Sea Patrol

The season finale of Sea Patrol airs this Thursday July 29 at 8.30pm. In its timeslot from Thursday August 5 will be repeats of the Mentalist which seem to do very well in ratings.

After a week off, new episodes of Cold Case continue on Sunday nights at 9.30pm with repeats at 10.30.

Seems that Tuesday nights have stabilised now on Nine, with no further amendments to having 20 To 1 follow New Top Gear from 9pm and Adults Only Commercial Breakdown at 9.45pm.

Meanwhile, on GO! – programming changes continue to be rampant with five of the movies in the advanced guides changing to other titles in the week ahead. God only knows what the printed guides say!

8:30pm – Thursday, July 22 on Channel Nine

As HMAS Hammersley ploughs her way through a violent electrical storm, sparks light up between two of her young crew below decks.

But personal affairs must be put aside when the ship receives a signal from a yacht’s emergency device – and RO (Kristian Schmid) battles to repair power circuits damaged in the storm.

The next day it is Bird (Danielle Horvat) who spies floating wreckage, and when crew of the sea boat goes in for a closer inspection, a distressed woman is hauled from the water.

Lara Strauss (Lauren Dillon) tells her rescuers the yacht she had abandoned must surely have sunk during the storm.

She had been sailing with Martin, her husband of one year, but even though the weather was dangerous he had refused to radio for help.

He believed scavengers scanned ‘mayday’ calls and preyed on vessels in distress.

With Lara receiving medical help on board HMAS Newcastle, the Hammersley crew searches widely for the sunken yacht, which could prove a hazard for shipping.

Instead they come across a vessel with a group of brawling men on board, and CO Mike Flynn (Ian Stenlake) immediately recognizes Alby Dumas (Andy Anderson), a former Navy man who makes his living from salvaging sunken boats.

Alby has found the sunken yacht and declared it to be his, thus sparking a brawl between his crew, and Martin’s brother Karl (Steve Le Marquand), who has laid claim to the yacht. Curiously, he is in the company of Lara.

XO Kate McGregor is concerned for the girl, and gives her a telephone number, which Lara later uses, asking Kate to meet her.

Against Kate’s wishes, Dutchy (Conrad Coleby) shadows her to a disused boatshed – a move that sees him spring into action when Kate is attacked and Lara is taken away.

Back in home port, as a certain love struck crew couple cement their burgeoning relationship, Dutchy suggest he and Kate spend the four hours before sailing, snorkeling around the wreckage.

But Kate is called away so Dutchy goes alone, eventually needing rescuing as he surfaces with severe injuries – and treasure concealed in his diving gear.

It is apparently part of a cargo that was hi-jacked in the Indian Ocean a month ago, and when a shore party explores nearby Shelly Island, battling dodgy radio reception, the truth emerges about some very unpleasant family ties.

8:30pm – Thursday, July 15 on Channel Nine

The foreign fishing vessels, or FFV’s, which invade Australian waters, result in regular pursuit tasks for HMAS Hammersley, but on this occasion a small fleet of the boats introduces some particularly deadly hazards.

As part of the boarding party on one such vessel, Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan) takes offence when one of the men on board, Rudy (Bert LaBonte) sexually assaults her.

Unfortunately, her use of capsicum spray temporarily blinds RO, (Kristian Schmid), and she is carpeted by XO Kate McGregor (Lisa McCune) who is critical of her lack of judgment and control.

Seeking a second chance, Bomber volunteers with Two Dads (Nikolai Nikolaeff) to be part of a steaming party to take the seized vessels and its crew to port.

The XO agrees, but says she will join the assignment as an observer. Bomber will be in charge.

The inclusion of Bomber in the steaming party causes its own problems on Hammersley, when Bird (Danielle Horvat) takes over as chef, trying to please her hungry colleagues.

All is fine with the steaming party until Bomber, joking in the wheelhouse with Two Dads, attempts to spray him with what she believes is water.

The liquid hits Kate in the face and she immediately collapses, the start of a nightmare journey that begins with the ship being re-taken by the imprisoned crew and involves cyanide poisoning and the unorthodox use of a party drug as the only antidote.

Now locked below decks on the FFV mother ship, are Kate, Two Dads and Bomber, the last two risking their health and safety as they strive to save the XO and gain freedom.

As the Hammersley crew searches desperately for its missing crew members, a mutiny breaks out on the FFV mother ship and the kinder members on board are slaughtered and dumped at sea.

