HOM: Tacoma II

We peons were kept in the dark about progress on the boat. There was never any official advance word about times or dates or schedules given to us. When we wanted to find out what was going on, we would go ask Joe, the neighborhood barber down by the boatyard. He always seemed to know what was in the wind for us. I guess he chatted with the BUSHIPS rep and other senior folks, because he was rarely wrong in his predictions. It was kind of a relief when he told us we were going out for sea trials -- within a day or so we were out cruising Puget Sound with a load of Brass on board, putting the 98 through its paces. We got a speeding ticket from the Coast Guard. We were doing 40+ knots in relation to the 15 knot current under the Tacoma Narrows bridge, so we really were motating along. I guess our wake endangered some civilian craft. Mom & Dad had decided to attend the commissioning and visit relatives so they were in the area. The Captain did me a favor and gave permission for them to ride along on a demonstration ride. I don't think Mom liked the ride, but Dad sure did. It gave them a taste of what I had been telling them about for the last year or so, though without the seasickness -- Puget Sound was pretty calm. The boat was really put through its paces in all phases of handling, including the emergency stop. A sailor stood at the bow with a buoy while we buzzed along at top speed. When he dropped the buoy, the bridge put the ship to full astern. We were at a dead stop before the buoy was much more than 2/3 of the way down the length of the hull -- 40+knots to zero in a little over a hundred feet. Mom was a little green after that maneuver, but Dad was grinning. Side note: I was standing on a loose deck plate at the rear of the engine room of the Crockett when we once did an emergency stop. I surfed the length of the level deck and did a face plant. Usually they gave a warning to hang on, but they missed that time. TBC (Me) (Home)