I'm talking about boats and water.

It's one thing to have a memorable day of good fishing but ...

There have been days when catching fish became a moot point. I was happy to just get back to the dock.

Beating back uphill from an early summer tuna trip, way out, and the boat needed to be back fast to make the next charter.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster.

Rock fishing two years ago. From Vandenberg back to San Louis, cutting about 45 degrees to the trough. Water coming through the gunnels on both sides, bow slapping down and splashing people on the stern. Lots of upchucking all around me. ALMOST joined them!

when I was in the Navy. we had some fun times at sea

Rode the USS Barbour County (LST 1195) for three days or so in a typhoon near the Philippines. It's a flat-bottom, and the worse ride ever, plowing the seas, rolling, everything strapped down.

Then there was once aboard the USS Ogden (LPD 5) refuleing off ther coast of Korea, we collided with the refueler, tore a 20 ft hole in the skin of the hull, thankfully above the waterline.

Way back aboard the USS Okinawa (LPH 3), seeemed there was a fire every couple days. It was an old ship.

Rode an LCAC (hovercraft) from Pendleton out to San Clemente Island and back in pretty good seas, 70 miles each way, that was a hell of a rollercoaster going out, but a nice ride coming home, traveling with the seas.

Those LCACs are awesome! No beach out of reach..

Went out on a 90' party fishing boat for a Gulf Stream trip from Little River, SC. 60 miles out to drop lines. By the time we got there winds blew up 10' seas.

By the time we dropped lines the 3rd time we had 16' seas. Almost everyone was green and puking.

Captain cut the trip short and headed back in. Shortly after we had 25' following seas.

We were over 3 hours late getting back to the docks, and that after cutting the trip over 2 hours short.

Me and a buddy had, thankfully, taken dramamean and stayed topsides since the cabin reeked of puke.

The best part was when we got to the docks and were getting our 1/4 basket of fish cleaned everyone else gave us their catch because they were too sick to care about food. We left with at least 50 lbs of fresh fish and ate like kings for days.

I have a 16 foot canue I took down the bitterroot river. The are lost a paddle and we went the rest of the way with a stick. Should had died that day.

Not a bad seas/weather deal or equipment breakdown, and might seem tame for some experienced folks, but the most "nautical" for us.

One August, I took USCG pilot refresher course, we chartered a nice 40 ft. twin screw cruiser, did the family crew prep routine and, with wife and 4 daughters (HS and college ages), set off for two weeks up between BC and Vancouver Is., over to Victoria, through the San Juans and then down the Puget Sound. 1st week went great - fab weather, beautiful sights/places to stop, peaceful nights in coves, great fishing and some nice swimming as well. 2nd week we started down the Sound looking forward to picking up some of the girls' friends for a day or two, then adult friends for a hop, then my Mom and Dad, etc.

Very early AM a bit south of Lopez, as we got out into the big boat lane, THICK fog rolled up - felt like ZERO vis. The radar, now really attended to for the first time on the trip, seemed balky/errant, and it probably would have done little good if we were in the line of one of those horn-blowing giants. We could hear Navy aircraft overhead coming and going from Whidbey - but could not see from the stern to the bow.

Fortunately, we were in slack tide and had passed a marker just before the fog developed - so got slow, set ourselves on all four corners and on top as lookouts and simply used the charts/compass to try to find each next marker - all the while listening for the sound of something big that we would need to avoid. Pucker time for at least a couple of hours - but think that we actually sighted/heard every expected marker in some way (what a relief that can be). Best, we didn't hit anything or get hit.

Seemed like things cleared in some instant - and there we were in a beautiful PNW location looking at one another with those "we did it, but never want to do it again" looks on our faces - and probably some wet drawers. Luncheon in a cove was luxurious, and the remainder went as planned. The photos are fun, the memories better.

We were amateurs. I have great respect for those who know, and do, that stuff well under truly tough conditions.

The time the fishing was so good, we had to hide in the cabin to get the bait on the hook.

Out fishing in the bay one day, decades ago, alone on my own boat, a whale surfaced within spitting distance. Looking into his eye, I felt like I was in the presence of God--we were God. But, at the same time, I felt such a strong family connection, like reuniting with a lost brother who I had always loved but never known. The moment seemed to last forever, leaving me with such a complete sense of peace, love and fulfillment.

Navy repair ship out out Newport, RI. Heavy swells about three days from home broached and took four rolls to 48 degrees back to back. The only reason we did not roll over is the swells were so close they slammed us back up. Twenty some hours fixing all the damage including a three cornered tear in the hull a couple of feet above the water line. Lots of broken bones and black eyes but nobody died.

Was not a fun time.

That's a good one.

I've had torpedo porpoises and killer whales that made me pucker.

Lake Michigan salmon fishing as a young 19 year old the spring of 83. 17' aluminum hull Starcraft with an old 75h Evinrude. Not a cloud in the sky, had 6 downriggers out and the fishing was great! We were 10-12 miles out in 2-3' chop. We had 13 in the boat and only needed 2 more to limit. We didn't pay attention to the wind freshening from the west. By time we pulled gear it was 4-8's and building.

No GPS or cell phones in those days. We headed easterly hoping to hit the pier arms. By time we saw land seas were 8-12'. On the Great Lakes waves don't get huge, but they come at a rapid pace. And beware of the 3 sisters; a set of 3 big ones back-to-back-to-back. That's when things got a bit sporty. My buddy would motor up the backside of the wave and gun it down the front side to make it back up again. More than once we took water over the stern. We couldn't bail because we had to hang on. We put on those cheap orange life vests and held on for dear life. The black cloud line had overtook us and following winds were very strong. Much to our dismay we were off the pier arms about a 1/2 mile north. We had to quarter over the waves the remaining mile or so.

We made the dock drenched with 3" of freeboard on the stern and our feet in 6-8" of water. The bilge pump burned out. We lost of bunch of his dad's gear. Our legs were rubber and our hands were cramped from hanging on. No one said a word, but we knew we got away with one.

