Yeah. He knows how to use a map....to move as quickly as possible on a course away from danger.
But former submarine captains said Navy investigators were likely to examine whether it had been prudent to travel at such a high speed, 30 knots, given the age and spottiness of the information."
High speed transits should not be that uncommon in the wide open Pacific Ocean.
What they should (and probably will) do is ask SUBPAC why they plotted an unrestricted SUBNOTE through this area. Why was the SOA so fast that the boat had to go to a flank bell to get back on PIM?
SUBPAC does not own the water east of the International dateline. That responsibility belongs to COMSUBGRU 7 in Yokosuka Japan. SUBPAC only monitors those subnotes. Unrestricted subnotes are generally given for maximum operational flexibility. Given the blatantly appearant high SOA during the transit this incident may make the 7th Fleet look at building in more time for submerged transits between required engagements (I dont know, maybe the San Fran was broken down and had to leave port late).