Now in charge of the ship is Rudy, the man who assaulted Bomber, and with Kate very ill, and Two Dads badly beaten, it is up to Bomber to save the day.

Not only does she rise to the occasion, but as the Hammersley crew arrives by subterfuge in a leisure cruiser, Bomber saves a very important life.

8:30pm – Thursday, July 8 on Channel Nine

The ‘crash posting’ of a Communications Technician to HMAS Hammersley proves to be a particularly nice surprise for one of her crew.

From their joyous reunion it become clears that Fraser (Clayton Watson) and Two Dads (Nikolai Nikolaeff) share a cheekily chequered past, with Fraser claiming he has saved Two Dads’ skin in more than one sticky situation.

And it doesn’t take long for him to prove himself again, after the Hammersley answers a mayday call from a yacht that has been ransacked by what is reported to be a group of bandana wearing Australian rogues.

While exploring the vandalized boat, Two Dads causes a short circuit and is tossed into the ocean, but is quickly saved by his old friend.

Back in home port, the CO, Mike Flynn (Ian Stenlake) is told of a posse of cowboy pirates in a hot speed boat who are choosing soft target yachts and stealing equipment and valuables And on shore leave, Two Dads gets into more trouble, being bashed by some men who claim he owes them a gambling debt. Once again he is rescued by Fraser, who later offers him a roll of notes to help him out of trouble.

The exchange is seen by the CO, but Flynn is more interested in tracking the pirate’s boat, and when the co-ordinates of the attack vessel are sent by Coast watch, the course is set.

It’s a strangely suspect course that causes a party from the Hammersley to board a leisure craft containing a surprised senior couple (Hal and Di McElroy), clearly innocent of any dirty deeds.

Two Dads’ suspicion of the new crew member and his old mate begins to grow, particularly when he suspects that Fraser is feeding vital intelligence to the rogue pirates, and running some sort of scam that involves a suddenly love-struck Charge (John Batchelor).

Now he has to find proof, and as the Hammersley answers a mayday call where Eliza Lang (Alexa Ashton) is found with a seemingly ransacked boat and a drowned husband, they continues their search.

But when Two Dads confronts Fraser he is mocked for having no proof and offered a deal, with Fraser pointing out Two Dads has a dodgy past and was seen by the CO accepting a roll of cash.

Two Dads has some tough decisions to make.

8:30pm – Thursday, July 1 on Channel Nine

It should have been a straightforward assignment for HMAS Hammersley, delivering much needed medical supplies to a number of remote New Guinea Islands.

But no sooner have Dutchy (Conrad Coleby) and Swain (Matthew Holmes) arrived to make the first delivery, violence breaks out on the island where remote area nurse, Sarah Denton (Sara Gleeson) has been working for the past three years.

Dutchy is quick to notice kids playing ball with a hand grenade, but before he can intervene the device explodes, leaving the chief’s son Ifo (Che Timmins) with serious head injuries. Sarah explains the island is littered with old weaponry from WW11, and says all the men are heavily armed – a statement proved dramatically true when a group of rebellious young men try to seize power from the chief (Ariu Lang Sio). The chief says they have no respect, they claim the chief is too old.

Although Sarah is determined to maintain her neutral status, Dutchy and Swain are forced to return gunfire, and the tense situation in the village results in a decision to stretcher the injured boy through the jungle to a beach on the other side of the island.

Hammersley should be in line to collect them, but there is already a greater drama with Bird (Danielle Horvat) collapsing on board after delivering supplies to another island.

Because medical officer Swain is on one of the islands, caring for Bird becomes the duty of Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan), who realizes she is out of her depth when the young, gap-year sailor lapses into unconsciousness.

With no aircraft available for a medical evacuation, CO Mike Flynn (Ian Stenlake) arranges a rendezvous with HMAS Newcastle, which has a complete medical crew on board.

So Sarah, Dutchy and Swain – with the chief and some friendly natives – continue their trek through the jungle, carrying the injured child and coming under several gunfire attacks from the island’s young Turks.

Even the Newcastle’s medico (Todd Sucic) is confused by Bird’s rapidly deteriorating condition, until Two Dads (Nikolai Nikolaeff) remembers a small but vital detail of the journey she made, helping to deliver medical supplies.

So the Hammersley is free to speed towards its two jungle battling sailors and the brave young nurse, arriving at the designated beach – and straight into a final, devastating battle to the death.

