An exceptionally horrendous and stressful day at work required a stroll down to the waterside near the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour to let off some steam.

One of twenty Attack class patrol boats built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) between 1967 and 1969, HMAS Advance had one distinguishing characteristic... she was one of the stars of the 1970's ABC TV series Patrol Boat, playing the fictional HMAS Ambush.

With a steel hull and aluminium superstructure and armed with a 40mm Bofors gun (unusually, seen uncovered in this shot) and two 50 cal machine guns, she was only ever intended to put a warning shot across the bows of illegal fishing vessels, spy ships and the like rather than to engage in full scale action.

Decommissioned in 1988, Advance became part of the Museum's collection. Here she's framed by the bow and one of the mooring lines of her big sister, the Daring class destroyer HMAS Vampire which can be seen elsewhere in these galleries. (Links to be done since I plan to do a full gallery on Vampire.)

Advance's Stats: Built in Maryborough QLD in 1968, 148.3 tonnes, 32.8m long and 6.1m wide, crew of 19 plus TV stars and crew, twin turbocharged diesel engines (2611kW) giving 21 knots.