Sub sighting!

[OkSkipper]

The Boat that I Was(n't) ON

Things aboard a US Navy Submarine are supposedly secret. Here is what I have to say about my experiences:

On my submarine, we did some of the stuff we did. We didn’t do the other stuff we did because if we did do it, it was a secret. So we didn’t do it. Even though we did, but not really.

The medals my shipmates and I didn’t earn for doing what we didn’t do, we did receive, except we didn’t, because we never went where we were and weren’t there when we were, but we did the stuff we didn’t do while we weren’t there not doing it.

As far as what boat I was on, we didn’t go where we went and didn’t do what we did while not doing it.

So, the bottom line, we weren’t on a boat that I won’t mention, not doing what we did, where we weren’t. .

I hope that clarifies things.

 

[chaddon]

Chuck

We had an interesting experience leaving the Cumberland Island anchorage recently. We had just pulled up the anchor and were headed towards the main channel when my wife noticed a CG boat in the distance that seemed to be headed our way. I soon realized they were headed directly for us so I pulled the throttle back and waited for them to arrive.
View attachment 118647

I had my VHF tuned to 16 but never got a radio call, and when I went to the stern one of the Coasties asked how to pronounce our boat name (Bijou). Maybe that’s why we didn’t get a radio call. ?

They warned us that a big Navy nuclear ballistic sub was planning to come through the channel soon and head out to the Atlantic, and we needed to cross the channel quickly and stay about a mile out of the way once we crossed. So we headed across the channel and on our way to Fernandida on the ICW. A few minutes after crossing the channel my wife asked if we could stay and watch the sub make its appearance, and since we really didn’t have a schedule I said sure why not. So I circled back and anchored in about 20’ of water in what seemed like a safe distance away from the channel, with the incoming tide keeping me perpendicular to the channel. We got some video:

https://youtu.be/ArS1LxN3WPQ

If you look closely at the beginning of the video you can see a large Nordhavn with her bow pointed into the bank at the top right of the video. The CG spent about an hour clearing out the channel for the sub’s departure, warning all boats to stay away, but about 10 minutes before the sub appeared this Nordhavn came out of the ICW coming from Fernandina and crossed right in front of the sub and all the escorts. To say the CG was agitated would be an understatement. I guess the Nordy captain didn’t have his radio on maybe, but he sure wasn’t paying attention to the smaller CG boat next to him. We could hear the CG announce over loudspeakers to STOP NOW! Finally a larger CG boat joined and forced the Nordhavn out of the deep channel and bow in to the bank. It was a little crazy, and one smaller CG boat near us that had its bow gun manned and ready announced to the gunner to keep his head on a swivel and be alert. They were tense!

Well the sub finally passed along with a pretty big escort ship that seemed to be kind of a shield for the sub maybe? It seemed to have some large metal screens on deck to block the view of the sub, but maybe my imagination was getting away from me. I could see the wakes from the bigger ship approach us, but because I was anchored up I couldn’t maneuver away from them. And because of the tide we were perfectly beam to these pretty decent sized waves. My wife and sister were sitting in the forward seating area of the boat and I told them to hang on. I ran down to secure some things in the galley, but I was too late because crap was flying everywhere. I’ve been waked before pretty bad in the ICW by big sport fish and other big boats, but OMG nothing like this. And it went on for quite awhile. The girls somehow hung on up top and we were all fine, but I wanted to rely my error to the TF folks about anchoring up like I did. Problem was I couldn’t circle around to wait on the sub because the CG specifically said to not point the bow of our boat at the sub at any time. Guess I should have just quickly pulled anchor and gotten out of there.

We were northbound out of Fernandina in our Nordic Tug 42 when the coast guard blocked our way on the ICW. It was pretty apparent from the radio traffic on 16 what was going on, but they never hailed us. One of the people onboard was 37 years in the Navy and said the accompanying ship is a sub tender.