Dumb kids.

Was underway for 44 days before I stepped foot on dry land. I so miss being in the Navy sometimes.... NOT!!!!!

10-12 ft swells in a 42ft fishing seiner.
it was real fun when the auto pilot went out and we had to steer by hand. It had also gotten dark and the fog had rolled in.

I was 14, working Summer on one of Dad's Company vessels, 313 foot German Built freighter, Wheel / Deckhouse Midships, Engine room and crew's quarters aft. We were hauling the components for the Bridge of the Americas outta' N.O. La.and Houston... (structural steel) Machinery (Cats and P&H Crane) in the lower hold and tween decks,.....with an Atco camp lashed on deck in between Hatches and gunwales. Read alla' that as HEAVILY laden, down to "Summer N. Atlantic" on the Plimsoll marks.

Good ship, buts she wasn't a speed demon, 12-13 knots on a good day. Power was two slow speed turbocharged MAK 5 cylinder engines assembled in line on a common bed. IIRC Full ahead was a scorching 120 RPM.

Things got hairy South of Cabo San Antonio,....HURRICANE hairy. as we pushed towards Colon Christobal, one of the German engineers wasn't fast enough throttling down, and she lifted her screw clean out and shook like a wet dog,.....when she came down ther was a horrible knocking and BAD vibration at anything over Slow Ahead. No longer able to drive towards shelter, we turned and ran before the storm, and for the next 3 days slept not at all, ate nothing much, and were just kinda' blown all over the damn place. on one really bad roll the engineer below, and Mate on the bridge both swore to a 45* roll, and I believe they were correct,......when things moderated, and we limped into Colon, and after some sleep, we tore off the sideplates and found that the 3" coupler bolts that married up the two 5 cylinder crankshafts were broken, and the only thing that had held things together was their jagged ends and end thrust against the flanges. If we'd lost that engine it would have been all over. all that was left of the Atco camp on deck were their clean chassis, still secured by chains and load binders.

New oversized bolts were machined up in N.O.La., and a custom reamer ground, as well. Being of pretty small stature, I got to spend a lot of time in that not so roomy crank pit for the following weeks. A WW2 era British Freighter (Banks Line) was tied at the repair dock adjacent, loaded with Copra. A bazillion little beetle like insects ("Copra Flies") descended on us, and infested the entire lash-up. Chief Engineer went ashore one night and got rolled, returned to the ship barefoot, in his underwear.

GTC

The worse was running through 35 footers going across the GOA in a 180 foot buoy tender, 45 degree rolls are as much fun as a man can take.

Having helm watch and having the OOD tell you 'Nothing to the left of 270' was also a hoot on the trip. The friggin rose was already swinging 20 degrees in those seas.


Most interesting was above the Arctic circle on the same ship, going through the ice flows and watching countless walruses drift by, along with all the whales. It was surreal.

Heavy seas on Maryland's Chesapeake Bay in 10 foot aluminum pie plate. Sky is blacker 'n' a bankers heart @ 1400hrs. Dead in the water with an oil tanker bearing down on us while my buddy is "rebuilding" an ancient outboard out of a tackle box full of rusty parts.

The truck was covered in tickets when we got back as he had parked in a restricted area while I waited at the ramp and he wanted me to pay half the fines.

Eglin AFB Fla...1968

Got to ride along on a tug/barge combo for an EOD Gulf sea dump of old munitions,leaking WP,WW2 frag bombs and a ton of 30 M1 small arms.Forget exactly how many miles out the dump site was but funny to see USAF on the port/starboard sides of the tug..

Not 100% nautical but, bellying out a failing turbo prop off the coast [swamp] of FL, when the plane hull and wings started cracking the cypress knees it was just starting to suck, the real suckage started on the 3/4 mile wade in chest deep water to the shore in the dark without the luxury of being able to use any light.

We made it of course, just wondering how many gators, snakes and turtles we roused. lmao

Gunner

...i fell in the shower once.

..."Lack of adhesive ducks"

I dont enjoy the open water.

I was a merchant seaman for six years. I was in a hurricane or three.

A few of the most memorable ones...

Had to walk an outrigger to work on gear in 6' - 8' seas on Mobile bay while commercial shrimping when I was 16. The outrigger was dipping 3' - 4' under the waves.

Had to jump overboard in the middle of the night while anchored in a strong current and free dive with a rope around my waist to free gear from our prop, also in a bad storm.
Cleared $92 for 6 days and nights of work on that trip.

Tuna fishing 100 mi. offshore in 10' - 12' seas on a 26' Negus for 2 days. Took 2 weeks to heal up. Jack-ass boat owner decided all the tuna were his after we split all expenses. Got 4 tuna steaks off that bastard.

Took a 20' Wellcraft across Mobile Bay in a bad summer storm. Had the boat and motor completely out of the water every other wave for over an hour.

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Let's go fishing!!!

I hope ya didnt drop yer woman when ya fell too.

Gunner

Man, I got nuttin' on you guys! Lots of respect though! 10 years of fishing bass tournaments, but nothing too serious. A couple harry rides, for sure, but nothing the likes of which you guys have been through.

I've circled Walrus "Pods" ( ? chit I dunno what you call a gang of em') in a Twin Otter, up in the Winter Gustaf Adolf Sea, never seen one from the deck. The word "Surreal" is bang on.

Those well designed Tenders, Tugs, and small North Sea Freighters do indeed roll at the bloody DICK DOCK, but carried us through,....what ?

I oftimes wonder WTH would have transpired if we'd crossed swords with that vicious tropical monster in a NOT so deeply laden state of trim,.....

Talk about "Decks Awash" though,...

GTC

GTC

Here I am in the 'ice'. I wish to hell now that I actually owned a decent camera at the time.

Those buoy decks can get right sport when laid out with buoys, chain and 10,000 pound sinkers and working them in 15' seas.

