Lubber's Line - SSBN 641G in the Tongue of the Ocean.
This was taken in 1982 in an area called the Tongue of the Ocean (TOTO) in the Bahamas. I'm on the USS Simon Bolivar SSBN 641 Gold at the forward end of the missile deck port side. I had just finished my watch on the Radar and ESM in time for a quick photo at the end of a very rare SSBN swim call.
Oh, and the cheek part- I'm sporting a beard. Beards were somewhat of a tradition in U.S. Submarine Service until the Navy did away with them service wide in 1985. They seemed to interfere with the EAB/OBA (face sucker) drills. Now the Canadian Navy is considering the same ban on beards (Intel Scorce: The Sub Report).
Still have the beard only a little grayer.
3 comments:
I sailed USS Tecumseh (SSBN 628)(GOLD) and USS Benjamin Franklin (SSBN 640) on the Decommissioning Crew. Later I sailed USS Florida (SSBN 728)(BLUE), and USS Georgia (SSBN 729)(GOLD) and just retired on 01FEB05.
I often tell the younger sailors about life on the old "41 For Freedom" during those nasty winter patrols in the North Atlantic. That life just doesn't exist anymore. I'm still trying to decide if that is good or bad.
Excellent blog, BTW. I have added you to my blogroll.
+Photi
Ah...the tongue of the ocean...locale for my first swim call (I think I had two or three overall).
Question: in the photo-link you provided, which part is the TOTO--is it that dark, almost round area in the foreground? Must be, but looks small--what do you think?
Glad I came by--really enjoyed your blog. Must stop by more often!
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