Keeping the blogosphere posted on the goings on of the world of submarines since late 2004... and mocking and belittling general foolishness wherever it may be found. Idaho's first and foremost submarine blog. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me; don't call me at home.)
Check out this photo of USS Annapolis (SSN 760) departing Souda Bay last week:
Another photo is here. Where was the prettiest water you've ever seen? I was really impressed with how clear the water was in the Caribbean.
posted by Bubblehead at 8:22 AM
I'm Joel Kennedy -- a married, 50-something year old retired submarine officer and esophageal cancer survivor with three kids who has finally made the transition to civilian life. Politically, I'm a Radical Moderate. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me. Don't call me at home.)
90 Comments:
I was impressed with the water at AUTEC in 1985 or thereabouts. Also, the water around the tender in LaMaddelina was crystal clear. You could look underneath the boat and see where the topside watch had thrown there coffee cups overboard.
Joe Alferio
3/24/2010 8:32 AM
I'm with Joe. Swim call in the Bahamas after shooting on range. Look straight down for many fathoms see progressively darker hues of blue.
3/24/2010 8:49 AM
Awesome photo. Divers would not mind doing swims in water like that but the zero visibility water is for the birds.
3/24/2010 8:51 AM
Prettiest water seems to be around AUTEC. There is some pretty water near Alaska during the calmer seasons.
Nemo's squadron of fast-tourist boats in Disneyland/world do have some unique underwater occupants.
3/24/2010 8:57 AM
I hate to say it, but the prettiest water would have to be in Guam.... of course the island is disgusting and the sunken sailboats are a bit unfortunate. But the white sand and blue water work well.
Tarzan falls was pretty impressive too.
3/24/2010 9:10 AM
Saw some very awesome water in Saipan. Crystal clear and you could see all the way to the bottom.
How deep is the M. trench?
3/24/2010 9:15 AM
Gulf of Tonkin, north end around PIRAZ Buoy.
3/24/2010 9:27 AM
I agree with the comments regarding AUTEC and Exuma Sound but another beautiful spot is the Solomon Islands. It was amazing making a surface transit through the coral reefs in the mid sixties enroute from Brisbane to Guam. It is also the spot for the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen and the time our leading quartermaster won a bet with the navigator by getting a three line star fix at high noon. I will let folks guess for a while how he accomplished this feat.
3/24/2010 9:38 AM
Bermuda for me. One heck of a piloting party on the way in and out (via a prolonged 'C'-shaped channel cut into the coral), but absolutely beautiful. Did some recreational scuba diving there, so I'm sure that influences my choice.
AUTEC and the Bahamas are also nice...but overall - of places I've seen - I'd rank the Med as being second only to Bermuda. Phenomenally blue water.
3/24/2010 10:00 AM
New Zealand beaches... best in the world.
Kaiteriteri Beach, Mount Maunganui's Ocean Beach, Cooper's Beach in the Bay of Islands -- all unbelievably gorgeous soft-sanded, barely used beaches. The Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula and its really cool geologic phenomena; the windy, wild, Tora Beach on the east coast of the North Island are unlike any beach you'll find in the world. And, my personal favorite for sheer, unspoilt wildness; Papatowi Beach at the southern end of the South Island.
Lived there for a year. Spent a lot of time on some amazing beaches.
WCC
3/24/2010 10:28 AM
Well, I would have to say the prettiest waters were always returning to homeport after delpoyment waters!
Anchored of Saipan in 92. WOW, I have never seen it that clear. Jump in the water during swim call and realize there is 80 feet of water under the boat!
STSCS(SS/SW) USN RET
3/24/2010 10:47 AM
Saipan had this one area where you had to walk down this longggggg stairs (wooden I think) and there was a pool of water and it connected to the ocean via a small channel through rock. It was way clear nd way cool. But there is a lot of coral on Saipan and it is so very sharp.
Also, Saipan had these cool go-Karts with a huge track. These cars were very fast. Also, the locals were truly the most friendly folks that I have ever met in any liberty port anywhere.
Saipan and Singapore are two places you could take your familys too and not be afraid of the overseas nutjobs and violence.
3/24/2010 10:53 AM
Went to dive school at Coronado - water there sucked. Pt Loma was just as bad. Spent a weekend under the boat looking for a shotgun shell a topside watch dropped. Never found it, but did notice hundreds, literally, of Navy coffee mugs, as well as canned food, outboard small boat engines, topside telephones, etc.