My Dad was the "Port Captain / Marine Superintendent for the small tramp outfit,......and i remember him crunching #s with a slide rule, cigarette and beer close,....way into the night sometime.
He'd put on his "boiler suit" and start in the lower hold, working his way up INSPECTING alla' the rigging and tie down. That, as much as anything, was on our side in the incident related. Had that structural steel or one of those big yellow irons gone adrift ....

Alla' the debris from those Atco camps sloshing around on deck did about 3 years worth of "Chipping" on the decks and Gunwales, though. And while under repair in Colon, a LOT of Red lead was used.

GTC

Crossing the Tasman Sea in April onboard an Aegis Cruiser. Big waves breaking over the bow. Nothing like blue water and fish scales on deck.

Mine was a lot more positive. As the Air Force officer in charge of all media activity, I was invited to tour the Ohio -- the first Trident nuclear sub -- when she was at Port Canaveral for her first live missile trials. When I crossed the gangway, I was announced aboard by name (you Navy guys will know the right term for it). I was deeply honored.

Oh, and the sub was absolutely amazing.

Another was running simulated small boat attacks in a QST-35 (40 foot target boat with 4-496 ci engines onboard) on a amphib group off Moorhead City, NC. The Frigates would cross our approach and we would have to cross their wake. May not look it, but the wake off a small frigate is about two stories high. Good times, lots of fun.

I've used a BUNCH of Red lead in the 'day' along with some other bad stuff.







Here's the old girl pulling up a Jap midget sub off the Solomon Islands, early 1945.

LOVE those old straight stems,.....what Power Plant ?

I'm guessing a big set of Atlas, Buda, Or Cooper Bessemer ?

GTC

Not to butt in Cross but, I was in a couple engine rooms and saw 'Superior' and 'Waukesha-Pierce' engines, true cool monsters they were.

Gunner

On USS Midway in the north Pacific and in the Indian Ocean west of perth. Seeing "green water" coming over the bow of a carrier was pretty spectacular. I can imagine what the "small boys" that were escorting us were going through.

Everything was tied and/or chained down but stuff still broke loose. One of the big hoists on the ceiling of the hangar bay fell on the engine of an E-2c, destroying it.

My stateroom was up forward between the cats and in your rack it felt like you were getting "air time" when the bow would fall. I slept, or tried to sleep, with my arms stretched out to the side.

Persian Gulf at 9-10 o'clock at night and the sun is still up. Flat black seas and sea-snakes. Who would want to live there is beyond me.

Indeed, Waukeshas hold a particularly special place in my heart, we'll not again see their like.

Poured, scraped and spotted in in the babbit mains and rod ends on a big Buda once. Non-Turbo thumper that swung an enormous propellor under the stern of a classic off shore tug.

GTC

Grizzly hunt, June 1959.

Chuck and I put his 19-foot canoe into Rapids River, to go upstream from the point where sane canoeists go down the river.

Big chunks of winter ice were still coming down the river � fast � miniature icebergs at flank speed. Fending 'em off was quite the physical exercise � sorta like horizontal pole-vaulting. The gradient of the river was unignorably obvious � like the slope of a mountain road.

In hip boots and pulling a long painter, we waded that canoe up to the beaver ponds above all the glacial tributaries � calm, clear water above rapid silty water. Took us several strenuous hours. Got knocked on our butts several times. Built fires on gravel bars to ameliorate the shivers a bit (easier on the teeth, too!), and to wring most of the water out of our clothes.

At one point, I had to crawl out onto a sweeper and chop away some branches so we could go under it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Coming down-stream a few days later was fun, too. Took much less time than going up.

As bow paddle, I looked up into many waves coming over the bow a few feet high. Once, the current parked us high atop a boulder in the middle of the river, broadside to the current. No damage to the hull, but some little doin's getting off that boulder and properly aligned with the current again.

We were back at our put-in point in an hour or so.

No grizz but a lot of Arctic grayling, just a couple of minutes out of water so cold that scaling and gutting 'em was a painful chore (33�F, according to my pocket thermometer). The tastiest fresh-water fish that I ever ate!

Night fishing with one of my labs in my 12' duck boat. I happened to be taking a leak off the back when a beaver smacked it's tail and the lab up front decided to go in after him. Somehow I managed to knock the trolling motor to the side on my way out, so the boat just went in circles around me. Not sure how neither of the daredevils being drug behind didn't catch me.

Hell Yeah , IIRC the Mechanic told me the big Superior only turned 5/6 hundred RPM's, I cant imagine the torque these monsters must generate.

Gunner

Saltwater experience-

Left Sabine Pass about dark one night, headed for Pool Rig 452, which was about 100 miles due south, of South Marsh Island. There was a storm blowing in and we were in the Scorpion, a 90' aluminum hull crew boat. I dont know how high the waves were, but the captain said that if we weren't over half way to the rig, he would turn around and go back. Trying to set on the benches was useless, you got more 'air time' than setting time. Made me 'sick as a dog'. Took 12 hrs to get there.

Freshwater experience-

A friend and myself went duck hunting on the Miss. River. We were in an old boat I had at the time, a 14' Tidecraft with a 20 hp Merc. We put in at the Port of Lake Providence and motored about 5-6 miles down and across the river, turned up a slough, broke ice and put out the decoys. One of, if not the best, duck hunting trips I ever went on. We gathered the ducks and started back about 1 pm. Now that 20 merc and been giving me trouble staying in gear and when we hit the current (headed upstream), it wouldnt go. Shifting fork was wore out. Now being industrious young fellows, we had prepared for this mishap. We had brought along a 9.8 Johnson, so we promptly put to the bank, swapped motors and was going to be merrily on our way, or so we thought. That 9.8 could barely push that heavy boat against the current. I headed straight across the river, thinking if anything happened, we would be on the side the truck was on. By the time we made it to the La side, we were 1/2 mile downstream of where we started on the Miss side. That motor couldnt get the boat 'on plane', so we just creeped up the river, spray from the waves hitting us, waves from the tugs/barges rocking us all over the place. Did I mention it was freezing? We had on slicker suits and coal buckets under our legs, and when we got back to the truck, about 5 hours later, we both had 1/2" of ice on us. But, we had made it back to the truck and started on what was usually a 2 1/2 hr drive home, but because of the interstate being iced over, it took us about 5 hours. Now we had left home around 1 am and got back home about 11 pm (22 hrs). My friend looked at me and asked what I was going to do tomorrow and I said "Nothing, how about going duck hunting?". He agreed, so we borrowed another friends duck boat (around midnight), and took off for the same place. Ahh, to be young again!

