Battered About
Jeanne has decided to hang out and maximize her annoyance prior to smacking land somewhere. Seas are too rough to do small boat ops, and the refueling at sea was challenging (take several ships of many tens of thousands of tons each, get them reeeeal close to each other, and cashier both CO’s if they exchange paint–and then transfer fuel for a couple of hours). Seas haven’t been too bad but the occasional swell rises up and reminds people that “stow for sea” means something important.
We’re rapidly planning to adjust our operations to support wherever Jeanne winds up, but this will be a bit of work for our ops guys on both sides.
And while I’m lollygagging around here, my better half has packed out the house by herself, and moved a pile of stuff and two apprehensive housecats from the ex-house to the hotel. That’s a lot to fit in the Mini!
At some point, the real orders will come and supersede the fake orders I have in hand, and off to the schools for the new job I go. I’ve finally gotten in contact with the guy I’m relieving; looks like a weird job indeed. Another of those “out on a limb, no backup, nobody does this besides you” kind of jobs.
3 Responses to “Battered About”
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September 24th, 2004 at 8:54 pm
You probably know better than us, but I’m expecting to meet Jeanne sometime Sunday. Ya’ll be safe out there – looks like she might just dance up the coast which isn’t good for anyone!
September 25th, 2004 at 2:06 am
Best of luck chap.
Try to keep that bucket ‘bottom down’, if ya know what I mean.
hope the new posting works out well. You seem to have a better half much like mine. While I’m playing in my lab, mine is prepping our house for our move East. Thank God for Women who put up with Men like us, eh?
C
September 25th, 2004 at 11:39 pm
Too rough for refueling at sea? Chap, since you haven’t had the pleasure being a submariner, I seem to recall some pretty hairy seas with ships along side my first ship (now decommed), the USS MILWAUKEE (Always Out Replenishing -2). Not only did I have the wonderful opportunity as JOOD/Conn and later OOD to do it in the daytime, but I recall times (one in particular) at night. In two years of that, there was one parted spanwire when the Reserve GEARING Class DD had a steering failure, another almost parting when a Reserve GEARING Class took off with the mid-ships station spanwire still attached (we did see where the bitter end of the spanwire was clamped to the STREAM rig drum). That one happened in broad daylight with no wind and calm seas, go figure! The only other almost oops! was when a CGN decided to try to re-enact the Royal Navy Type 42 approach by steaming straight at us, hauling off slightly to one side, then put it in a hard rudder turn, ending up perfectly stationed at 120-140 feet abeam. Needless to say, the juding of turning time was off ever so slightly. Despite being way back in ’78, I recall being on the flight deck starboard and holding my breath while the CGN put on the turns and tried to resist the urge to turn away sharply, as her (can I still call a ship a “her?”) stern came closer and closer, before the extra turns cut in and she began to move away. We got within about 20 feet. I bet that skipper was seriously considering the wording of his OPREP that would be a career ender. All we could do was hold course and provide a steady reference point. Turning away would have only risked putting our stern into hers. One time we had one of the KOELSCH Class FF’s along side. Bright, clear sky day, but she was taking green water over the bow and white over the bridge while we pumped to her. My OSC took a series of pics of it all. I have them in a box somewhere, first down by the stern and SQS-26 dome almost out o the water and then plunging into the green stuff, with the bridge wing crowd noticably cringing….Yes, at some point, discresion is the better part of valor, but it’s been done on some pretty rough days and nights, even in exercises. You don’t take your eyes off the situation for even a second during those alongside times. My first tour was a great career stater. Later I was CHENG when we had the honor of being the first DD963 to refuel someone else at sea, so the AOR-2 experience came in handy. Funny story: How does a ship find itself half way between Brazil and Equatorial Guinea almost out of gas? My guess is being too anxious for liberty in your last Brazilian post visit, but then it wasn’t me! We had both come off the UNITAS XXIII and were being sent to different ports in West Africa for show the flag, when the unnamed KNOX class FF asked for gas, estimating they wouldn’t make it across. Now that I think about it, a few years later, the same FF was assigned to the CDS I was on and their inability to think for themselves has somehow been passed down between the COs. Enough of the old days. Enjoy the sailing in the storm. Wish I could be there to see the majesty of the power of nature.