A break after months at sea for 6,500 US Sailors and Marines
Last week, 5 US Navy warships housing 6,500 sailors and marines stopped over in Sydney for four days, en route to San Diego after serving in the Persian Gulf. Naturally enough, a good time was had by all, including Sydney's tourism industry, which has been hard-hit by lower tourism numbers due to the Iraq war and the SARS epidemic.
What did the servicemen and women get up to? Well, sight-seeing, shopping and partying were the main priorities, but many ventured further afield, enjoying days trips to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, and to many of the wineries surrounding the metropolitan area. The US Navy Contact Office in Sydney worked for weeks ahead, arranging accommodation, entertainment, mobile phones, hire cars and more -- all by e-mail from the ships.
Other popular activities included BridgeClimb, a brisk climb to the top of Sydney's Harbour Bridge, the ever-popular Sydney Pub tours (complete with obligatory next morning headache), and stay-overs in some of Sydney's 4 and 5 star hotels, like the Sydney Harbour Marriot, Hotel Intercontinental and the Potts Point Holiday Inn.
Shopping was a top priority. US Lieutenant-Colonel Keil Gentry flew down from Darwin (capital of Northern Territory, Australia) a week before the docking to organise special deals for the servicemen and women from some of Sydney's more exclusive and unique stores such as R. M. Williams. Keil also quipped: "I've been doing a good reconnaissance of the local pubs ... just about any pub in The Rocks is good."
But not everyone visited the pubs. Some enjoyed fine wine and a finer style of dining in our better restaurants. Others were drawn to The Illustrated Man Tattoo Studio, where owner Tony Cohen tattooed several dozen Marines with ideas ranging from Stars and Stripes to tribal skulls. Many visited The Hard Rock Cafe, where they could sample 'Roo Burgers and Vegemite. The Cafe reports selling around 2,000 T-shirts and 1,000 burgers in just two days.
Even Harry's Cafe de Wheels, an Australian Navy favourite for generations, enjoyed good sales and gave the Sailors and Marines their first taste of an Australian Classic -- the great Australian Meat Pie. As Harry's owner Michael Hannah commented to me: "We not only got the sailors, we got all the people who came to see them! I'm always amazed at the look on the sailor's faces when they try an Aussie meat pie for the first time. They love 'em!". Like to try an Aussie meat pie? Here's an online recipe.
Beer consumption, a perennial Australian pastime, seems to be an American favourite too :) The hotels and pubs in Sydney enjoyed a very brisk trade. For those of you with a taste for beer, and the time and money to fly downunder for a visit, here's a list of some of the best pubs in Sydney. Rhyming your way around
"Have a dog's eye, mate! Good for ya ducks and drakes." Many of the US servicemen and women found the Australian penchant for rhyming slang more than a little mystifying (as if the Aussie accent wasn't bad enough!) Australian rhyming slang is used by many people here, and is a derivative of UK cockney rhyming slang. It goes back to the start of Australia, and was employed by the original convicts from the UK, who used it to mask their conversations from British guards.
Some Marines also went out of their way to be particularly helpful. US Corporal Jason Belmont intervened in a brawl outside a northern Sydney nightclub, and may have saved a man's life, police said. New South Wales Police have recommended a citation for Corporal Belmont, who saw the victim being kicked around 4am on Sunday morning and stepped in to challenge the attacker, who stopped and fled. Serious business as usual
The five US warships were part of the rapid-response Amphibious Ready Group -- and included USS Boxer, USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Pearl Harbor, USS Dubuque and USS Cleveland. While most of the Sailors and Marines were enjoying their day leave, other servicemen were securing the ships and guarding the entry points and waters surrounding them.
Daniel Parkinson, son of well-known Australian singer Doug Parkinson and a designer and photographer at our studio, went to photograph the ships around 4.30am on Saturday morning. He was particularly impressed by the security, which was ominous by Sydney standards.
Each ship was surrounded by buoys, which appeared to support a netting system to discourage underwater approach. Around five small, armed motor cruisers crisscrossed around the ships at all times, and performed surveillance on any activity close enough to be with their mandate. Most of the Sailors were armed with slung rifles, and the ships themselves had armed Sailors on guard on the decks all the way around the ships. All gateway entry points were also guarded by armed Sailors.
Daniel shot the images above from a wharf adjacent to the berthed ships. At one point he was approached by one of the motor boats, and the Sailors aboard gave him a long hard looking over. He had a tripod and camera set up, and waved, so they obviously figured out that what he was up to was no threat. Daniel commented that the attention was quite unsettling, and the security particularly intense.
These warships are serious business, and even when the servicemen are out and about enjoying themselves, and joggers pass by the ships on their morning exercises, it pays to remember these are some of the most dangerous and heavily guarded vessels in existence.
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