Quite a sight - the highlight of our trip. Pic attached.

 

[La Sirena]

I was on a dive boat out of San Diego one time. The dive boat pulled out of the harbor around 11pm, and I was fussing with some gear on the back deck. I looked behind me and saw red & green nav lights up high. I looked closer, and it was a submarine following us out of the harbor. I don't remember seeing escorts, but it was dark.

I also was going into the S.D. harbor at another time when an aircraft carrier was leaving the harbor. That was a show. Lots of escorts including many helicopters and F18s.

 

[Wayfarer]

As an aside I have seen loaded LPG ships with the same type of escorts, in Port Aransas and the Port of Corpus Christi. If one of them goes up it would be a huge deal. Again, they are trying to avoid a Cole incident.

An LPG or LNG could be more like a 'Halifax Explosion Incident.' There wouldn't be a window intact for 20 miles, I bet.

Things aboard a US Navy Submarine are supposedly secret. Here is what I have to say about my experiences:

On my submarine, we did some of the stuff we did. We didn’t do the other stuff we did because if we did do it, it was a secret. So we didn’t do it. Even though we did, but not really.

The medals my shipmates and I didn’t earn for doing what we didn’t do, we did receive, except we didn’t, because we never went where we were and weren’t there when we were, but we did the stuff we didn’t do while we weren’t there not doing it.

As far as what boat I was on, we didn’t go where we went and didn’t do what we did while not doing it.

So, the bottom line, we weren’t on a boat that I won’t mention, not doing what we did, where we weren’t. .

I hope that clarifies things.

I was confused, but now I'm not. Thank you for straightening that out.

 

[JP2]

Seamanship?? Is no one perfect?

A friend was a nuke power plant engineer during his tour and his skipper, a Canoe U. grad, managed to run the ex-boomer hard aground while disciplining his Nav officer about a neat and tidy plotting desk. Same skipper, while departing Pearl, forgot to pull the anchor and dragged it out toward the entrance, cutting off all power cables to Ford Island. Beware out there.

"Where do we find such men?" (Michener)

 

[Northern Spy]

We were northbound out of Fernandina in our Nordic Tug 42 when the coast guard blocked our way on the ICW. It was pretty apparent from the radio traffic on 16 what was going on, but they never hailed us. One of the people onboard was 37 years in the Navy and said the accompanying ship is a sub tender.

Quite a sight - the highlight of our trip. Pic attached.

Actually it is called a Blocking Vessel. They are armed as well. Relatively new assets to the fleet, post USS Cole. Previously leased, but now owned by Navy. Run by MSC. Lord only knows (well actually people with security clearance) what is in the shipping containers they carry on deck. Marines? A SEAL team? Rockets? Trained Squid? Sharks with frickin lasers beams attached to their heads? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Submarine Tenders are much larger and usually stay in port. Submarines come to them and tie alongside for "tending". They are pretty boring. They have machine shops, and foundries, and supplies. I was in charge of the valve shop on board a tender for a few years. No sharks. No lasers.

 

[OldDan1943]

Once when asked, "How deep can a submarine go?" The standard answer was/is "All the way to the bottom."
If asked a more refined question of, "How deep can it dive and expect to surface?" The proper response is/was, "Cant tell you that."
When asked, "Where did you go?" My response has always been, "Cant tell you that because, we still may still go there."
And then, during WWII, a reporter was assigned to a sub going on a war patrol. The sub was depth charged repeatedly with no effect. When he got back to port, he published an article on his experience. He said, the depth charges were set too shallow. Well, the Germans read that article, adjusted their depth charges and we "lost" a few subs as a result of that article.
Sometimes the media folks just deserve a severe 'bitch slap.', IMO.