3/24/2010 11:05 AM
I bet that if you dredged up the water near any base, especially the older ones that you would find an amazing large supply of coffee cups, old tools and who knows what?
3/24/2010 11:16 AM
There's an old saying from the days of sail:
"Grounding on your bones"
It refers to being tied up so long that you run aground on the bones the crew throws overboard after chow.
Joe Alferio
3/24/2010 11:31 AM
It wasn't real tempting to swim in, but I always thought the water in Tromso fjord was beautiful. Clear, deep, and dark purple.
3/24/2010 11:52 AM
Guam/Saipan..........
3/24/2010 12:11 PM
What is the longest maneuvering watch that you have had?
One time we were in thick fog, dodging lobster pods and it was a very very long transit in.
San Francisco Bay, once you clear the roller coaster Golden Gate Shoals coming in the body surfers and small craft make the trip to Mare Island a less than expeditious maneuver.
I think the longest I can remember is 13-14 hours but I know there are longer ones.
3/24/2010 1:00 PM
Anchored off of Lahaina, Maui, in 120 feet of water. From topside, you could follow the anchor chain all the way down and see the anchor lying on the bottom.
While there, we participated in one of the best ship's parties ever held in a public place. Our crew literally drank the Pioneer Inn dry (they ended up bringing in beer and other alcohol from another bar) while helping to establish the career of Trevor Jones in Maui.
3/24/2010 1:26 PM
Just showed this to my co-worker who was an electrician on the Annapolis (or as he called it, the "Anal Palace".) His comment, and I quote, "What the hell? When did they start going to places worth going to?"
3/24/2010 1:34 PM
Out by the breakwater in Guam had some damn good visibility (nearly 200 feet) but that kind of visibility could get you into trouble. I was scuba diving out there one time and saw something on the bottom. Next thing I know, I check my depth gauge and see it wrapping around with the tank pressure dropping with each breath. Needless to say, it was an extra-long safety stop at 15 feet coming back and the last dive of the day for me.
3/24/2010 1:37 PM
Longest maneuvering was from Olympia out. I don't even remember how long it was, but it took hours and hours.
Water color depends a lot on the sky, too. I liked clear days off Hawaii, but I'm sure everyone posting who says Bahamas, etc., also visited Hawaii. I'll just say the Point Loma sewage water makes everything cleaner by comparison.
Prettiest beach was Cottlesloe in Oz. Walked south a bit and found very few bikini tops....
3/24/2010 1:37 PM
This brings back memories (mammaries?) of seeing an Oz-ite lady just up and doffing her top on Waikiki beach one day.
You could tell by people's faces that they were thinking "you can't do that here"...but, God bless 'em every one, no one thought it was their business to tell her so.
3/24/2010 2:07 PM
NHSparky, do you happen to work at Seabrook?
3/24/2010 2:34 PM
Scott--Yep. Good detective work.
3/24/2010 2:41 PM
Prettiest water?
Second the motion on Saipan...and those wodden stairs referred to earlier lead down to The Grotto...one of the best diving spots on earth!!
Did some diving in St. Criox last week on the cables leading to the hydrophones on the old tracking range we had there long ago. Visibility was FOREVER and stingrays and Morays to hell and gone! Cool dive!
Longest Maneuvering Watch? Probably Bremerton, but I lost count. I was usually up long before the maneuvering watch anyways! Being a Puget Sound native, my condolences to all who made the transit to Olympia - Bremerton X2!
3/24/2010 2:52 PM
Just showed this to my co-worker who was an electrician on the Annapolis (or as he called it, the "Anal Palace".)
Haha Anal Palace....classic!
3/24/2010 3:28 PM
Boat nicknames, priceless.
Remember a few of them:
Jacksonville: Jacksoncrash
Salt Lake City: Slave Labor Camp or just Shitty City
Columbus: The Short Bus
West Virginia: Wet Vag_ _ _
Indianapolis: Indy No Place
Kamahhea (spelling): Can We F_ _ _ You
many many many more and some unmentionalable
The Grotto, yes that was one cool dive spot.
