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Even at anchor, the Hervey Bay can feel quite "tippy" because of the shallow hull that helps the boat achieve a steaming speed of 25 knots. With ingredients sliding freely across the stainless-steel bench tops in the galley, Normile is getting an early start on dinner: corned silverside, or "corn dog," as his crew mates call it. There's a cooking roster for the duration of the patrol; like a protein greatest hits of Aussie share-house cuisine, the crew's meal list takes in classic roasts and zesty Asian-style stir fries. But there's always room for the catch of the day. On their sea rounds, Fitzsimmons and Leeman came across the Captain Tom, a barge off Yorke Island that provides marine services and fuel to fishing boats as well as freezers to store freshly caught seafood for bulk collection. It's like a roadhouse on the edge of the busy Torres highway. When two yappy terriers sound an alert, Trish Wallam emerges from a tiny trailer home. Looking pleased to receive visitors, Wallam says she and husband Bevis live on the barge for most of the year. She cheerily insists on loading up the departing Customs officers with several boxes of seafood - prawns, crayfish tails and scallops.
After lunch, Annette Brewer - one of 15 women in the marine unit - who's been on an early morning watch, falls asleep in the recreation room; the sailors work around the clock and are encouraged to grab sleep whenever they can. "Fatigue is a very big issue with our lifestyle," says Skipper Fitzsimmons. "You need to be fit, active and alert. The boat may be operating 24 hours a day for a week - chasing FFVs, doing search-and-rescues one after the other. If the crew is physically exhausted, they're not making good decisions - and they're handling firearms. Part of my job is to make sure the crew gets adequate rest." In the Strait, chances are that a Plan A will be adjusted, by successive turns, to a Plan E within an hour or so. "You can spend a day hopping in and out of the tenders," says Mark Radon, who is responsible for navigation on this tour. "By the end of a patrol, the three weeks is a blur." On the distant Ashmore Reef patrol, boredom can be the enemy. Like airline crews, the sailors return to homes all over the country. After three weeks rest, they're back to work with a new crew. Still they've been handpicked for these highly-prized roles. Psychometric testing has deemed them conducive to flexibility, adaptability, resilience, team work and initiative.
Despite fond nostalgia for the old days when crews were smaller and stable, and sea life more spartan and intense, Fitzsimmons welcomes the end of the monoculture; the range of backgrounds among the unit's members - fishermen, naval seamen, divers - has made the work more interesting and expanded the pool of skills. Being away from home for long periods is the hardest personal sacrifice, the skipper says. Still, he finds joy in meeting the clients (especially scientists) who regularly travel as ACV passengers to conduct their own work, from which Customs earns a charter fee. "A beautiful day on this boat is as good as a day on any luxury liner," he says. "And you'll go to different communities and to different parts of the coast that the average Australian will never see." Like Coconut Island, where Connie Pearson is the local Customs presence. Islander eyes and ears are invaluable for operations, and Pearson is equipped with a four-wheel-drive vehicle and boat. But it's a two-way relationship, says his boss Steve Jeffs. Island elders expect Customs to keep their communities free of illicit drugs and are obliging with up-to-date information. At 1445, the Hervey Bay is asked to respond to a Coastwatch sighting of an FFV near Turnagain Island, two hours away at full steam; the boat heads south along the Warrior Reefs, then does a right turn through Basilisk Passage. Because the area has not been surveyed for depth and reefs, the ACV is not permitted to go all the way to the target; Fitzsimmons pulls up 9 nautical mi. short, near Gabba Island. At 1645, an armed foursome (Walker, Brewer, Normile and Radon) is launched; it's a bumpy and wet hour across shallow reefs to Turnagain. There's no sign of an FFV near the location of the last reported sighting, seven hours ago. At 1800, in poor light, Normile calls the bridge: "It's going to be difficult to locate anything." "They're probably half-way back to Merauke," replies Fitzsimmons, who can't help but worry about his younger charges during these armed responses.