 

[Exsailor2018]

Subs

We were sailing from Christiansted to Fredricksted on my 54 foot wood Crocker ketch in early 81 when a periscope came up about 50 yards to port of us and it was huge with it’s back to us. It swung around and and stared at us for about 30 seconds and then went down real fast. It came back up about 1/8 of a mile to port and stared at for awhile and then slowly surfaced. I had about 4 naked ladies in “Terps” cockpit and on deck at the time. As soon as the sub surfaced there was a crowd of kacki clad guys with big ass binocs fllling the top of the sail all aiming at us. We paced each other for awhile both sides staring at each other till I got a holler over the vhf. We switched channels and they asked if we were headed to the pier or the anchorage at Fredricksted and I told them we were going to anchor in the roadsted for a day or two. They asked me bear off while they proceeded ahead to tie up to the pier. I said no problem and then they said to come by in an hour or two for a tour of the sub and we did but the ladies did put some shorts and tshirts on much to the disappointment of the kacki guys. One of them told me they never heard or saw us on their equipment when they started up. I was amazed as I had replaced 12000 screws the year before with a brace and bit one at a time plus I had a 90hp Ford under the cockpit but we were sailing not motoring. Great tour and we got to go out with them the next day. It was a killer sub not a boomer. They had all sorts of instruments covered with green covers so we couldn’t see stuff.

 

[angus99]

In the late ‘80s, I was fishing from the beach at Fort Moultrie, SC. and saw a strange looking craft coming up the channel. As it neared, it was clear that it was two vessels, which turned out to be the USS Bonefish—a sub badly damaged by a fire—and the USS Hoist—a salvage ship returning it to port. I’d heard on the news about the tragedy at sea, which claimed some sailors’ lives, but had no idea the stricken sub would pass by my favorite fishing spot where the channel is very close to the island. Soon after, I learned, the Bonefish was decommissioned.

(Not my photo)

 

[hatchetjoe]

The Coast Guard and Navy are always very professional

We live in St Mays and get to see the subs moving in and out regularly. I have always been impressed that the Coast Guard and Navy escort vessels are as courteous to boaters as they can be given the absolute requirement to clear all boats out of the channel since the sub can not stop. The OP said he had his VHF on 16 but from my experience the majority of boaters in Cumberland Sound do not respond when hailed by the sub escorts on VHF, so they have learned it is quicker to just come to you and then hail you over their loud speakers.

A safety note. As the subs clear the boat traffic between Cumberland and Amelia Islands they may accelerate rapidly producing very large wakes (like 7-10 feet) even while they are still within the jetties. It gave us a hell of a roll a coaster ride in a 20 foot bay boat! It was amazing to see such a large boat accelerate so rapidly. So give an outbound sub a wide berth if you are entering the St Marys entrance from the ocean.

 

[danderer]

Our sighting today - only half as good as some others:

 

[Wayne]

My Two Nuc Sub Experiences

About 30 years ago, we were headed to Panama City, FL from New Jersey in our old 46' sailboat. We tried to go into a marina on Charleston Harbor, but the tide was too low as the boat drew 6.6'. So we went out and milled around well out of the ship channel, but still in deep water. A nuclear sub slowly moved up the channel towards Charleston. We were about 1000 yards (guessing) from the channel. The sub angled over towards us and was broadside to us at about 50' distance. Someone, probably the skipper, said over a loudhailer that he just wanted to see our boat up close. It was a Starratt and Jenks 46 sailboat built to Charley Morgan's IOR racing hull specs and was called a Morgan 45. (Starratt and Jenks bought the molds and rights to build the Starratt and Jenks 46 from Charley Morgan, so we were told.)



Then, about 10 years ago, we were on a cruise ship going heading West through the Panama Canal. We were standing on the upper aft deck to watch a nuc (?attack?) sub that had followed us for much of the lake, at a distance, and then moved up to just aft of the cruise ship's stern as it passed through adjacent locks. It never got along side the cruise ship. There was a huge alligator or crocodile with it in the first lock after the lake; we watched as a diver went out and checked the lock for bombs (so we were told by a retired Navy guy). Nothing untoward happened. I was astounded by how fast the sub accelerated from a dead stop outside of the lock, quickly go into the lock, and almost instantly stop again.