3/24/2010 4:22 PM
Saipan had these cliffs, I think that they were called Bonzai and do not remember other one where the Japanese were jumping off of during the invasion of Saipan. The cliffs were huge, seems like 700 feet onto jagged rock below. Nasty looking. Also a place called the last command post that looked like it took a 16 inch shell from a battlewagon through the side. Saipan is a very cool and scenic island and I recommend it for a vactation spot for those in the area and wanting to travel. Also, next to Saipan is Tinnian, at one time the longest runway in the world and home of a casino.
3/24/2010 4:27 PM
Kwajalein Atoll...
Water so clear there that floating on the surface and looking down you could get vertigo.
But the coral is sharp and the sharks are abundant so you have to stay alert.
3/24/2010 4:40 PM
Second on Guam. There were days even the inner harbor was so clear you could do a hull inspection topside of the tender. Having spent almost 5 years there, I hit just about every dive spot. Favorite: the Cormaran and Kitsi Gau Maru. The Cormaran (german) went down in WW I, the Kitsi Gau went down in WW II and landed on top of the Cormaran. 2 ships, 2 wars in one dive.
CWO3 USN (ret)
3/24/2010 5:15 PM
One scene that is stuck in my head is our surface transit of the Malaca Straits. The water was crystal clear and flat as glass. You could look out and see the water bubbling from where the schools of tuna were.
2nd best was swim call on the Columbia of Waikiki when these drunk chicks jumped off their boat and almost drowned next to the boat.
HOO-YAH AMERICA
3/24/2010 5:30 PM
No idea on the clearest water, as I never really paid attention.
I'm with 3383 - the longest manoeuvring watches by far were on the way into and out of Olympia. Something like 8-10 houts, as I recall.
wtfdnucsailor: Was there a solar eclipse that day?
(WV - inglog: where ings are recorded, obviously)
3/24/2010 5:39 PM
Solar eclipse, hummm. interesting.
3/24/2010 5:42 PM
Naples, CONDOMS and terds as far as the Navy could see.
3/24/2010 6:22 PM
Another vote for the waters in the Bahamas around AUTEC around '92. Awesome swim call until the sharks arrived.
Did another about halfway between San Dog and Pearl (literally the middle of nowhere) about 2years and the water was beautiful. But maybe because I was a little saltier by that time it didn't have the same effect as the Bahamas.
As to coffee cups, I've probably personally thrown/bounced a few hundred around the pilings of the State Pier on my first used-to-fish. Hooyah CSS-10! We'd go through a dozen cups on a single mid-watch during winter. The cooks were not pleased...
3/24/2010 6:26 PM
NHSparky... I work there too. Small world.
3/24/2010 6:48 PM
With as many coffee cups were drop tested in bodies of water around the world, you would think that CHOPS would make people sign them out with a landyard and a running inventory.
I have seen some skimmers like the BBs when they brought them back have those cups with the ship's name on them, Iowa, New Jersey etc... Pretty cool.
The jellyfish hated those cups.
3/24/2010 6:50 PM
I realized while we were doing a swim call off the coast of Cuba and the boat was rocking and the Shark Watch had an M-14 topside that I feared the watch on a moving platform with the rifle more than the potential sharks.
3/24/2010 6:53 PM
Great Barrier Reef heading into Townsville. Guam. And one of my favorites is in the Southern Philippines, clearest water I ever saw. I could tell you about the mission, but then I would have to kill you!
3/24/2010 8:00 PM
About the time of its 1000th dive, the Jackfish went in and out of Roosevelt Roads several times on an almost continuous maneuvering watch spanning at least fifteen hours. It got so bad that the last time in, it tied up overnight so the crew could get some sleep before heading back out.
The next day, the CO took in all lines before the engines had been tested in order to get underway on time. "Underway on NO power" has a catchy ring to it--kind of like Nautilus's "Underway on nuclear power".
Unfortunately, Jack's number of dives did not equal its number of surfaces, but that's another story for another day.
3/24/2010 8:04 PM
No, it was not a solar eclipse. the Leading QM shot the Sun at LAN, the Moon which was also relatively high in the daylight sky and then Venus which, if you knew where to look, was visible on the horizon. Those were the days. It took the QM about fifteen minutes to take the observations and about four hours to do the calculations. We didn't have computers and calculators in the sixties. As you can guess, I learned a lot of celestial nav as a JO.
3/24/2010 8:29 PM
I do not know if this is spot on but I heard that when Nautilus actually sent the message, "Underway on Nuclear Power" that they were snokeling during a scram. Is this real or just watercooler scuttle?
