101 Sea Stories and Some Assorted BS from All Ye Scoundrels Who Ought to be Keelhauled Part IV

Blackshoes, Airdales, Bubbleheads, Snipes, Jarheads, etc. ^ | 9/20/2000 and on and on and on.. | Ronin

[piasa]

(Repost : See Previous threads for context) After obtaining permission from Commodore Jim Robinson, I hereby dedicate this thread to 101 or more sea stories.

For the innocents among us, a sea story is an experience (or a good lie) that a person associated with the Naval service either remembers personally or has had told to him at one time in the past.

It has been said that the difference between a sea story and a fairy tale is that a fairy tale begins with "Once upon a time..." while a Sea Story begins with "This is a no-shi++er..."

I personally prefer stories to be true, but given the entertainment value of a well told sea story, I doubt if anyone is going to cry "foul" if a moderate amount of creative embellishment creeeps it's way into the account.

Also subject to Jim Rob's approval, normal standards of language usage may be relaxed for this thread. This is, in my opinion, necessitated by the fact that a sea story without a bit of salty lingo is about as interesting as flat warm beer.

So have at, shipmates! Let's hear your best one!

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In the interests of modesty, I will refrain from tooting my own stories until a few responses get posted. That way I can take all the credit for a neato thread if it turns out great and can save my best ones for another time if the thread flops.

1 Posted on 09/20/2000 17:29:32 PDT by Ronin

[GATOR NAVY]

Was MCPO Gustin on her then?

[sit-rep]

Doesn't ring a bell. What was his MO?

I know CWO4 Hilligus was on board then, Engineering. I got out in April of '85.

[GATOR NAVY]

STGCM Gustin was the CMC when I was onboard, and he had been there forever, either he came over to Sasebo with the ship or got there shortly afterward. He retired at decomm with 33 or 34 years. YNCS Brown was another who had been onboard a long time.

[sit-rep]

The only CMC that I can recall was a big ugly black dude... Can't remember his name though...

[11th_VA]

I had the brow watch once in Australia, and some Aussie Air FOrce officers came on board for a tour. The chief asked me to show them around the ship. Everywhere I took them (missile launchers, gun mounts, refueling stations), I'd explain our methods of operations, they would always remark, "That's not how we do it in the Air force". Finally I took them up to the bridge and tried to explain a little about how we steer the ship. When they answered again, "That's not how we do it in the Air Force," I said, "That's why ships don't fly."

(It was funny at the time, you had to be there)

[Rebelbase]

"Sasebo, Japan."

My dad was there in Sept. 1945.

[11th_VA]

USS CHICAGO - SEA STORIES, SCUTTLEBUTT, AND OTHER LIES

[GATOR NAVY]

Sasebo bump to get this thread going again.

My Dad was went to Sasebo in the mid-fifties. He visited again in 1994 and 1999 when I was there. Couldn't get details out of him except he said they thought Sasebo was a better liberty port than Subic, if you can imagine that.

[piasa]

Good lord, it's been a long, long time since I saw that on TV... this was a "repeat" in the 90s on the Shreveport or the Nashville I think ...

No shiite.

[piasa]

ha, we're waiting...

[piasa]

Me, too. Gonna hop in the shower.

Somebody check on Rabidralph... that's an awful LOOOOONG shower...

[piasa]

On the other hand, what do I know? I'm not a squid...I'll believe anything some guy in a uniform tells me.

And no, that doesn't mean I'm a Marine, either.

[piasa]

Bump to see if you coastie types have anything to add...

[quietolong]

Did the story start. " This is a no s**ter "?

[rabidralph]

Whew! That felt great. Good thing I had my OBA.

[75thOVI]

OK, just remember, you asked for it. One thing you should know about the Submarine Service is how prospective Bubbleheads are chosen. They do various psychological tests and find the candidates that are very mentally "together", very "normal" and level headed. These they get rid of right off the mark, as they stand no chance. Oh yes, we did the normal things, stole the Captain's door. The XO's door. The Weapons officers door. We duct taped (EB greened)ensigns and stood them in the corner of the AMR (aux machinery room). Sent the new guys to see the Sea Bat. Stationed the Mail Bouy Watch, and sent people after sound powered phone batteries, relative bearing grease, and the positive bouancy tester. I know all you skimmers and targets did similar things. (I was once warned not to refer to targets as targets as it upset them. So, please don't be upset for being targets.) One form of entertainment that is exclusivly enjoyed by the Silent Service is the "Trim Party". It ususally starts in the evening after the movie. A few guys go up to the torpedo room. If the diving officer notices the boat getting a little nose heavy, he might pump a little water from the forward trim tank to after trim. This is fine until the guys in the TR get restless, and decide it would be much more comfortable in the engine room. Shaft alley in particular. They pick up a few of there friends in the mess decks and take them back with them. Now there are 8 or 9 guys back in shaft alley, and the water that was pumped back there earlier. (You do remember the water, don't you?) The efffect on the boat is quite noticeable now. The diving officer has to pump a fair amount of water forward to compensate. BTW, you can hear the valves cycle and the water flow, so timing the moves is not exactly random. Time to go back to the Torpedo Room! By now people are waking up and joining in. The TR can be quite crowded at this point. Did you remember the water? This can be kept up for at least a few more cycles. The boats path through the water looks like one of the better rides at Universal. But, all good things must come to an end. Everyone leaves the Torpedo Room heading aft, up the ladder to Ops upper level, wave at the diving officer on the way past. The dive gets smart, and pumps every available drop of water to forward trim. The party continues down IC alley into Missile Compartment upper level. Down the ladder, back throug Ops middle level, and into the Torpedo room, along with ALL the water. ( You did remember the water, didn't you?) At this point the Captains feet come into forcable contact with the bottom of his bunk, and the party's over. Next time I'll tell you what we did with egg whites, and who we did it to.

[george76]

bttt

[Bob]

We had a crusty first class Gunner's Mate (is there any other kind?) with the last name Theriault. He (and we) pronounced it Ther-AWLT.

A bit later, we got a brand new Ensign aboard who happened to have the same last name. Unfortunately (for him anyway), he pronounced his name TER-ry-oh.

Whenever the Ensign's name was announced over the 1MC, it was always done with a delightful little lilt to it (not quite a lisp but imagine a bit of swishiness to it). He soon had us calling him Ensign Ther-AWLT. :=)

[Bob]

Wow! You sure picked up on an old thread. I completely missed the date on it.

[george76]

There are many good threads in the archives.

Fun to find.