8:30pm – Thursday, June 24 on Channel Nine

He had a wicked grin, an eye for the girls and a sometimes disastrous taste in practical jokes, but soon after joining the crew of HMAS Hammersley he became a special member of the tight knit Navy family.

Leo Kosov-Meyer (Nikolai Nikolaeff) was immediately christened ‘Two Dads’ because of his hyphenated surname. Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan) was drawn to him and he made solid friendships with sailors like Charge (John Batchelor) and Swain (Matthew Holmes).

It is the friendship with Charge that puts Two Dads in dreadful danger, a long way from Hammersely and his other mates.

The pair have planned a diving day on board the Blue Edge 1, but when Charge wimps out from his first reef dive, Two Dads is paired with Elke Anderson (Kimberley Busteed), a pretty Swedish backpacker. He happily sets out for the day’s fun.

But he is not on the vessel when it returns to port, and a ghastly discovery the next day reveals the fate of Elke.

Boats in the area offer help in the search for Two Dads and aircraft assist, but he cannot be found – and it is suggested by some that he has been taken by a shark.

Charge becomes obsessed with the owners of the Blue Edge 1 who don’t fulfill their stated intention to return to home port, and he is also intrigued by a ship, the Roslyn Bay, which he notices is taking an unusual course.

A mayday call from the dive boat sees Charge explode in anger at the vessel’s skipper, Harry Edwards (Tim Campbell), prompting CO Mike Flynn (Ian Stenlake) to apologize for the behavior of his Chief Petty Officer. But Charge refuses to accept the shark attack idea and persists with his conspiracy theory.

And when he learns the Roslyn Bay is from North Korea, a country with a culture of kidnapping, he persuades Mike to board the ship, leading Charge to discover some very interesting cargo.

It is a find that sees the Korean crew taken on to Hammersley while Bomber and Charge are assigned to take the Roslyn Bay back to port, enabling them to continue their own search for Two Dads.

As they persevere with the search for the sailor they both hold dear, Bomber and Charge become entangled in a nightmare of deceit, drug running and violence, that culminates in a vicious and deadly gun battle. .

But from the chaos, friendships emerge stronger than ever, demonstrating the great power of the brotherhood of the sea.

8:30pm – Thursday, June 17 on Channel Nine

In an unusual assignment, HMAS Hammersley is deployed to the Gulf of Carpentaria where flood waters have blocked the major highways.

As the ship is loaded with the emergency supplies at home port, RO (Kristian Schmid) returns from shore leave with no idea of the flood situation, the CO (Ian Stenlake) returns from a course at Jervis Bay and Dutchy (Conrad Coleby) rolls up in a snazzy sports car, driven by a slinky – and affectionate – blonde.

It is Dutchy’s arrival that attracts the attention of XO, Kate McGregor (Lisa McCune), but soon after the Navy vessel leaves for Karumba all are distracted by a Mayday call from a sinking boat with 10 flood escapees on board.

By the time the Hammersley reaches the desperate people, their boat has sunk, and during a swimming recovery by Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan) and Two Dads (Nikolai Nikolaeff), lives are put at risk when RO fails his team and a drowning man drops into the water, taking Bomber under too.

It is only after this incident that RO admits he spent his leave having an appendectomy, and tried to keep the operation a secret in case the ship left without him.

The admission prompts the CO to upbraid him for not being a team player, and place him on light duties.

When it is discovered that the sunken boat had been hit, at night, by a barge carrying stolen cattle, the Hammersley is ordered to track the rustler’s craft down, a task slightly hampered by personal feelings on board.

Bird (Danielle Horvat) is deeply disturbed by a meeting with her ex-boyfriend Darryl (Ryan Johnson), a man she fled from in fear because his involvement in drugs saw him become violent and unpredictable.

RO becomes absorbed by the suggestion that he is not a team player – and should “be more like Dutchy”, while Kate shows signs of deepening frustration at the stalling of her relationship with CO, Mike Flynn.

The revelation of the man behind the cattle rustling scam sees RO spring into action in a dramatic water chase, redeeming himself in the eyes of his crew-mates, and earning special praise from Bird.

And heart to heart girl talk with the frightened young Navy recruit sees Kate show signs of a steely new resolve when it comes to relationships.

Is the XO thinking of becoming the ex.

