Sea Story from Chief Bob Dwinell.

On the return trip from WesPac in, I believe 1962 we took the great northern circle back with beautiful steaming weather except for a persistent beam sea that always seemed to shift as we dog legged our course and remained on our beam. Talk about rock and roll! Well, one day I believe I had Chief of the Watch and we're steaming along aft on 2 main engines, 80/90, when all of the sudden throughout the boat we experienced an increasing vacuum that all snorkel sailors know well when the head valve cycles shut, at the same time we started to roll, but instead of rolling back we just hung there for a few seconds then started to roll more, I believe to port, this happened again in rapid succession until we had, I believe gone over some 47 degrees and hung there and at the same time salt water started pouring down through the conning tower lower hatch into the COC. I was hanging onto something when I saw the tr/tp panel lights for the outboard exhaust valves for number 3 and 4 main engines go shut as did both engine room air induction valves ,as a snipe I could feel the engines go off line amidst all the smashing and crashing from loose gear going adrift.

I grabbed the first Chief to come into the COC and gave him the watch and raced for the engine rooms. When I went through the w.t.; door into the FER it looked like a scene from Dante's Inferno.Water was still dripping from the induction shrouds onto a sodden deck, gear all over the place, I continued aft to the After Engine Room, same scenario but one thing stillsticks in my mind, there on the side of number 4 main engine was a big ol' greasy foot print where the Throttleman, Gordo White had stood while shutting down.

A rogue sea had steamed up from astern and just rolled lazily up the aft deck and engulfed the chariot bridge. Fortunately one of the guys on the bridge spotted it before going under and called out so that the bridge watch all got a tight hold onto something or we might have had a man overboard drill.

Needless to say we immediately got everything back on line and continued on our way HOME, all the while pumping bilge's and swabbing decks.

Bob Dwindle ENCS(SS) USN (Retired) SPINAX 1961-64