Cooper

Spent a couple of years working on the large push-boats on the Mississippi River. Lots of interesting stories. I guess the most "nautical" would have been just north of Memphis Tennessee in January. A large storm rolled in about 2 AM. It was one of those Shock and Awe experiences as far as the extremely high wind gusts and impressive lightning show. I got a buzz from the captain asking to report to the Wheelhouse. When I arrived, the Lightning was to a point of being blinding. The temperature was in the mid 20's and black ice was building fast. Several of the barges we had in tow were full of grain and covered by dome style fiberglass covers. Through the early stages of the storm, the wend had blown open the hatches and now the rain was coming down fast threatening to ruin the grain. It was just my luck that all of these barges were line up on the port side of our tow. The next 45 minutes was spent walking the fiberglass covers which had a sheet of ice about .5" thick on them and closing and latching the hatches. to my left was the rest of our cargo, and to the right and about 16 feet below me was the Mississippi and 80+ft cliffs blanketed with Kudzu with no shoreline whatsoever. The wind was in the 50-70mph range and the lightning never stopped. I new that if I missed even one step, I would be in the black of the River and would likely never be found alive or dead.

That river work is some ass clenching stuff. I only worked on the 65 and 75 barge pushers that did work on the rivers, but rode the boats some. That current can be CRAZY and not a lot of room to move around in.

I have nothing but respect for the guys that run those boats on the big rivers.

So I guess you would know what its like to put out wing cables on wet barges with to few hands! Talk about an interesting lifestyle! No doubt that experience helped mold who I am today.

When was into SCUBA in the 80's, I was diving off Florida, where the Gulf Stream comes closest to the US. My buddy & I missed the anchor line and so by the time we surfaced, were quite some distance from the boat.....and they were trying to get the other divers on board, though they signaled us that they had seen us. It was very late afternoon/early evening, and pretty soon, only the very tip of the main mast with it's blinking light could be seen. You could only see the boat once every 3 or four waves. As we crested each one, I would take my camera and point it towards the boat and trigger the strobe. About the 4th time I did this, the boat was only visible every 7th wave...we were moving! I saw the boat turn towards as we crested one wave, and from that point, it took them 30 minutes to overtake us, and yes, it was now dark! When they got us on board we got a severe azz-chewin' (along with that was the knowledge that only the strobe allowed them to see and locate us), and the capt. had to call the coast guard and let them know we were recovered. The CG gave use the same azz-chewin' when we got back.

Most humbling time for me was fishing the horseshoe kelp on a clear calm day, and a Tico class cruiser clears the breakwall at 5 knots.. Abreast of us, just a few hundred yards off, it stands on the gas and just takes off right now. Squats down and wooooshhh.. That fugger was showing off, and we all were standing there with slack lines going " wow.. "

Got to ride on the USS Guadacanal (LPH 7?) twice. Once in Carribean, once in The Med. Hit a nice storm off Greece on way to Turkey. Rode back to Piraeus on USS Raleigh. Lots of fun and games.

Made a landing at Coronado off the USS Bristol County. Some old LST. Everyone should have to ride on an LST at least once in their life.
.

Probably the time a twenty four year old me decided that a 16' open bow boat was adequate to run out on Lake Superior for a look at the pictured rocks. The wind was blowing off shore and conditions slowly and steadily got rougher and rougher.

That several mile run back to Munising in the face of that rough water was one of the worst boating experiences I've ever had. Even worse than the time I was on a 24 foot boat on Lake Huron during a thunderstorm with 10' breakers.

Steel-

She looks like the bouy tender Woodbine and Acacia we had ported here after we lost the Escanaba in the north Atlantic on escort duty to a torpedo. Only 2 survivors and a lot of Coasty widows that the community looked after for years. This small town did a war bond drive to pay for the Escanaba II. She was launched in 1946 I believe.

We still have a ceremony honoring those lost every year. The last remaining survivor died a few years ago. And the Escanaba III was recently launched.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Acacia_(WLB-406)

flipped a zodiac coming in the mouth of packery channel, out going tide with about 12 ft breakers. lost around 8000 in rods and tackle.

check out this video
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...b.583828998355821&type=2&theater

Not sure how I'd pick my "most", but this one always comes to mind:

OOD at night, surfaced submarine, not raining but rough seas. every seventh wave is breaking over the bridge.

I'm up there with one lookout. Normally might have a JOOD, and second lookout, but it's so nasty we didn't. We're wearing full raingear, but we're soaked after the first wave.

We got into a pretty good rhythm, the big waves cracked like a tree trunk snapping letting us duck behind the "windshield", so we'd just get drenched on our backs, then stand back up and wait for the next crack.

An hour into this pounding, the lookout bends down to tie his shoe, big wave cracks, I duck, he stands up, no chance to brace himself, he takes it full in the face, puts him down like a punch in the jaw. He was on the raised bench behind me (probably not a good idea in hindsight) and was tethered to the boat or we might still be looking for him. Had to get a relief for him pronto, told the new guy whatever you do don't tie your shoes.

WOW! That last ship was in some really big stuff!

Most "nautical" saltwater ride was aboard the MV Tustumena Sept 1996, across Prince William Sound from Whittier to Cordova. 80kt east winds, gusting to over 100kt, 30' seas.

