Royal Hobart Regatta
For Able Seaman Clearance Diver Luke Alderton, being able to come back to his hometown of Hobart on HMAS Diamantina, his first ship posting as a clearance diver, was an experience he won't forget.
"This is the first time I've been back to Hobart in the Navy and it was pretty cool coming up the Derwent River on a warship as I've never done that before," he said.
"I had my family on the wharf, and they were interested to see the ship come in and were pretty excited."
Becoming a clearance diver was always Able Seaman Alderton's goal in life. He grew up in Hobart with diving as his main passion, be it for crayfish, abalone or just exploring the Derwent River.
"I wanted to make a career of what I enjoyed, and I thought if I'm going to do it, I'll go to the top: clearance diving," he said.
Being on the flagship for the Royal Hobart Regatta, HMAS Diamantina, means he's now getting to do his job in his hometown.
"It's pretty unreal being a local and being on a ship that's involved with the Royal Hobart Regatta," he said.
Joining the Navy in April 2021, Able Seaman Alderton got rated as a clearance diver and completed his course by the end of 2022.
"It's about an 18-month process from civilian to fully qualified clearance diver, but once we were qualified and able to put the rate patch on was an unreal experience as we had finally achieved it," Able Seaman Alderton said.
Besides getting qualified, his favourite experience during dive course was learning a new piece of equipment and jumping in the water that first time.
"It's pretty unique as not many people get to dive all this specialised equipment or dive a rebreather in Sydney Harbour, so that's pretty cool," he said.
"We dive pretty deep and we get to do all sorts of different tasks and operations that not many others get to do. I think about that and compare what I used to do to what I get to do now and it is incomparable.
"Clearance diver course is certainly challenging at times, however, it is achievable if you don't quit, work hard and maintain a good attitude you'll get through."
His advice for people wanting a career as a clearance diver is to "train hard, be physically and mentally prepared, don't take no for an answer, don't quit and you'll be fine".
HMAS Diamantina was the flagship to the 186th iteration of the Royal Hobart Regatta, held from February 10 to 12.
