eastern seaboard of Australia.