We ran aground as we made the turn around Salmo Point into the Western Channel, leading into Orca Inlet, when the wind blew us sideways into the mud at Deep Bay. The ferry took such a pounding from the seas that it jammed the front cargo ramp and we lost the bow thrusters when we were driven into the mud.

The Captain was cleared in the subsequent CG investigation as there was nothing he could do to prevent the grounding except to not make the trip. What was supposed to have been a five hour run across PWS was a 14 hour adventure. Two huge Crowley Marine tugs that accompany the oil tankers in and out of Valdez and another big tug from Valdez were required to get us off of the mud.

Most "nautical" freshwater was my first trip in a cataraft going down Eagle River in Uncas' 14' Aire. I was rowing, he was teaching me the ropes, and I went over a 6' waterfall that was created between a big rock and the shore (cliff face). The fit was so tight that we popped through the opening like a cork out of a champagne bottle, completely airborne. Lost two, brand new, floorboards when we hit. I was immediately hooked on catarafts.

Ed

Nov 10, 1975
11 ton of herring on board--6-ton on the stern--5 ton up on the bow. 2 100lb anchors down--tied up in the lee of St Ignace Island on Lake Superior. Kept the big Cummings diesle slow idle all night and used the spot light to keep checking shoreline to make sure we wern't draggin.

The 'Big Fritz' didn't make it.

My most memorable nautical moment was when I was thirteen years old fishing for cohos out of La Push WA with my dad and my friend. My dad's 12' boat wasn't seaworthy so we rented a 16' fiberglass closed bow skiff and put my dad's 10 hp Johnson on it.

It was way under powered and would only do 10 to 12 mph at best but it was a seaworthy craft.

We were chasing schools of salmon and ended up about six or seven miles off shore. There was typical Pacific NW long spaced out 4' or 5' rollers when the afternoon winds kicked up. The fishing was good and dad didn't want to head back in but I finally pestered him enough to call it day.

On the way back it started blowing to the point where there was 3' wind blown chop, plus the rollers, and whitecaps.

The skiff was plowing along when we slid on top of a wave that was double crested. It was a trough about 12' wide and 7' deep. On my side of the boat I looked up and saw a wall of water towering over my head that I could almost touch.

That's when my sphincter twinged and I had the single most memorable nautical moment of my life.

The boat motored out the end of the trough and the moment was over as quick as it happened. It was rough going all the way back in though. I distinctly remember looking at the back of the boat and seeing six or eight inches of water sloshing around but ...

We made it back safe and sound, soaked to the bone, and running on fumes. We caught fish though so it was a good day.

Bristol Bay Alaska, 1981. It was a dark and stormy night. like all are on the bay. well mostly. sister boat was running a Chrysler marine. water in the bilge shorted the starter and she was dead in the water.
we rigged a tow off her bow to our stern in a triangle and started towing for the Queen cannery. had to turn into the storm as it got heavy. I really don't know what height the waves were but I have pictures somewhere of the 38 foot metal boat with 4 feet of clear air under her. thought we were going to tear the transom off. 16 hours and 5 parted lines later we made the Queen.
T rest of the fleet beat us there by about 12 hours. still can hear the capt. yelling at me from the bridge when I flubbed a bowlan.

Thought of another one...

Working on Rig 452 and a work boat came in with some drill collars we needed. Of course there was a storm blowing, seas were 12'-15' (I was told). I dont really know how big the waves were, except they were BIG!

Crane operator asked another fellow and myself if we would get on the boat and get the collars. Didnt order us to, asked us, it was that bad.

We agreed and down we went in the basket. We tied two lines across the back of the 290' workboat and hooked ourselves into the lines. Then we had to unstack the collars, 3 at a time (they were chained to the side, in a group of 15), keep them from getting loose, and hook them for the lift. The boat captain would go 'into the waves' while we were getting the lift ready, but had to position the boat 'across the waves' to make the actual lift. The waves would come over the sides of the boat and wash us across to the other side. The only thing that kept us on the boat was the lines we were hooked to. IIRC, these were 7" drill collars and weighed about 110 lbs/ft, approx 30' long each, so if any had gotten loose, it would have been extremely bad, for us (the other fellow and I).
We made the 5 lifts in about 3 hours, that's how bad it was. And, yes, I got 'sick as a dog', again!

Only time I ever got sea sick was in an amtrack making a landing. I was sitting right behind the driver. Machine was having some engine trouble. Driver had engine bonnet up and between driving and messing with something on engine filled inside with smoke and diesel fumes. Top hatches were secure. To this day I can't take diesel fumes either.
Sick as a dog.

I had a dive instructor tell me it was 'all in my head', getting sea sick, and he proved it. I had gone out on a 35'-40' dive boat, in the gulf, and had gotten sick. The next time we went out, the instructor brought his 20' bay boat and I rode in it. Went to the same place as before and I didnt get sick.

He claimed it was because I expected the big boat to be stable and it wasnt, that's what made me sick. On the small boat, I expected it to 'rock and roll' and because I expected it, I didnt get sick.

At least that's what he said and I guess he was right.

I've been out several times in small boats, since then, and never had a problem!

Yep, those are all 180's, like the Ironwood.

I don't know anything about a 'new' Escanaba.

My most nautical moment involved two whales, a skiff, a large net and a baseball bat.

Blows were thrown but I believe all parties survived.

While not neccesarily "nautical" but most definitely "marine", there was also the dumbazz with a gaff and a dead, very bloated, seal.

Some of these experiences are awesome - we have some REAL sailors here. Thx.

I dunno Randy??? Last thing on my mind was getting sea sick. Never had happened before even when watching guys puke in the galley, and has never happened again. I think it was more smoke and fumes than anything else.

I had a lot of fun high seas during my career in the Navy.
The most memorable is a north Atlantic cruise aboard the USS Bordelon DD 881, in 1974.
North of the Artic circle, for a few days, seas really rough, main deck off limits due to being awash.
We had a cable across the ASROC deck. We had to wear a life jacket (kapok) and use a secured line to the cable to go for and aft.
Roughest seas I was ever in.