3/24/2010 8:33 PM
Popped into Rosy Roads to pick up some middies about '98. Middies were in awe of the perfectly clear, turquoise blue water, even just off the pier. They start clamoring for a swim call. I took one over to the edge of the super structure and had him look down. I says, "See the pretty blue water?" He says, "YEAH!!" I says, "See the shiny barracuda?" He says, "uh, yeah." End of requests for swim call.
3/24/2010 9:16 PM
Diego Garcia in 1985/86 we watched from the pier as the divers put on the screw cover, tossing rocks down as we could see they were already done and just playing around.
I'd have to agree with William on the waters around New Zealand's North Island. Snorkeling around the coves around Slipper Island was amazingly clear
PW
3/24/2010 9:26 PM
@anon 8:33 PM
Don't believe that was the case with Nautilus. As I recall from one of the Rickover biographies, they were underway single main engine due to a loud noise/hot bearing casualty on the other one. Those days it was one ME to one shaft, so "it's all good".
3/24/2010 9:57 PM
Oh Rickover was so full of shit. You have no idea what that Jackass was going to say next.
3/24/2010 10:20 PM
The visibility in Guam is amazing, must memorable though was surface transit at dusk through Timor Sea en route to Darwin when crew got to rotate through the bridge. Thanks for that, Archie if you're out there. Regarding cans of food in Ballast Pt. harbor muck - were any of them Lima Beans? I think I remember that stores load...
3/24/2010 10:46 PM
Longest maneuvering watch? 1st sea trial coming out of PSNS - spent from 0600 to 0100 rotating between primary plot, secondary plot, bearing recorder and fathometer...never did get my turn as bearing taker...the Nav let us sleep till noon after we tied up in Bangor...
3/25/2010 12:14 AM
"With as many coffee cups were drop tested in bodies of water around the world....."
We had a running joke amongst the QM community in Groton that we were going to submit a change to "Chart 1" (Book of chart symbols and abbreviations) adding "Ceramic" to the symbology of bottom-types.
3/25/2010 3:16 AM
Cool article on divustity, lol, over at Cdr. Sals. Pretty amazing at the craziness.
Best water, not the clearest or cleanest but first inport Hollywood shower off boat after a 6monther.
3/25/2010 5:23 AM
Truk Lagoon while looking for the anchor of an un-named 688 who ran aground there in 1987. In the water searching and being able to see the USS FLORIKAN (ASR 9) from over 100yds while underwater and keeping a keen eye out for sharks. Managed to find the anchor on the first try.
3/25/2010 5:24 AM
Can anyone confirm this from smoke boat days in Pearl Harbor?
Supposedly there were showers in a small building not too far from the Escape trainer tower (now the nest) where the diesel boat Sailors could wash off some of the boat stench before heading home.
Is this a fact or just squidly BS?
3/25/2010 5:26 AM
As we told our ship's diver many times...
In the event of a shark attack, the Shark Watch with the M-14 was not there to shoot the sharks.
ex-EM1(SS)
3/25/2010 5:39 AM
Snipes' Shower is still there, right next to Dolphin's Cove. Seems like no one uses either one like they used to. Before the smoking area moved across the street and the 9/11 fences went in on the piers, Dolphin's Cove was in constant use (having 2 finger piers instead of one probably made some difference too).
3/25/2010 5:45 AM
These Obama Cagner dolls will be more popular than coins as collector items. Especially the Constitution one (2nd one)
http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2010/02/caganers.html
http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2010/02/my-obama-caganer.html
3/25/2010 5:46 AM
"...Sailors could wash off some of the boat stench before heading home."
At the harbor-end of the squadron headquarters building, it's the first building you come to when leaving the piers. Sign on it says, showers. Crap stowed inside says, not anymore.
3/25/2010 5:49 AM
Does anyone remember the beer machines on some piers many moons ago?
There is a lil Soap 'N Suds laundry in Singapore where you could not buy laundry detergent but beer was available. Those clothes smelled different for a while.
3/25/2010 5:52 AM
Seems like in Pearl when Subase was merged with Nav Station lots of stuff changed in Pearl for subs.
No more Subase, what a bummer.
3/25/2010 6:02 AM
cleanmachine,
They got crap stowed in the shower, lol.
Remember how many old signs are still around that seem to have no purpose.
