What do you miss most about being out at sea?

2014-07-14T00:06:14-04:00

Landlubbers feel free to pipe in about your deployments. I realize its apples and oranges, but as they say in the Navy, "Choose your rate, choose your fate."

Personally, I miss sleeping in my berthing above the screws while the ship is at flank speed. It is quite simply the best sleep I have ever had. That and being out on the fantail after a mid-watch on a moonlit night and a glass-like sea - beautiful.

Response by SN Sean Willson made Jul 14 at 2014 10:06 AM

2014-07-14T10:06:03-04:00

I miss the peace of a sapphire blue sea at sunset. Seeing a pod of orca off the coast of Norway. Seeing dolphins bow surfing in the Caribbean. A bad ass storm, yes I know I'm crazy.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2014 10:52 AM

2014-07-14T10:52:24-04:00

Free flowing vulgarities, smoking on crew's mess after coming off mission, and Spaghetti Wednesdays, probably my favorite meal underway. Also the circle game....

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2014 10:56 AM

2014-07-14T10:56:09-04:00

Ahh...what do I miss about being at sea? I miss feeling and hearing the ship - if you listen well she'll tell how she's doing, how the weather is outside and what kind of shipdriver is at the helm (SN Jones - still doesn't know where my pivot point is, keeps messing up on the followup). I miss hearing the engines spin up, the main reduction gear begin it's rapid run up to Flank speed and the props start thrashing the ocean telling everyone "Here I come! Watch me RUN!"

I miss getting up 2 hours before dawn at sea, grabbing a cup of coffee and going out on deck to watch the sun make his dramatic presence known, feeling the colors of the sky deep in my bones. Smelling the rain coming, without seeing the clouds.

I miss the storms - feeling the ship twist, turn, dip and rise. I miss the ship telling me we have a following sea and all is well. I miss the ship's bell telling me what time it is without needing a watch.

I miss sailing on a smooth as glass ocean - no one else but the ship and the ocean.

I miss being at sea......

Response by SrA Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2014 6:01 PM

2014-07-14T18:01:29-04:00

Morehouse, you bring back so many memories. The fantail is a great area to hang out after midnight. I love hearing the waves crash against the ship. I miss those days!! I also liked watching the sunrise or sunset from the Hangar Bay.

I used to be stationed on the USS Carl Vinson. I miss lying in the catwalk in full flight deck uniform during night ops and feeling the sea waves below me as I look up at the stars, enjoying a brief moment of rest before we start the next round of launches.

I worked in the Waist Catapult Work Center and loved it. I used to run from the Waist to the Bow to help launch aircraft as well and I loved being at the forward part of the ship. Once we launched from there, I'd run to the Waist and prep the deck for recovery. It was such an adrenaline rush. It was always high ops tempo.

I loved being on deck. There is no other awesome feeling than being on the flight deck helping launch and recover aircraft.

One of my other favorite things I miss is flexing the Jet Blast Deflectors (JBDs). We would stand around it and make prop signals to let people know to watch for moving parts.

I loved my job. I loved V-2. Grease Monkey for life!

Response by CWO3 Brent Kern made Jul 15 at 2014 6:09 AM

2014-07-15T06:09:28-04:00

From an embarked Marine stand point, I miss the constant noise and controlled chaos of ship life. After my first deployment I could not sleep if it was quiet.

On a side note, I learned just how much power the BM1 really holds...for any other non-navy people on here; if "Boats" says to do something just do it...I spent plenty of time with a needle gun in my hands removing non-skid for spitting on the deck and not cleaning it up in a timely manner. Oh, I do miss it.

Response by LT Jessica Kellogg made Jul 15 at 2014 5:20 PM

2014-07-15T17:20:40-04:00

I was just thinking about this the other day. I miss the reveille songs..

I also miss seeing the phosphorescence at night and just watching the water.
I miss being in the wardroom. I miss the smell of the ship. I miss hearing the bosun's pipe. I miss being on the bridge and knowing that I'm telling a billion dollar warship where to go.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2014 8:14 PM

2014-08-14T20:14:29-04:00

The rush of being on the flight deck. The sleep you get from the rocking of the ship. The view. Watching the news as North Korea is pissing itself cause your off their coast doing only God knows what in the air. Watching the Sea filled with jelly fish that light up at night.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 14 at 2014 11:02 PM

2014-08-14T23:02:22-04:00

I miss the diverse people I meet, the food, culture.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Aug 14 at 2014 11:05 PM

2014-08-14T23:05:50-04:00

Standing at a porthole in the aft end of the ship at night, watching the bioilluminescence roiled up in the wake..So peaceful..

