Dave Lassam - Getting your sea legs

Running time
1 min 24 sec
Date made
Place made
Australia
Copyright
Department of Veterans' Affairs

Transcript

I had a few experiences with not getting my sea legs. I think the first boat I was on, wasn't ship, it was a boat was one of the wooden, anti-mine warfare ships that happened to come into Hands Inlet down at Cerberus. And of course, all the recruits, "Right, down to the wharf". Off we go. And it's wooden and bobs around like a cork, so I wasn't really well, you but you get the hang of it.

Then I went to sea on a destroyer, which was in Melbourne, and we just went out for the day run and it was great. felt absolutely great, mind you, it  was pretty flat. We're in Port Phillip Bay so it wasn't going to do much. But my first sea posting down the track two years in was to Melbourne, the aircraft carrier. And you think she'd be great. doesn't roll too much, should be fine. But of course, mentally you're thinking, "Oh my God, I'm gonna mmm. And I was, first day out, crook. And then my sea legs, once I got them, laughing and I was fine and in the end you enjoy it.

And when you get off the ship, it's funny, you have to get your land legs back. If you've been at sea a while, you're always moving and you get on land, the land doesn't move, you do. And so you see sailors swaying down the road. They're not drunk, not mostly, they're just getting their land legs back.

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