During the morning Diomede rounded Cape Reinga in a typical Tasman swell rolling uncomfortably with a confused sea. By nightfall met the full depression, seas raged aboard starboard side and smashed stores, two days later the storm moved east.
A vivid electric coastal storm on the way north inside Australia's Great Barrier Reef then around Cape York across the Gulf of Carpentaria, along Arnhem Land and onto Darwin where we saw 25 foot tides, endless corrugated iron sheds and where shoreside pumps refused to supply fuel. Stokers uncoupled the flexible pipe from the deck intake, removed the big wooden bung which had been left inserted and two-fingered a chorus of loug Aussie banter.
At sea doing 22 knots and to 32 knots assisted by the Selak Strait's following tides between Sumbawa and Flores, Komodo Island with its dragons and later Mt Kangyeang's 6500 feet sunbaked rock above tropical vegetation. Piped to bath in thunderstorms; pure luxury in the heat, naked and soapy in a tepid deluge.
Except when cleated down through to extreme conditions exercised continually - night action, A/A stations, general quarters, abandon ship stations and on 31 October off the Malayan coast three planes 'attacked'.
Entered Singapore harbour filled with flags from all corners of the world. Carried on down river past houses built over the water on poles and arrived Keppel Harbour to oil and all-night leave. Through Malacca Straits at 22 knots past Nicobar Islands and into heavy seas all the way to Colombo.
Diomede polished brass, burnished steel and cleaned, enamelled blue-grey upperworks before entering Aden at 0630 on Monday 6 November 1935 while firing the C-Cs salute.
Aroung lay Britain's Great East Indies Squadron, the County class cruiser 'Norfolk' (Flag Admiral Rose), cruisers 'Emerald' and 'Colombo', destroyers 'Dainty', 'Diana', 'Cresent' and 'Crusader', parent ship 'Lucia' with her submarines L21, L26, L37, L71 'Osiris' and 'Oswald' berthed in tandem alongside sloops 'Fowey' and 'Bideford', survey ship 'Endeavour' and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary 'Slavol'.
The Fleet was prepared for war and after Diomede fitted its torpedoes with warheads armed with pistols and screwed fuses onto all ammunition the squadron moved out. CS4 on 'Norfolk' led Diomede, Colombo and Emerald in line astern until well into the Gulf of Aden where destroyers attacked in line abreast, approaching at high speed to 4000 yards when they turned together and launched dummy-headed torpedoes. Diomede exercised for 3 months with various ships and gained valuable experience from bridge to boiler room.