Older buildings are full of them, like signs that convey important info like: wall, pipe, step, door, objects in mirror are larger than they appear. Perhaps at one time people could not recognize the obvious so this was a way to educate them?
Maybe not...
Maybe the brigs just needed to keep the engravers busy?
3/25/2010 6:17 AM
Our Shift Supervisor at S3G in 1981 was a Nautilus plankowner RO. He used to tell us great stories about the early days. He would talk about S1W prototype out in Idaho. During construction and startup they would write there own procedures out on 3x5 cards.
He told us that the bridge phonetalker on that first underway was an RO. When Capt. Wilkinson ordered the message, "Underway on Nuclear Power" sent, the RO repeated back the message and then said, under his breath, "You can only be first once."
Sort of like during the Roman Empire, the conquering generals would have a slave whispering "All glory is fleeting" into there ears during there victory parades.
Joe Alferio
3/25/2010 6:34 AM
The AFEES sites now called MEPS where armed forces applicants/draftees (Vietnam) join the military used to have colored lines on the floor like QM chart tape except much bigger. Like follow the red line for medical, blue for admin, green, black etc...
They used to use 3 x 5s for some processing of applicants/draftees during Vietnam War and now there must be a zillion electronic forms to process applicants coming in. Rememebr when computers would make everything "paperless", lol. That really meant that there would be no paper left after computers.
3/25/2010 6:56 AM
Fredericksted, Saint Croix. I was on the USS Spadefish (SSN-668). We went to St. Croix in 1989. Water depth at the end of the pier was 70' and you could see the bottom clearly. One of the topside watches lost his hat and you could see it laying on the bottom.
3/25/2010 10:31 AM
Seconding St. Croix. Laying in the water there was the perfect tonic for relieving the worst hangover of my life. Long sandy beach was totally deserted. Nobody there.
3/25/2010 11:12 AM
The water in Fredericksted was so clear that, under the correct lighting conditions, you could see reflections of the Rastafarians waiting at the end of the pier to mug you.
3/25/2010 11:20 AM
Seconding the Rasta comment. DACE had a guy shot to death there in '87(?)
3/25/2010 11:26 AM
“Sailors could wash off some of the boat stench before heading home.” And “Best water, not the clearest or cleanest but first inport Hollywood shower off boat after a 6monther.”
My wife would say amen to that, but I never understood. I smelled fine when I got home, it was what ever she did to my clothes when I was in the shower that made them stink so bad that made me wonder, or what they onloaded before I came back to the boat that made it smell like a sewer pipe when I came back to the boat. Boats are not so bad anymore, the 607 was the worse for me, 703, 731, 767, and 769 not so bad, I can only imagine what the smoke boats were like.
“Does anyone remember the beer machines on some piers many moons ago?”
We also had them in A school and BE&E barracks in Great Lakes in the early 80’s. No doors on the rooms for guys with drug waivers, but beer machines in the lobby, no ID required.
If you’ve been to sea, you have seen clear water. Mostly the memories of what I was doing made those waters seem more spectacular. Spent time as a cadet on a merchant training ship, we took a bottom sample out in the middle of the Caribbean. It seemed like the sample container dropped forever before it disappeared. As an 18 year old, fresh off the farm kid it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Venezuela, St Croix, La Madd, Rosey Roads, driving along the coast of Sardinia, Turkey, Crete they were all cool. Summer ’80 I was on a tin can in the Pacific (FF1052) I don’t remember the water as much as the incredible greenery of pulling into Subic. It is sad the more I saw the scenery, the less I noticed it.
Math Teacher Up State NY
3/25/2010 11:30 AM
NHSparky,
Working at Seabrook, do you know a Hugh Hawkins? I have been trying to find that guy forever. If you know him can you get me an email address? Tell him that Bearpaw is looking for him. Send it to reillk2@rpi.edu
Thanks.
Bearpaw
3/25/2010 12:22 PM
comment about the picture.
Blue cammies and green lifevest for the guys topside, orange lifevest for the guys in the sail. Any problems yet with finding any overboard sailors? Why the green ones on the guys most likey to go in the drink? No issues on this transist, but what about an evening BSP when the weather is kicking up, I've been there and know of many others that have. Some lost shipmates, like on the Grant.