Response by PO2 Terry Lewis made Sep 27 at 2014 2:44 PM

2014-09-27T14:44:41-04:00

Simply put I miss the smell of the open sea.... it's just different than anything you can get in the harbor or beach or.... anywhere.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2014 3:01 PM

2014-09-27T15:01:14-04:00

After spending 1 year, 1 month and 21 days at sea, I miss the night sky where you can see everything from horizon to horizon, the blue of the ocean especially during dead seas, and mid rats.

Response by PO2 Anthony Gick made Sep 29 at 2014 3:05 PM

2014-09-29T15:05:30-04:00

Flight ops and fishing off the fantail

Response by MCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 1 at 2014 5:08 PM

2014-10-01T17:08:27-04:00

Shipmates, beautiful sunrises, amazing sunsets, standing out on the bridge wing while cruising along on a nice day, great port calls, and pizza night. I always enjoyed watching how the different departments would creative on those Saturday nights and what they would come up with for food ideas.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 13 at 2015 11:48 AM

2015-01-13T11:48:14-05:00

Something only Submariners will know: I miss sliding down the passageway on a cardboard box during angles and dangles, lol...

Response by PO2 Steven Erickson made Jan 13 at 2015 12:18 PM

2015-01-13T12:18:56-05:00

Angles and Dangles. Definitely miss those.

And the three EBs I've lived through...

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jan 14 at 2015 11:38 AM

2015-01-14T11:38:42-05:00

I lived about 50 of my 72 years as a sailor, but never joined the Navy or Coast Guard (but that's another story). I've been asea on everything from a dory to a tallship on which I served as a topmast sailor (look it up if you don't understand). I've sailed in a hurricane on a 42 boat and survived countless gales and storms. Thus, I feel qualified to participate in this discussion...

There's a lot that I miss about it, but mostly are the nights. When the sun, that great engine that drives all weather, sets and things generally calm down, there is nothing like it.

Once, while sailing on a brig in a gently rolling swell without the intrusion of a mechanical engive to defile the night, the hawse pipe picked up water as the bow dipped and sluiced it in search of scuppers carrying bioluminescent creatures in the wash of it. It was like watching fairies dance across the deck.

On another night while sleeping in the cockpit of a sloop at anchor off Catalina Island, I awoke and looked straight into the heart of heaven where a comet chased its tail across the Milky Way.

How many other tales could I share? Beyond count...

No, I don't have photos. These are moments that it would be sacrilege to capture. They must float forever free in our memories.

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2015 9:58 AM

2015-01-15T09:58:38-05:00

I have only been on a fishing boat in the atlantic and spent most of my time hanging my head of the edge and puking. That was some 25 years ago. More power to you folks who don't get sea sick.

Response by PO2 Mark Saffell made Mar 17 at 2015 8:22 PM

2015-03-17T20:22:24-04:00

I use to sit on the Port catwalk on the Enterprise forwar watching the water pass under. Hearing the ship cut through the water with the warm breeze in my face. Very relaxing.

Response by PO2 David Hagwood made Mar 17 at 2015 8:28 PM

2015-03-17T20:28:23-04:00

Even when we're not out at sea, I still take Carnival cruises just to satisfy my love of being out to sea and just having fun and relaxing. I still have a good bit of time left in the Navy, though. I sleep better on the ship, I like the deep Navy blue sea, and I really enjoy watching the water as we move through at full speed. No matter how many times I've seen it, I still think it's impressive that a beast like a super carrier can move as it does. :-)

Response by PO3 Taylor Clark made Mar 18 at 2015 9:44 AM

2015-03-18T09:44:56-04:00

Lookin at the stars up on vultures row at dark-thirty. So beautiful.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 9:49 AM

2015-03-18T09:49:35-04:00

The sunrise and morning star time. Would go back to that in a New York Minute.

