True Story

[Waterwings]

True Story:

Location: Naples, Italy
Year: 1979

While deployed to the Mediterranean on a 6-month cruise, compliments of the US Navy, we were Med-moored to the seawall in Naples, which entailed using the 40' liberty launch boats to get from the ship to the pier. One duty night while I was doing sounding & security (roving fire/flooding watch) I happened to be on the Quarterdeck when one of the boats returned. A long line of sailors were coming aboard and the Chief on duty was pretty busy.

He noticed one young sailor had a bottle of whiskey sticking out of his pocket and stated "Get rid of that!", and kept on with his duties. There after we all heard a splash where something had been thrown over the side. I thought "Well, I guess he got rid of the bottle, until I noticed him walking with a limp now.

Myself and others quickly noticed why he had a limp. He had taken one of his shoes off and tossed it over the side……………..but he still had the bottle!

 

[Jim]

LOL! are you serious?

 

[Waterwings]

LOL! are you serious?

Yep. Give me a few minutes and I'll tell (type) the one about snorkeling in Spain.

 

[Waterwings]

Here you go..............another true story:

Location: Anchored in harbor, Ibiza, Spain
Year: 1975

Wow! Summer time in the Mediterranean in Spain, and we get off everyday at noon if we don't have duty! Today, my buddy Dave (real name) and I are gonna try snorkeling in the harbor near the marina. Shouldn't be to bad a task for a guy from Kentucky and one from Arizona…or so we thought. My buddy Dave was not afraid of anything and often acted before he thought.

This great day we we're out amongst the speed boats that the locals had anchored offshore and we're getting pretty good at the snorkeling, once I learned that you need to exhale after surfacing instead of inhaling for air….all you get is water if you do it wrong. Anyway, we mess around for awhile longer, and we're underwater about 4' and I look over at dave and he's motioning for me to look at something. I look over and there's something below the surface that looks like a stick maybe. All of a sudden I realize what it is, so I'm trying to get his attention while he's steady swimming towards the object……………….too late! He grabs it and immediately lets go and starts shaking his hand trying to get something off of it. My guess was correct. Dave had latched-on to about a foot-long turd hovering below the surface! I literally thought I was gonna drown before I got to the surface (hey, you ever tried to laugh uncontrollably underwater!?).

Once we got back to the beach he's yelling "Don't you dare tell anyone on the ship what happened!". I told him "Sure man, no problem". Guess what I did the minute we got back onboard?


Dave, if you're out there reading this, those were some good times!.........except for the turd incident.

 

[Popeye]

OMG! Is that like noodling for scupper trout?

You ever anchor at GTMO? I'll post a story about there in a bit.

 

[Waterwings]

Heck, I was an HT before I was DC, I know all about them scupper puppies, lol. Got a couple stories concerning that also, lol

Yep, made 3 GTMO visits for REFTRA. We pulled in there once right after the Detroit had dropped her stbd anchor on the brand new concrete pier. That was not a pretty site! lol

Remember the Wind Jammer Club on base!?

 

[Popeye]

I was on an oiler and we got kicked out of there cause "R" division guys were dancing with each other. It wasn't a "GAY" thing, just there were no women in the place. Of course it might have been the brawl that started between ALL of Engineering and some of the crew of some Frigate. Something about long hard hours, hot weather, cheap beer and other sailors bashing your CO and your ship cause it's 40 years old causes guys to get defensive.

 

[Waterwings]

I was on an oiler and we got kicked out of there cause "R" division guys were dancing with each other. It wasn't a "GAY" thing, just there were no women in the place. Of course it might have been the brawl that started between ALL of Engineering and some of the crew of some Frigate. Something about long hard hours, hot weather, cheap beer and other sailors bashing your CO and your ship cause it's 40 years old causes guys to get defensive.

Holy crap! Although I know it was different years we were there, it sounds pretty dang close to a scenario we went through. Something about them R Div guys and cheap beer, although I ws never a part of it, lol :roll: :-$

 

[Popeye]

I was there every year from 1987 to 1992

In 1987, my buddy, Joe a fellow EM2 (Second Class Electrician, E-5) decided that he wanted to swim to the ship. We were anchored out from fleet landing and it was a good 15 minute boat ride from the ship to the landing. Joe decided he could swim it as he was in pretty good shape. Alcohol had also increased his opinion of his condition and swimming abilities. Too bad for Joe he decided to start from Cable Beach which was quite a distance away and around the point. Well, when he got close enough to start heading out deeper towards the ship he realized that he couldn’t make it. He decided in his infinite wisdom to swim to the closest thing available which was an oil containment boom. Unfortunately the oil boom was around an Amphib ship with a detachment of trigger happy Marines on board. They called away a security alert and there were armed Marines aiming real big guns at him insisting he let go of the boom and swim away. Joe was too tired and tried to explain who he was and why he was there. It of course didn’t help that Joe is very Italian and with the extra sun in Cuba, he was pretty tan, black hair and out of regulation moustache, drunk and calling the Marines, amigos. Fortunately the Amphib radioed our ship and our OOD confirmed we did in fact have a sailor with the name he provided as a crew member. All our CO did was make him a liberty risk for the remaining time at GTMO, 2 more days. You ever try to sneak a drunk 3’ iguana aboard a ship?

 

[Waterwings]

ROFL ! :lol: That's a good one! :lol:

I was there every year from 1987 to 1992

I take it you liked it there, lol :lol: . Were the Staff ship-riders still wearing white t-shirts, cut-off khaki shorts and black socks, lol? They always reminded me of older tourists you'd see in Florida or somewhere tropical.

 

[Popeye]

I take it you liked it there, lol :lol:

Oh, sure. Booked a cruise there every year through the same travel agent based in the funny 5 sided building in Washington D.C.

 

[Waterwings]

I take it you liked it there, lol :lol:

Oh, sure. Booked a cruise there every year through the same travel agent based in the funny 5 sided building in Washington D.C.

Yeah those guys always get their customers there; used them a few times myself...but it always turned-out to be one of those dang working cruises, lol.

 

[Popeye]

Yeah those guys always get their customers there; used them a few times myself...but it always turned-out to be one of those dang working cruises, lol.

And NOT one of those barefoot windjammer working cruises either. :lol:

 

[Waterwings]

You ever see the British Navy? Those guys run around ship in shorts and sandals! No way would I wear that stuff on a combatant ship. Of course, they have beer onboard..................so they probably don't realize they've been hurt in them sandals, lol.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Flounder - those stories are great! I am LMAO at them

Now explain why they always involve a "friend"? Good thing you were not doing anything crazy or stupid I bet. :shock:

 

[Popeye]

Did I mention an Iguana?