by P.J. O'Sullivan

Created on: July 30, 2009   Last Updated: July 31, 2009

Maneuvering Watch

I stood below the lower sail hatch and gripped the ladder tight with one hand, tools and harness lanyard in the other. The bow rose at a steep angle then fell with a solid jerk. It rattled the hull and almost knocked me down. Over my shoulder the helmsman's face seemed a pale shade of sick green, his eyes wide with fear. The control room was filled with my shipmates standing their watch preparing to maneuver the submarine through the dangerous Sea of Japan. They all held onto something bolted down for stability. I clung to the ladder and un-dogged the lower sail hatch. Twice I lost my footing and dangled by one arm. Stale air rushed up from the bowls of the submarine and out of the hull breech when I rotated the upper hatch's hydraulic locking ring. Cold spray from waves breaking against the sail blew down the hatch and licked my cheek; because of the pitch, I figured it must be a sea state four or more. I released the safety latch on the hatch door and pulled myself up on the cold, wet steal grate and locked the hatch door open.

The sun was bright and good to see after so long without it. After two months under the water it was an honor to be the first on the boat to see the sun. The cloudless sky was an intense pastel blue and the air was cold and crisp. Perched in the sails upper hatchway I saw a mountain range of waves pitching and rolling stretching out to where the ocean met the sky. I was wrong, it was a solid sea state five probably more; I supposed it was higher than ten. I had never been topside when the waves were so high. I may have under estimated the sea state by about 15. The ocean was ferocious, rigging the flying bridge was gonna be a little rough. I attached my harness' lanyard to a safety D-ring and crawled to the top of the sail. Ignoring my surroundings I went about rigging the bridge using a deck hammer to unscrew the stanchion holders. Because of the cold weather the metal came lose easy. All around me the ocean was in chaos. Wind howled past the open hatch, and pelted me with frozen spray, soaking my dungaree. The spray felt like icy needles piercing my neck. Experience has taught me that speed is everything when working topside in rough conditions. In order to move quickly, I did not don an exposure suit.

I worked fast and had three stanchions up when the sky went dark and the wind stopped roaring. From the corner of my right eye I saw a wall of water cresting over the sail-the hunter

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next Page >>