Response by SSgt Dan Montague made Mar 18 at 2015 10:04 AM

2015-03-18T10:04:36-04:00

I have deployed 5 times with the MEU and spent time on 6-7 ships. Can't say much for my first deployment. We were on the USS Anchorage LSD 36. She was HOT!!!!!! a/c went out all the time, sewage backed up several times to the point of running into the berthing areas. To top it off, we were by Somalia in the summer time. The others were fun.
I do miss the easy rocking, star filled nights and most of all, loading out for an operation. Nothing gets you going more on a float then getting a mission statement then prepping for what we do best.
(No not sleeping 13 hours a day on ship) thats our second mission

Response by Sgt Cody Dumont made Sep 9 at 2015 11:23 PM

2015-09-09T23:23:24-04:00

Absolutely nothing

Response by MCPO Douglas Pennington made Jul 12 at 2016 7:05 AM

2016-07-12T07:05:08-04:00

It might have been fast passed but it was so much easier deployed than at home work wise. Everyone knew what they had to do, work, eat, sleep for 180+ days. Fewer personal headaches. Love ONREP, I had me a stoop on the starboard catwalk and i could clear my head and get my thoughts together. Carrier life was great.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 12 at 2016 9:11 AM

2016-07-12T09:11:25-04:00

I just changed a terrible diaper. Nuff said. The *****SHIP***** used to be called a big steel prison, now the only prison is the country of Japan and its horrid liberty rules. Take me back to the *****SHIP***** ASAP.

Response by PO2 Kermit Obermeyer made Jul 12 at 2016 10:18 AM

2016-07-12T10:18:30-04:00

Served on 3 destroyers FTG - steamed over 150,000 nautical miles and have been on all major oceans - enjoyed the salt air the quite, the routine (most of the time) and open views while at sea - plus we knew that there was always something new ahead. Enjoyed the Stars and seeing satellites at nite.
So we learned to cooperate and get our jobs done. It was a mutual effort! Enjoy the other posts...

Response by CPO Mark Lovelace, CSP made Jul 12 at 2016 10:24 AM

2016-07-12T10:24:54-04:00

1. Coming home. 2. Morning coffee on the fantail. 3. Midnight stars in mid-ocean. 4. Shipmates. 5. Mail call! (this is probably no big deal in the era of e-mail, facebook, etc, but in my day it was)

Response by PO2 Charles Cowen Jr. made Jul 12 at 2016 10:28 AM

2016-07-12T10:28:58-04:00

I miss the relief of stress, when i was at sea, i had next to no worries,i miss doing unreps, and mid rats,i miss the friendship

Response by SCPO Ken Badoian made Jul 12 at 2016 10:35 AM

2016-07-12T10:35:58-04:00

0400 to 0800 - Fresh hot stick buns (complements of the night baker) washed down with a cup of good, strong main control (engine room coffee) then when relieved a break topside to catch the morning breeze and then followed by breakfast in the CPO mess. Also the give and take in the mess between the good guys (engineers/snipes) and all the other non-believers. If there is no turning and burning they have to understand there is no power, but of course it is all good natured except when you have blown boiler tubes on the 0400 watch and the Officer of the deck did not tell the ships bos'n. Oh well I would go back in a minute if I could.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Jul 12 at 2016 11:03 AM

2016-07-12T11:03:05-04:00

If you spend 21 years, most of it sea duty, it tends to lose its luster, trust me.

Response by LT Steven Roll made Jul 12 at 2016 11:33 AM

2016-07-12T11:33:43-04:00

Sunrises from the bridge. Spectacular....

Response by Maj John Bell made Jul 12 at 2016 11:58 AM

2016-07-12T11:58:13-04:00

How great I felt going ashore, by brow, landing craft, or helo.

Response by PO2 Robert Cuminale made Jul 12 at 2016 1:11 PM

2016-07-12T13:11:58-04:00

Sea? What's that? I was a SEABEE.

Response by PO1 Robin Slusher made Jul 12 at 2016 2:36 PM

2016-07-12T14:36:38-04:00

I'll agree;the best sleep ever. Also, the monotony! Yes, really. Although I wouldn't want it indefinitely, not having to face traffic and run errands and go to appointments was a nice break. Most of all though, pulling into a foreign liberty port was the absolute best part. I never went to Starbucks or McDonald's or Hard Rock Cafe though. I figured, I didn't cross an ocean to go somewhere I could go at home. I sought out the little mom and pop shops and restaurants. Loved it!

Response by PO1 Robin Slusher made Jul 12 at 2016 2:41 PM

2016-07-12T14:41:25-04:00

I'm guessing everyone might have seen this but, just in case...this pretty much sums up how I feel about being at sea.
Reflections of a Blackshoe

By

Vice Admiral Harold Koenig, USN (Ret), M.D.

I like the Navy,
I like standing on the bridge wing at sunrise with salt spray in my face and clean ocean winds whipping in from the four quarters of the globe - the ship beneath me feeling like a living thing as her engines drive her through the sea.