Had a comment that about the Dace Sailor in St.Croix, seems the internet ate it. '87 sounds right, MMFN Chase nucFN, the crew tried to do right, would be alive today if we used intrusive leadership in liberty ports then. I was on duty when it happened, long time ago...
Teacher in Up State NY
EMCS/SS Retired
3/25/2010 12:54 PM
Mark, was the incident a robbery in town or self-inflicted?
The LA lost a few Sailors. One was a hazing thing that led to a self-inflicted death. It seems like the XO and COB had career directional changes after that and I saw the CO many years later and he was still an O-5.
Kirk
3/25/2010 12:59 PM
Speaking of the pier in St Croix...the old one we used to tie up to in the mid-late 80's (and before) is no longer there. Wiped out by Hugo in '89. New one is much nicer and the ruins of the old make for some spectacular diving.
3/25/2010 1:03 PM
The websit below lists casualtys in the submarine force, WWII and Post-WWII but I assume they only know what gets reported to them. Some of you might know some of those men.
I know that it is incomplete because I see some missing but maybe you can help them keep it accurate.
http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/post-wwii.htm
Kirk
3/25/2010 1:08 PM
There is a lil Soap 'N Suds laundry in Singapore where you could not buy laundry detergent but beer was available. Those clothes smelled different for a while.
Yeah, I think I know which one you're talking about. They eventually got soap dispensers, but it was liquid soap that had the consistency of molasses, so you basically ended up with a big lump of sticky soap in your laundry somewhere.
And Bearpaw--he's in Ops. Will send him an e-mail when I get a chance, unless the other Seabrook folks who are here get to it first.
3/25/2010 1:10 PM
You can use alternative stuff in situations of low level laundry detergent. Things that have been used without destroying clothes and material seem to be toothpaste and shampoo but they should only be used under the close supervision of a sea/barracks lawyer or a career seaman (before high year tenure days).
Beer could be used but not many beer fans would sacrifice their liquid for the utility of housekeeping.
Disclaimer: Use approved laundry detergent.
3/25/2010 1:27 PM
I'll call the Dace death a liberty accident, We had a particularly bad run and pulled into St Croix to blow off steam, the guys that hit the beach the first night went out with sole purpose of getting blind drunk to kill the memories of long hours, constant lack of water, high heat, typical boat life on a non-stretch hull 594. (Always pissed me off when guys on stretch hull boats bitched) Life there was probably better then the old smoke boats, but worse by far than anything I've seen since. Bottom line he went out to get drunk and did, His shipmates were a little better off and took him back to the hotel to sleep it off. They then went back to finish the drinking plans on hand. After the guys left the hotel he went up to the roof of the Hotel. Versions very, but an armed security person went to get him off the roof. An Altercation occurred and Chase was shot center of mass by the security guy (cop/guard not sure which). Chase was a nucFN for a reason.
We should not have let only single guys hit the beach with a clear plan of drunkenness. The "stable guys" all had duty first night in, some request chits for duty swaps had been floated to fix the night for a wild time.
Think we had a shore patrol check on the guys and that is what prompted getting Chase back to the Hotel, old memories not sure.
I have always felt that we could have done better that night, hindsight and second guessing. I was a junior EM1 then but learned a lot about leadership that night.
Math Teacher UpState NY
EMCS/SS
3/25/2010 1:54 PM
Mark,
Understand all. I think that one thing that today's Navy does is have a kind of liberty buddy policy. I am not sure how standardized it is or if it is controlled by battle groups or any of that stuff but I have heard such a policy exists. Some boats had cinderalla liberty policys over the years. Again, I do not know the current SOPs on today's Navy business.
Taking care of shipmates on liberty in foreign ports can be a very challenging thing but while the wheels whine and raise heck for the hassle of a buddy type system, it does seem to make sense in every way.
I think that losing a shipmate like that would really impact an entire crew's attitude. That kind of tragedy makes a young person grow up a little quicker I think.
I was on a boat and three young kids were steaming and on a fast road trip(speed run) and the car went off the hi-way killing one Sailor. All young, alcohol involved, driving too far, just a sequence of bad decisions ending in a terminal trajedy.
Kirk
3/25/2010 2:16 PM
Mark,
I think I visited one of your class's boats, the Puffer. It was a little tighter than a 637 and I remember in the diesel you had to duck down to get under vent ducting by the ladder. It seemed like a real pain in the ass getting under that vent duct and the rest of the tour seemed similar, lol.