 

[Group9]

I was astounded by how fast the sub accelerated from a dead stop outside of the lock, quickly go into the lock, and almost instantly stop again.

There ain't no power like nuclear power!

 

[OldDan1943]

There ain't no power like nuclear power!

Especially when one does not have to worry about some foreign power hearing the cavitation.

"clear the baffles"

 

[Wayfarer]

Our sighting today - only half as good as some others:

Especially when one does not have to worry about some foreign power hearing the cavitation.

"clear the baffles"

CONN SONAR, CRAZY IVAN!

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. W. Russians!

 

[Group9]

Especially when one does not have to worry about some foreign power hearing the cavitation.

"clear the baffles"

Long story, my niece is married to a nuclear submariner. I've asked him several times how fast they could really go and he would never say until one day. He said, "I won't tell you how fast it will go, but I will tell you what the Australian submarine captain who was aboard on a familiarization run with us said, when we went to "flank cavitate" speed".

I said, "Okay, what did he say".

"He said, 'HOLY ****!' "

 

[OldDan1943]

Long story, my niece is married to a nuclear submariner. I've asked him several times how fast they could really go and he would never say until one day. He said, "I won't tell you how fast it will go, but I will tell you what the Australian submarine captain who was aboard on a familiarization run with us said, when we went to "flank cavitate" speed".

I said, "Okay, what did he say".

"He said, 'HOLY ****!' "

20 knots 23 mph
30 knots 34 mph
40 knots 46 mph
50 knots 58 mph

After a certain speed, one is no longer steering the boat, one is flying the boat. SMILE

Any faster and I am leaving via the aft escape hatch, this is gonna be one hell of a crash.

And we lope along at maybe 8 mph

 

[skyhawk]

I toured an attack sub once in Norfolk, as part of a local chapter of the ASME...this was back in the early 1990's...don't recall the name of the boat....
one thing that really jumped out at me was the nice little vinyl covers they had over every instrument that indicated depth or speed.

 

[OldDan1943]

I toured an attack sub once in Norfolk, as part of a local chapter of the ASME...this was back in the early 1990's...don't recall the name of the boat....
one thing that really jumped out at me was the nice little vinyl covers they had over every instrument that indicated depth or speed.

I took my older brother onboard the Madison, with the captain's permission.
No covers in the con nor maneuvering areas, a view into the reactor compartment and a tour of all the engineering space. Folks on watch didn't know how to react..... a stranger in their area.
I guess the walk through took about 20 mins, rather fast. He felt very privileged. (He had a Crypo (sp?) clearance) He got to see things that the average person never gets to see.
His health is bad and cant remember **** these days so any secrets he may have discovered are safe. LOL

 

[High Wire]

There ain't no power like nuclear power!

Amen to that!

 

[localboy]

I toured an attack sub once in Norfolk, as part of a local chapter of the ASME...this was back in the early 1990's...don't recall the name of the boat....
one thing that really jumped out at me was the nice little vinyl covers they had over every instrument that indicated depth or speed.

Ditto but in Pearl. Fast attack sub. All the XO admitted was it “could do 30 knots “.

 

[BruceK]

.. I will tell you what the Australian submarine captain who was aboard on a familiarization run with us said, when we went to "flank cavitate" speed".

I said, "Okay, what did he say".

"He said, 'HOLY ****!' "

Australia is (maybe) buying some new ones(delivery not before 2030) from a French mfr. They come with nuclear power, we asked them to replace that with diesels.
Meanwhile we`ll extend the life of the current diesel ones with total refits.

Meantime I expect we`ll ask certain other countries to delay any attacks while we sort the sub thing out.

 

[PJHoffnet]

Did one DBF ... rest of the time I just was a Hide with pride kinda guy.