I like the sounds of the Navy - the piercing trill of the boatswains pipe, the syncopated clangor of the ship's bell on the quarterdeck, the harsh squawk of the 1MC and the strong language and laughter of sailors at work.

I like Navy vessels - nervous darting destroyers, plodding fleet auxiliaries, sleek submarines and steady solid carriers.

I like the proud names of Navy ships: Midway, Lexington, Saratoga, Coral Sea - memorials of great battles won.

I like the lean angular names of Navy 'tin-cans" Barney, Dahlgren, Mullinix, McCloy, -mementos of heroes who went before us.

I like the tempo of a Navy band blaring through the topside speakers as we pull away from the oiler after refueling at sea.

I like liberty call and the spicy scent of a foreign port. I even like all hands working parties as my ship fills herself with the multitude of supplies both mundane and exotic which she needs to cut her ties to the land and carry out her mission anywhere on the globe where there is water to float her.

I like sailors, men from all parts of the land, farms of the Midwest, small towns of New England, from the cities, the mountains and the prairies, from all walks of life. I trust and depend on them as they trust and depend on me - for professional competence, for comradeship, for courage. In a word, they are"shipmates."

I like the surge of adventure in my heart when the word is passed "Now station the special sea and anchor detail - all hands to quarters for leaving port", and I like the infectious thrill of sighting home again, with the waving hands of welcome from family and friends waiting pierside.
The work is hard and dangerous, the going rough at times, the parting from loved ones painful, but the companionship of robust Navy laughter, the 'all for one and one for all' philosophy of the sea is ever present.

I like the serenity of the sea after a day of hard ship's work, as flying fish flit across the wave tops and sunset gives way to night.

I like the feel of the Navy in darkness - the masthead lights, the red and green navigation lights and stern light, the pulsating phosphorescence of radar repeaters - they cut through the dusk and join with the mirror of stars overhead.

And I like drifting off to sleep lulled by the myriad noises large and small that tell me that my ship is alive and well, and that my shipmates on watch will keep me safe. I like quiet midwatches with the aroma of strong coffee - the lifeblood of the Navy - permeating everywhere.

And I like hectic watches when the exacting minuet of haze-gray shapes racing at flank speed keeps all hands on a razor edge of alertness.

I like the sudden electricity of "General quarters, general quarters, all
hands man your battle stations", followed by the hurried clamor of running feet on ladders and the resounding thump of watertight doors as the ship transforms herself in a few brief seconds from a peaceful workplace to a weapon of war - ready for anything.

And I like the sight of space-age equipment manned by youngsters clad in dungarees and sound-powered phones that their grandfathers would still recognize.

I like the traditions of the Navy and the men and women who made them. I like the proud names of Navy heroes: Halsey, Nimitz, Perry, Farragut, John Paul Jones.

A sailor can find much in the Navy: comrades-in-arms, pride in self and country, mastery of the seaman's trade. An adolescent can find adulthood.
In years to come, when sailors are home from the sea, they will still remember with fondness and respect the ocean in all its moods -the impossible shimmering mirror calm and the storm-tossed green water surging over the bow. And then there will come again a faint whiff of stack gas, a faint echo of engine and rudder orders, a vision of the bright bunting of signal flags snapping at the yardarm, a refrain of hearty laughter in the wardroom and chief's quarters and messdecks. Gone ashore for good they will grow wistful about their Navy days, when the seas belonged to them and a new port of call was ever over the horizon.
Remembering this, they will stand taller and say,

"I WAS A SAILOR ONCE. I WAS PART OF THE NAVY, AND THE NAVY WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF ME."

Response by PO1 Cliff Heath made Jul 12 at 2016 4:03 PM

2016-07-12T16:03:03-04:00

Pretty much everything SHIPMATES, PORTS OF CALL, THE ROLL OF THE SHIP AT NIGHT, THE VIEW, DOLPHINS, PORPOISES, FLING FISH, BIOLUMINESCENCE WAKE AT NIGHT, rough seas.. After serving on USS ENTERPRISE CVN-65 as an ABH-3, i NAVET program to GMG PLANKOWNER ON USS VINCENNES CG-49 as first AEGIS in Pacific we were damn proud we did a lot of underway tests including CINCPAC CHANGE OF COMMAND on board for ADM. ACE LYONS. We used to bag on our sister the USS VALLEY FORGE CG-50 FOR BEING WELDED TO THE PIER AT NAS CORONADO. It was amazing that you didn't notice the noise the ship made but if something shut down it would wake everybody up, wondering what was going on lol. My last ship was USS ELLIOT DD-967,I have to say while proud to serve on CVN-65 give me a small boy any day loved it. One of the best parts was hearing set the Sea & Anchor Detail and as the aft line gunner the excitement of seeing new places for the first time or anytime for that matter. But the new foreign ports were exciting as hell. I don't know why but Pusan Korea always sticks with all the rock islands stick up reminded me of "The man with the Golden Gun." Yeah I miss it all, kick myself for getting out, always wanted to serve on an ARLEIGH BURKE never got to. You can take the sailor from the sea but you can't take the sea from the sailor. once it is in your blood it never leaves you. I miss it everyday.