You should tour a Trident if you get a chance, what a monster. You dont have to turn sideways to pass someone in a passageway. I thought that I was on a 747.
Kirk
3/25/2010 2:21 PM
Kirk,
I went from the Dace to the Alabama, OMG it was huge, I never complained once about living conditions on the 'Bone. Bitched a lot about cleaning MG's everyday, it was just after the Bonefish fire and they raised minimum DC bus ground requirements on us. We had 6 MG's (2 500's, 2 SS 43's, 1 SWS 43, and 1 Nav 10) in parallel on the bus and had to remove aircoolers on every one to get good enough access to clean them. I knew I was in-trouble when the A-gangers would bow their heads and say "thank you Lord for not making me an electrician". The rest of my boats were city boats and were tight, but never to the degree of the Dace.
3/25/2010 2:35 PM
Mark,
Ok, so you have rode the cadilac. Yeah, when I saw AMR 2 which had more than one level I was amazed. It was a huge space. The diesel space seemed to have an odd layout at least to what I was used to.
I wonder if the new boats have Dialex phones (spelling?. They provided some amusement underway, lol.
I toured a brit T-hull one time, the Vanguard, it was a little different layout but still huge.
Kirk
3/25/2010 2:53 PM
ret anav: Oly was the first 688 to get the rubber tiles. Shortly after PSA, we made a visit to Groton. I went topside the morning after our arrival, and there must have been a couple dozen coffee cups lying on the ice between us and the next pier south. Guys had been bouncing them off the rubber, trying to see who could get the record for distance....
EX ANAV/COB: That unnamed 688 probably had a number very similar to 718....
3/25/2010 3:01 PM
MM1: "Guys had been bouncing them off the rubber, trying to see who could get the record for distance...."
Rumor had it that the old-school white, rounded cups (the ones with the two blue stripes) would fit in the aft signal-ejector - or so I've been told. Never confirmed it though :)
3/25/2010 7:52 PM
oops....RM1. (Too many years looking at the fine print!)
3/25/2010 7:53 PM
ret.anav,
You mean they got rid of the rounded double line cups? What do they have now, Sippy Seal cups with cartoon characters on them?
3/26/2010 5:37 AM
The white double blue-line cups can still be purchased - I just think nobody does anymore. I know they still had them at a base galley I was at in 2009.
The off-white flat bottomed handle mugs have become the norm (as far as my last 2 boats + all that I have visited the last 10 years). And most guys disdain using those cups except for coffee/cocoa in favor of plastic tumblers in the messdecks for water or bug juice.
Customized/personalized coffee mugs are the norm outside of Crews Mess. Everyone keeps their own. Saves on water & work.
The flat bottomed cups have a greater tendency to shatter when bounced than the older rounded bottom variety. Picking up shards of ceramic out of the TA fairing sucks.
3/26/2010 12:30 PM
"You mean they got rid of the rounded double line cups? What do they have now, Sippy Seal cups with cartoon characters on them?"
Of course not....
In deference to allowing women on submarines Tridents now have small demitasse cups, so as to allow perfection of the "pinky in the air" maneuver. Fast boats, of course opted for the larger, higher capacity mugs.
3/26/2010 1:56 PM
Well it seems consistent with the demise of the DADT being replaced by the BS (Blow and Swallow) program.
3/26/2010 2:51 PM
Does this mean that the term "Smoke Boats" is coming back. Also, will there be approved smoking areas? So many technical details to work out. What division will be responsible for cleaning the smoke area? COBs will have many hard choices to make. Also, hotracking will take on new meaning.
3/26/2010 2:56 PM
I'm sure that the bottom of the Cooper river still to this day has a good layer of mugs around pier Mike and one Macintosh computer that once belonged to a departing XO...
3/26/2010 7:59 PM
Where did I leave that Apple at?
LOL.
3/27/2010 7:07 AM
If you are referring to my use of "Smoke boat", it was a probably a bad usage of the term, and possibly a Freudian slip. I meant diesel boats, but back in the 80’s we were allowed to smoke just about anywhere, we even set up watchbills based on who were the smokers and non-smokers. This just added to the bad air quality on the boats. I assume smoking is still allowed, but my last few boats the location and number of people at one time was greatly limited.
math teacher in Up State NY
3/29/2010 8:02 AM
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