8:30pm – Thursday, June 10 on Channel Nine

There is something strange about the suspected foreign fishing vessel (FFV) that a crew from HMAS Hammersley boards in the Timor Sea. On the deck of the Breakaway 111 are four Australian men who claim to be on a fishing trip, but Dutchy (Conrad Coleby) is suspicious of a fishing boat that seems to be carrying no bait, no nets, no fish and without any “blood and guts” on the deck.

Further investigation reveals a cargo of illicit alcohol – and results in the XO, Kate McGregor (Lisa McCune), being held hostage with a machete at her throat while the rest of her crew is sent packing, minus their Navy issue radios and pistols.

An unexpected move by Breakaway deckhand Taylor (Chris Morris) sees Kate tossed into the sea, later having a tense meeting with CO Mike Flynn (Ian Stenlake) and the rest of the crew that boarded the suspect vessel. Flynn cannot understand how three armed sailors could be beaten by one man wielding a machete, and is furious that the crew has lost vital equipment. But there is an underlying issue when RO (Kristian Schmid) accuses Dutchy of freezing when he could have saved Kate from the machete wielding Quinn (Chris Hillier). Kate defends Dutchy, but rightly suspects he is carrying baggage from the Gulf war. His reported Medal for Gallantry also intrigues Two Dads (Nikolai Nikolaeff) who gets himself into a very nasty mess after RO casts doubt on Dutchy’s war record.

On land, in the dry community of nearby Port Johnson, the CO’s main priority is to reclaim the missing weapons, but acting alone, Dutchy strides into a hornet’s nest that involves an ugly domestic dispute, and an encounter with Sgt. Booker (John Waters) the local police chief. On the trail of the booze runners, Dutchy receives a brutal bashing by men he recognizes from the Breakaway 111 – and then faces another dressing down by Flynn for his gung ho behavior.

But Dutchy, determined and obsessed, continues his solo search for the guns and the booze runners, discovering that Taylor, the deckhand who saved Kate, is actually an undercover Federal policeman, on the verge of cracking an Asian based booze business worth millions. The next time Dutchy sees Taylor, it is on board the now abandoned Breakaway, where the undercover agent’s corpse is found, crawling with rats.

Intrigued by Dutchy’s recent behavior, Kate questions him as to why he is so protective of her in action but ignores her on board, but their discussion is interrupted when Dutchy spots the grog runners’ truck. Kate accompanies him on a ‘borrowed’ bike, but the pursuit ends with the XO being held hostage again – and she and Dutchy tied together in a hold somewhere in the ocean.

8:30pm – Thursday, May 27 on Channel Nine

On patrol in the Arafura Sea, the Hammersley encounters an old adversary, an illegal foreign fishing vessel skippered by an infamous fisherman known as Hannibal (Lap Phan).

According to CO Mike Flynn (Ian Stenlake) and XO Kate McGregor (Lisa McCune), Hannibal has been prosecuted and deported numerous times, and each time comes back nastier than before.

RO (Kristian Schmid) has particularly bad memories – having been painfully poked in the rear by a spear on his last encounter with Hannibal – and he asks if he can be included in the boarding party.

It proves to be a bad move. Hannibal taunts RO when he boards the vessel with his fellow crew members, and while they find no signs of an illegal catch, R.O. is bitten by Hannibal’s fighting dog.

Back on Hammersley, and being tended by Swain (Matthew Holmes), RO confesses to a morbid fear of needles, and shows an almost manic concern about contracting rabies.

A combination of these fears, and a desire to prove he’s not hydrophobic (plus a crazy idea that total immersion may help), sees RO take too many sleeping pills, and fresh from a nightmare, walk onto the back deck – and into the sea.

It is dawn before his absence is noted, and after clinging to a buoy in the ocean, RO is rescued – by Hannibal and his crew! He is immediately set to work in the despised illegal fishing business.

The crew tries to offer RO food, and Hannibal throws it at him when he refuses, but RO begins to slowly understand the desperate plight of these rogue fishermen.

On Hammersley, several of the crew are blaming themselves for RO’s apparent suicide, with CO Flynn upset because he has never lost a crew member.

Bomber, who was left a farewell note from RO, is particularly distressed.

But when the fisherman’s attack dog dies, apparently from rabies, Hannibal offers little resistance when another Navy team boards his boat.

RO is initially treated roughly by his rescuers, who think he is one of the fishermen, but his trusty Navy dog-tags save him and he is returned to Hammersley along with Hannibal and the captive crew.

This doesn’t look anything like how they portray life in the Navy on Sea Patrol!