Response by SN Bert Morse made Jul 12 at 2016 4:41 PM

2016-07-12T16:41:36-04:00

I miss that one cold spot on my grill where I used to crack an egg and it would move with the ship. It would make the new guys sick as hell. Oh and the SEA BATS

Response by PO3 Scott Alexander made Jul 12 at 2016 5:52 PM

2016-07-12T17:52:28-04:00

I miss being way out to sea and laying on the fantail late and night and just watching the stars pass over the ship

Response by PO2 David Allender made Jul 12 at 2016 6:24 PM

2016-07-12T18:24:55-04:00

i miss the taste of really fresh water on board ship. They convert salt water to fresh and reduce the amount o particulates in the water to very, very low numbers for the boilers. i miss sunrise and sunset at sea. The smell of salt water, and sweet water when near a shower at sea. The comrade of guys I am working with. There is a closeness that isn't felt in the civilian world.

Response by SN Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 12 at 2016 6:33 PM

2016-07-12T18:33:46-04:00

The view from the bridge and the clean night air

Response by PO2 Thomas Bodine made Jul 12 at 2016 6:42 PM

2016-07-12T18:42:02-04:00

Stopped, dead in the water on a glassy sea off Saudi Arabia in the early morning.

Cruising at any speed in the tropics at night, watching the florescence of the ships wake rolilng over and by.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jul 12 at 2016 6:44 PM

2016-07-12T18:44:12-04:00

Nothing! This Air Force guy hid to spend 90 days on the USS LaSalle. That was way more time on a ship than I wanted. My regards to all you Navy vets who do this as a matter of course.

Response by PO1 Kevin Arnold made Jul 12 at 2016 11:09 PM

2016-07-12T23:09:22-04:00

Well I don't miss being out to sea, for each time I came back I kissed the ground that was on U.S soil. The smell was pretty bad with the amine, diesel, body oder, and just plain old funk.

Response by PO1 Chris Vogel made Jul 13 at 2016 2:05 AM

2016-07-13T02:05:54-04:00

The whine of the turbines, the gentle whooshing of the ocean as she cut through the still quite waters on a cloudless night with the sky so lit up with stars you could read a book in their light.

Response by PO2 Dale Brown made Jul 14 at 2016 10:29 AM

2016-07-14T10:29:52-04:00

I'll tell you what I DONT MISS- the afterhead on a SAM ADAMS class DDG- If you've been there underway, you know exactly what I mean!

Response by LT Bob McFarland DC USNR (Ret'd) made Jul 19 at 2016 12:56 PM

2016-07-19T12:56:27-04:00

I guess what I miss most about being at sea is watching my soup sway from one edge of the bowl to the other as the ship pitched and tossed in the sea. It just made me aware of the fact that I was just another individual in this world and I was tossing and swaying with the world's personality. Also miss hanging out in the chain locker room where I could grab an enjoyable smoke while listening to the ship churning through the waves.

Response by CPO Michael Callegri made Jul 22 at 2016 4:02 PM

2016-07-22T16:02:01-04:00

You guys are all making me wish I could run and reenlist right now. I always remember sleeping better than I do at home even now. There's nothing more fun than standing a Mid Watch on the Quarterdeck while your anchored out. Watching those that had too much fun on liberty trying to climb out of the Liberty Board and up the ladder. Some of the best and funniest times. There's also no better feeling of brotherhood with your shipmates who out to sea with you.

Response by SCPO Ken Badoian made Aug 4 at 2016 5:49 PM

2016-08-04T17:49:53-04:00

Shipmates, the ship, and of course the sea.

Response by PO3 Ron Bass made Sep 1 at 2016 5:02 PM

2016-09-01T17:02:15-04:00

I miss sitting on the fantail in heavy seas and watching the power of the sea