Every once in awhile for blues inspection.
14 years in the 'bees and no fleet time, which was just fine with me.

About 15 of us 20-somethings on a sloop headed from Florida to the caribean. We had a capt but he was mostly drunk and useless. We got caught in a tropical depression. Damn rough night. The mast broke loose and went overboad about midnight or so. It had the lights and radio antenna so we thought wee should do something. One cable was still holding the mast and the thing is banging the side of the boat. So naturally me and 3 other guys decide to pull it back on board. I take a guys hand, step out over the little cable at the edge of the deck, and lean way down to grab the mast. We got it back on board. Pretty good work considering the 12' seas, wind, and rain and pitch black.

Somebody should have thought about wearing a life vest. Never cross my mind.

Her name was Elena. She became a hurricane after crossing westward into the Gulf. August 1985.

Good times. Damn wild ride.

Transiting about 18 hours on the surface in the USS Simon Bolivar SSBN 641(G) in March of 1993 going into Halifax, Nova Scotia to medevac a crew member with kidney stones. Why you may ask? The 1993 Storm of the Century. Every crew member was sick, and I mean everyone waves breaking 20 foot or more over the sail. Makes me sick remembering it. Submarines are terrible in rough seas when surfaced. The sweetest sound I ever heard in my life was the diving alarm when we finally reached the diving point after that deal

1993 Storm of the Century

Another time off the Florida coast Atlantic side, while at periscope depth the OOD observed a fishing boat with a "distress light". The boat was surfaced near the fishing boat. The OOD ask the guys onboard if they needed assistance? The guys in utter shock and disbelief answer "No" and explain the distress light is part of their fishing gear. The boat was rigged for dive and we submerged again. You know that nobody believed those guys when they got back to shore and told their story...

Last one was turning the fire hoses on the Green Peace idiots every time we went to see...

Twice I've come close to lifting the handle on Davy Jones' locker, both in the north Atlantic in winter. Been caught in a squall or three, one in particular where one of two OB motors had just quit, some 30 nm south of ACK. Seas went from easy twos to twelves. With the nose buried a couple feet into the green every other wave, we had no choice but to head dead into the wind and quartering seas. We got the bloody shyt kicked out of us. Another goosebump raising ride in the north Pacific, off the coast of Japan. A typhoon that was supposed to bypass by 100 miles, didn't.

I like Rocky's nautical type tale better.

USS Hawes decommissioning ceremony at the port of Boston. Only Navy vessels in the American fleet bearing the Hawes name is allowed to fly the Jolly Roger.

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/USS_Hawes_%28FFG-53%29.html

On that day, a local man, a vet from the Vietnam era was honored. He is the gent in the ball cap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_G._Kelley














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Windward passage, 30' seas in a 36' sloop, beating into the gale for a day and two nights under storm sails trying to avoid landfall on Cabo Maisi, Cuba. Winter of '75.

Don't know if this counts but I will post anyway. About 4 years ago I was floating the nolachuky river on jan 26. The river was frozen all the way across in washington co. We ha 21 consecutive days where it never got above freezing, for Tennessee that something. It was 26 degrees that morning and after a slowmorning of decoying ducks we desided to float. About 2 miles from the truck I flipped the pokeboat I was hunting out of. Ice on the water waiders on and shotgun in hand. I was so tired when I got to the bank I could barely stand up. I swam in moving water about 30 yards and had to crawl over blowdowns to get to shore. got all the cotton off and put the fleece back on while my buddy knobby started a fire. We hunted the next day, never even got a runny nose.

(My post above was from the 640 boat Ben Franklin from the early eighties)

I was Engineering Officer of the Watch one time on Maneuvering Watch, I don't remember where we were leaving but we were getting pasted. We had maybe eight to ten people in Maneuvering, which was quite a crowd, phone talkers and trainees I guess.

No one had been sick but everyone was green to the gills, we were rolling like crazy but everyone was holding it together. Then the Electrical Operator lost it and puked into a clear plastic bag, that was enough for the Reactor Operator sitting right beside him, then it was a chain reaction (we were Nukes, you know) and almost everyone in the Room but me hurled. I was smart enough to avert my eyes when I saw what was coming.

Don't even get me started telling stories about blowing schitters inboard.

Ahh the memories, I've done both the lookout and schitters inboard. At least I had a heads up on back blowing the schitters, my brother and uncle were bubbleheads too...

Did you know an MT named Barto on the Franklin?

Hurricane Juan in the Gulf of Mexico in 1985. I was working on an offshore platform and by the time the decision was made to evacuate it was too late. We came through the storm in a 110 ft work boat. The captain logged in 25-30 ft. seas.

It was the first time I was seasick. Absolutely miserable day and night.

The oil companies are much better now about evacuating for hurricanes.

We sailed for years in the New England area.

Never had a problem.

There you go, this is my daughter's and mine own most nautical moment to date, and we both reckon it is too cold, too wet, and too deep to expand on the experience.

Flat seas within sight of land. Impressive.

I took this from a breakwater in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela at age 15,......The "JEM" was a classic small European Motorship, Diesel Main and Aux ( Generator and Compressor) auxilliaries. I got my "Junior (4th) Engineer's ticket in her, and knew her Engine room like the back of my hand by then. Wish all to hell I'd gotten a pic of the ANCIENT, wood fired, steam powered cattle boat that was tie foward of her,....I MAY have some on slides, yet to be digitalized.
Anyhoo, she was fitted with the "smaller economy option" 1800 shaft HP rated MAK 10 cylinder turbo diesel, and MAN 5 cylinder Aux. The bean counters out-voted Dad (he owned 15%)and voted down his choice of the same footprint, large bore, longer stroke 3600 HP option.

