STRANGE SEA TALES

Telephone Call Saves Explorers:

After ditching their helicopter in Antarctic waters, explorers Steve
Brooks and Quentin Smith spent 9 hours on a life raft and prompted an
international rescue effort.
The two men were headed for an abandoned Soviet base when they were
forced to ditch (reason unknown) 100 smiles short of their goal. Brooks
hurriedly phoned his wife in London via cell phone who in turn alerted
the authorities.
Word got to the RAF Rescue Centre at Kinloss who in turn contacted "HMS
Endurance" (remember her?) in the Falklands.
Well, the old girl chugged alone as fast as her sea legs could carry her
and even launched a Lynx helicopter to speed things up. But it was too
late! The Chilean Navy had already rescued the lads!
It seems the Chileans had been listening on Brooks signal and
had sent a warship to the scene.

The Real Navy “Seals”

The creatures of the sea are protecting American warships.
Two California sea lions Alex and Zachary are protecting US Navy ships
in Gulf waters off Bahrain.
Reuters says the navy uses the animals to locate divers who might do
harm to warships in port. A special clamp is carried by the sea lions
, which is attached to a suspicious swimmer. The clamp is on a line which
leads to a flotation device giving away any intruder.
"The (sea lions) are very valuable in terms of capability and they are
saving lives" said a Navy Special Operations Officer.
The animals are trained not to kill says the navy. They can dive to 1000
feet and race at 25 mph.

MINI NAVAJO NATION ONBOARD SHIP

If you hear Navajo being spoken on the "USS Constellation" it's not
because of a new generation of "code breakers," it's because the crew is
part Navajo. The Arizona Republic, in a profile of the many Navajos in
the Navy, says the service branch has quite a few who are veteran
sailors and have spent time on a variety of ships, always taking Navajo
flags and other memorabilia with them to remind them of home. One sailor
tells the newspaper the way he finds fellow members of the tribe on
large ships is to simply look at the roster of names. Using on-board
e-mail, he then fires off a letter. If the reply comes back in Navajo he
knows he's hit pay dirt. Additionally, he says if you grew up around
Window Rock, Ariz., the center of the Navajo nation, you know you can
spot a fellow Navajo from across the deck. One sailor tells the story of
going up to someone and asking: "Are you from Arizona?" The answer came
back in Navajo.
From the February 19 "Coffee Break" newsletter
Subscribe at: <http://www.shagmail.com/sub/sub-coffee.html>

German Sailors Salute "Churchill"

Just days after the September 11 terror bombings, a German destroyer
honors an American warship.

On Sept. 14, 2001, three days after the vicious attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon, the German destroyer "Lutjens" and the
American guided missile destroyer "Churchill" were saying goodbye. They
had been tied close together at the pier in Plymouth, England and many
of the crew had become good friends.

Both ships were now at sea when the "Lutjens" requested permission to
pass close alongside the Americans. Permission was granted and the
entire crew of the "Churchill" headed topside to bid the Germans
farewell.

The personal account below is from an email sent home by one of
"Churchill's" officers:

"As they (the Germans) were making their approach, our conning
officer...announced that they were flying the American flag. As they
came even closer, we saw it was flying at half mast."

"'Lutjens' came up alongside and we saw that the entire crew of the
German ship were manning the rails in their dress blues. They had made
up a sign that was displayed on the side that read, "We stand by you".
Needless to say there was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed
alongside us for a few minutes and we cut our salutes. It was probably
the most powerful thing I have ever seen in my entire life and more than
a few of us fought to retain our composure".

According to the email one officer on the "Churchill" that day stated,
"I'm staying Navy!"

Source:
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/news/news_stories/pentstruck19.html

Was "Scharnhorst" a Jinx Ship?

The fearsome German battleship was meant to trouble her enemies, but she
troubled her builders from the start.

"Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau" were two 35,000 ton battlecruisers Hitler
ordered built in answer to similar ships being built by France in the
1930's. The twins were very powerful vessels, with 9x11 inch guns and
able to steam 30 knots, yet they were not as powerful as modern allied
battleships. And "Scharnhorst" was known as an unlucky ship.

While still under construction, the supports holding the giant vessel
gave way and she rolled on her side. Sixty one workers were killed
instantly and 110 were wounded,

Hitler, Goering, and Goebbels were to attend the launching of the
Nazi's newest warship, but before they could arrive, the huge cables
holding the massive vessel suddenly parted on their own and
"Scharnhorst" slid down the ways, crashing into two destroyers, causing
much damage.

As WW 2 began, the twins received orders to head to the North Sea.
"Scharnhorst" soon was back in port when a horrific explosion damaged
one of her turrets killing 9 crewmen. Further catastrophe would occur
when 12 more sailors perished after a turret ventilator ceased
functioning.

Note that all these "accidents" occurred beyond enemy action.

About this time the twins would gain fame for sinking the armed merchant
cruiser "Rawalpindi" on Nov. 27, 1939. On April 9, 1940 came an
inconclusive gunfire exchange with "HMS Renown" though the Germans
received the worst of this short fight. In June 1940 the battlecruisers
encountered and sank the aircraft carrier "HMS Glorious" and 2
destroyers.

After this, the twins fled back to base, missing a golden opportunity.
On board a cruiser and a merchant ship fleeing south had been no other
personage than the King of Norway himself, headed to England and exile.

Instead, on the way into port, "Scharnhort's" radar failed and she
blundered into merchant ship "Bremen" a badly needed troop transport,
knocking her out of action for months.

"Scharnhorst" later put to sea on Christmas 1943 without her sister,
searching for a large allied convoy reported in the North Cape area. Too
late she learned of the British battleship "Duke of York" trailing the
convoy.

At 4:30 pm "Duke of York" scored a direct hit below the German's armored
belt. "Scharnhorst's" own shots were shrugged off by the more powerful
British ship. Soon the German was dead in the water and sinking fast.
British destroyers were pounding her with torpedoes.

Finally the end came and the Royal navy picked up only 38 survivors.

Two others did manage to make their way to freedom for a while. Reaching
the coast of Norway, the sailors attempted to warm themselves by
lighting a gas stove they had brought from "Scharnhorst". The leaky
stove suddenly ignited and exploded, killing both. Final revenge for a
jinx ship.