Jump to content

CoastieBill

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    3

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Posts posted by CoastieBill

  2. Posted · Report reply

    MAIL BUOY WATCH......

    ''HAY GUY, ITS YOUR TURN TO GO ON ''MAIL BUOY WATCH''......... ''WHATS MAIL BUOY WATCH????''........ ''YOU STAND ON THE BOW OF THE SHIP AND WHEN YOU SEE THE ''MAIL BUOY'' YOU HOOK IT WITH A BOAT HOOK AND THEY STOP THE SHIP AND TAKE THE MAIL ABOARD. ITS KINDA LIKE A MAIL BOX AT SEA''..... So it was on the Norton.... a thousand miles from nothing .... steaming in a circle.....

    Seajay the sailor man...

    I'm not sure if this forum is still active, but I'm on duty and bored out of my gourd. Your story reminds me of a time back in 2003 when I was on watch as the Officer of the Deck onboard US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) ALERT.

    We were steaming box ops, which for those unfamilar is they plot a box for the night on a chart, and your whole purpose in life is to stay in the box and not hit anything. We had just got a new seaman onboard and this was his first underway. He was definately an Okie from Misokie. My Boatswainmate of the watch wanted to pull a prank on him because he truely felt that gullible was the kids middle name. I was an ensign, and saw no harm of a little joke off the coast of mexico in the middle of nowhere.

    So we tell the SN that he's going to recover the mail buoy and we'd be coming up on it soon. First however, he had to get the approprate PPE on. We got him all decked out in a type one PFD, flash gear and hood, battle helmet and clipped a radio to his jacket. We put him down on the bow with a boat hook and started to commence our prank. Now it was about 2am at this time, and pitch black, I had the foresight to clip a glow stick to him so we could see him.

    We radio down, approaching the buoy 200 yds port side. The SN looks in vain. We tell him he missed it. We turn the ship about, tell him it's coming down the starboard side. The kid runs across the deck, and we tell him he missed it.

    Well that went on for about four attempts. I'm trying my best not to bust out laughing while the boatswain mate of the watch is making the radio calls. Well suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. It's the Captain. I figure I'm sunk and there goes my qualification. Well it turns out that the SN on the bow had run into the CO earlier the day before and made the CO spill coffee all down the front of his uniform.

    The CO turns to me and says... "Recovering the Mail Buoy huh?" I say yes sir. He grabs the radio out of the boatswain's mate's hand and transmits to the SN... SN Jones this the Captain, you better get the buoy on the next pass or your butt is grass.

    Semper Paratus,

    Bill

×
×
  • Create New...