The lack of raw power saw this ship compromised by strong currents more than once. Routinely pizzed off the Pilot's association, and had a few wrecks on the Miss. River (and elsewhere), due directly to that lack.

Oh well,she was what she was,... I pretty much grew up on her, and from her decks wandered into manhood. We knew of and periodicallly saw identical builds with the big engine,....they HAULED ASS.



In the closing scene of "Farewell to the King" starring Nick Nolte (pretty good flick),....an IDENTICAL vessel is briefly panned.

built in Norderwerft, Bremen Germany in the very late 1950s.

GTC

good picture, good post.

Sycamore

We pushed her into some pretty REMOTE and primitive estuaries and on occasion up Rivers to load Mahogany Logs. I'm talking about the masts and upper works brushing trees, Monkeys raining out and running around on deck,.....and dugout canoes with natives carrying ML shotguns remote.

I didn't "Grow up in New Jersey" Syc,.....The backwaters of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and most every damn country betwixt more like it. At 16 I'd transitted the "ditch" 16 times,....and was allowed to answer the main engine telegraph in moving her through the locks. Sure,....Dad being the Honcho helped a bit, .....but I recollect being taken down HARD when I failed to get something right.

I'm damned glad I grew up when and where I did, and wish that more of today's Dad's had the sense enough to cut their young lads loose from mama's apron strings and let em' be what they really need to be.

The vacant stare, finger and eye on the handheld zombies that I'm seeing are from a different PLANET than that I grew up on.

Chit, ...a different UNIVERSE.

I like this place cuz' there are so many other characters that have similar backrounds and attitudes.

GTC

Great stuff, Jefe.

From an islander? Bloody hell, mate...

Can't resist the opportunity to (re)post this, some of our newer arrivals may not have seen it.

The American Export Lines fast passenger freighter "Excalibur", driving through the Winter North Atlantic.

May Dad was her First Mate / Exec, and ran her through both Brit, Italian, and German Blockades to put her in past Gib, and into the Med,....BEFORE we entered WW2.

I LOVE this picture,.....talk about a well put together ocean greyhound....

Gotta get on these ancient 35 MM slides I took with my bro's old Zeis camera,....and somehow scan and transpose some more pics.
The CREW on that freighter were quite a group, the deck hands direct descendants of Teach and Bloody Morgan, the Bosun a "Stateless Person" The German Engineers all "I was not a Nazis", except for the 2nd engineer, who would tell me of his time with Doenitz's wolf packs, and cry in his cups for his lost Kameraden. The FOURTH time we caught one super tenacious stowaway from Colombia, and got him (again) out of the lifeboat, and put him to doing some chipping, he went morose, and hung himself in the crew's toilet. ....Belizian 2nd cook found him in there,....an event which later led to an AWFUL prank played on his orney azz.

Saw a few coups and one flat out shooting war type Latin American Revolution offa' that ship, too. we were deeply laden with mining explosives as they mortared the harbor



GTC

Yeah, but it is really big.

That is a GREAT picture...worthy of a postcard or poster.

Feel free to post some more...please.

Not sure if it qualifies as "nautical" but every night I ate and slept in the ship Schotov offshore in the Caspian was pure hell.

Our "Stateless Person" Bosun, Old Jose Montegudo had gotten into some sorta' SERIOUS trouble during the Spanish Revolution, and was apparently on the outs with the Franco regime.

For many years before I met him as a pup (10 years) his only home had been the Company's ships. He'd been with them since they started up, and pre-dated my Dad, in that respect. I can SEE his weathered face in my minds eye, a stub of a cigarette smouldering below laughter crinkled grey eyes. That cigarette was ALWAYS there, except at the dining table, and he had nicotine stains on his grinning lips. He was never clean shaven while aboard, but never had a beard. Nobody knew how old he was, ....and in knowing him for 7 years, I percieved no visible change in his carriage or sure footed mobility. I reckon "Ageless" would apply. His HANDS were something I can see, and reflect on when I figure mine are starting to look rough, ....the old boy spliced 1 1/4" Springline cable eyes well, and BARE HANDED. he and my Dad developed a very interesting "Mutual Respect" situation, and it would take a real Jack London to wring that one out.
When we hit the right port, Jose would go through a pretty astounding transformation, and smooth cheeked and decked out in spotless denim and crisply starched white shirt would throw a sporty wave over his shoulder as he headed down the gangway.
At 16 I found him in a really NICE whorehouse in Puerto Limon with an astonishingly pretty young thing bouncing on his lap, and generally having a fine time.
I never went to any great lengths to find what the final outcome of his return to Spain was. He knew my family, and was a guest in our home (once) Knew both my older bros who worked on the older ships under his amused tutelage.
.....I'd rather just think of him sitting in a sidewalk cafe watching the fishing fleet rolling in, enjoying a beer and a smoke,....pretty much unchanged from the last time I saw him, 52 years ago.

GTC

i am on a double top drive semi-sumbmersable oil rig going from the gulf of mexico to the black sea

get off the fuggin thing june 5th and the other crew comes and takes it to a palermo ship yard to dismantle our derrick and skates and take down our knuckle boom crane
then we come back and take it to istanbul to cross under bridge and reassemble
then other crew comes back to set up for drill ops in the black sea by oct1









fugg da ocean............................................












but da pay is excellent and the time off is good............
28 on 28 off once we get into drilling cycles

wishing you smooth seas and a safe voyage,
...I'd nonetheless point out that you don't "fugg" the sea.

She fuggs you when and how she chooses, and those plying her bosom are but random dust,

Safe home.

GTC

You're a sneaky, greasy SOB, Mr. C., and fling prose that both humbles and brings smiles. Not to mention a shaking head. Somewhere, a publisher is missing out.

BRAVO, orale y arigato gozaimasu tambien!

The publisher passed out from trying to keep up.

Tales well told from the 7 Seas.

Definitely remember the name, believe he was one of the more senior MTs. Being a nuke I didn't know the missile guys as well tho I think I had pretty good overlap with him. I was there from Dec. '80 to May '84, Blue crew after the shipyard.

