USCGC Morgenthau. 378' High Endurance Cutter. 2 Turbine engines and two diesel engines. 4500 tons. Crew of 150.
I was a Quartermaster. Which in a seagoing service is a Navigator. Defined as an art. not a science! Although theres A LOT of math involved when using a sextant.
Homeported in Alameda Ca. across the bay from San Francisco. Which wasnt a shithole in the early 80's.
Primary mission. Enforcing fisheries laws in the Bering Sea and Search and Rescue.
Crossed the Arctic Circle and the Dateline. Sailed through a January typhoon. 55' waves -75F windchill. Ships sank in that storm. And if it had gone on much longer we might have too.
Ive seen more whales than 99% of the population. Orcas pacing the ship and walrus where they live.
Living in a 30 man berthing area my personal space was the size of a phone booth! A hard life but a great experience!
I did 2 years a bit on a wmec out of oregon at the same time era. Did Qmow watches 4 on 8 off for 21 days at a time. Did a lot of fish patrols playing tag with the russian fishing fleet. Yep to the small personal space. I was top rack in the stack right under neath 2 big pipes. They were the shitter pipe and the shower/sink drain pipe. Got to hear when someone flushed. Hell of a crew. We managed to the get the 4th and the 5th E for ops at reftray. Navy was pissed that we outdid everyone in a cutter built in 42.
oldguy 2 points 2 months ago
I did 2 years a bit on a wmec out of oregon at the same time era. Did Qmow watches 4 on 8 off for 21 days at a time. Did a lot of fish patrols playing tag with the russian fishing fleet. Yep to the small personal space. I was top rack in the stack right under neath 2 big pipes. They were the shitter pipe and the shower/sink drain pipe. Got to hear when someone flushed. Hell of a crew. We managed to the get the 4th and the 5th E for ops at reftray. Navy was pissed that we outdid everyone in a cutter built in 42.