Typhoon Pamela in 1976. I was on USS Davidson FF-1045 a Garcia class FF and we were in Guam for a short upkeep period. None of use could believe they sent us there instead of Subic,fuggers. In any case, we had to get underway because of the approaching storm. Captain ordered zebra set, no one was allowed topside and I swear we spent as much time underwater as on the surface. Easily 20-30 foot swells if not larger.

Entering the well deck on a LCM-6 can be right exciting in rough seas.

Crossing the Columbia River bar on a YTB (Yard Tug)will also make you pay very close attention to what your doing.

I drove a crane 5 miles out onto the Beaufort sea with drive plates covering soft spots. My pilot truck asked me not to get closer than a quarter mile to him. After my journey of walking on water, I touched the north star.....north star island that is.... does that count?

He was my LPO on the Bolivar 92-94, good guy.

I've fished 'lumpy' with Chris and Dan.



<hint>

"Most Nautical" - they took this cowboy skiing.
Seemed to me they were high-speed trolling, however.
Longest week I ever had that afternoon!

Mark

When I bought a cottage on an island on the CT coast I discovered the tides and their currents. The place came with a Sunfish besides the outboard boat to get there.

It was the Sunfish and discovering sailing that led me to larger boats and sailing them on the coast.

Know what you mean. It led me to a life living aboard and working on boats, for half my 70 years. Guess 1/2 my life has been my most nautical "moment".

please adopt me! I don't eat much and I love 99's

beautiful place.

1985 - while I was in college.

Crossing from Florida toward Bimini with four of my friends in a rented 41 foot Morgan sailboat. Hit a squall in the Gulf Stream about 3 AM. 10 to 12 foot seas were reported the next day. Who ever stayed up top had to be lashed in at the helm to keep from coming out of the boat.

All we had to begin with was an RFD. No Loran and GPS was not even around yet. Tried to keep the bow into the head sea was all we could try do and that did not work out at all. When we could keep it straight the bow dipped below the surface then rose straight up only to slam on the back side as we came back down. The trough was the worst by far. Only thing good about that sailboat is the keel kept us from completely rolling.

Lasted about 3 hours till daybreak then things settled down.

Missed Bimini by 20 miles to the south when we finally figured out where we were.

Been through some pretty ugly seas and lightning storms since while sport fishing but the sailboat deal tops them all.

twofish

I can't even begin to remember all the "nautical" moments, but I can tell you without a doubt that most of the really bad ones involved lightning.

My experience is pretty tame compared to the people on real ships, in real oceans. A couple come to mind though as interesting:

A good day on a salmon party boat out of Berkeley, CA - great weather, and the captain put us in the fish right outside the Golden Gate, off Pacifica. Along the way we saw a giant ocean sunfish. Later we saw two guys in a bass buggy - yes one of those 8' long injection molded pond prowlers. They were about two miles offshore, and had about 6 inches of rail above the water. It was a really calm day. After the boat (and crew) limited we went back in through the Golden Gate, and noticed a submarine surface about a half mile behind us, and follow us into the bay She was met by a tug, and a CG small boat to escort them.

The San Joaquin River Delta flows into SF Bay. I was aware of that fact, but it was still startling for a Texas boy, to be having a pleasant day bass fishing ~30 miles from the ocean, and have a sea lion swim past you. I guess it's easy pickings for the seals, and no Great Whites to worry about in the Delta.

My boat was a 19 foot Champion with a 200 hp Optimax, and it could easily make over 60 mph. I was going much slower one day when I approached a spot when 2 or 3 sloughs ran together, and the trivial waves became very significant with the current. The boat suddenly launched about 3-4 feet out of the water, and landed hard. I looked around pretty dumbfounded wondering how the heck it happened. I look over at the bank and a dozen or so people are standing up applauding me

There was good striper fishing in the Delta. In the main channels I was working the bank casting. But didn't notice the barge that had passed me was throwing a five foot or so wake. I nearly got pitched out of the boat, which taught me to keep an eye out for the big boats.

I fished around this sunken barge quite often; it was interesting how the timbers were assembled.



Reminds me (again) I need to get a boat

Barges never had to look good, they just hadda' FLOAT.

how THICK were those timbers pictured, anyway ?

GTC

Looking at the original photo, I think about 6 inches thick, and cross-laminated in 3 layers. Lots of rivets

That barge is over 100 years old. According to old-timers I asked, it was worn out in the early days, and then was made into the levee to re-inforce it. The spot is called Big Break, FWIW, as the levee broke at some point.

My most nautical moment?

August, 1987. I'm on my honeymoon with Satan. We're up North in Ontario fishing and camping. There is a camp at the Mazenhazing River, and we canoed over there one day and rented a motor boat to do some sightseeing-- nothing fancy, just a 20 HP outboard. Our camp was along Cullins Inlet, and I wanted to see Georgian Bay. Cullins Inlet opens out into something wider, and we were out in the middle of that when pea-soup fog settled in.

Rather than turn around, I pulled out my compass, laid it on the seat, next to the map and steered for the closest navigational buoy and then from there, I went from buoy to buoy until I got out into Georgian Bay-- went out about 50 yards, turned around and went back.

I've been in the boat business for almost 30 years, (right out of high school), raced 1/4 mile dragboats professionally for over 20 years, I've had my fair share of "Nautical Moments" to say the least, here's a little sample of my current occupation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoW-vW-HvY0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoW-vW-HvY0

Well, this dates back to about '68, but we were a couple days from arriving in Guam when we ran into one helluva storm. Seas were running thirty-forty foot waves and howling winds. Being an old diesel sub - we hadda stay on the surface. We were taking, at times, 4-5 feet of solid green over the bridge - and the OOD ordered us lookouts to be strapped to the bridge to prevent being washed overboard.

Had Lots

But

Force 10 Gail off Ireland

Never forget

Snake