Posted on Jul 14, 2014
What do you miss most about being out at sea?
13.8K
243
104
18
18
0
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.
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.
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 49
10
10
0
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.
(10)
(0)
9
9
0
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.
(9)
(0)
7
7
0
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......
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......
(7)
(0)
PO2 Christopher Morehouse
Amen, I hated work at the homeport or in the yards, but I loved it at sea.
(3)
(0)
SrA (Join to see)
Medley, you're making me tear up. You describe it like a true sailor. I know exactly how you feel. I often look at my pictures and miss those good times before things got bad.
PO1 (Join to see) PO2 Christopher Morehouse For you
This pic was sometime around 2000, I believe. We were just getting ready to launch an F-18 from the catapult. I can smell the JP-5, feel the wind in my face, and hear the jet engine props right now...
PO1 (Join to see) PO2 Christopher Morehouse For you
This pic was sometime around 2000, I believe. We were just getting ready to launch an F-18 from the catapult. I can smell the JP-5, feel the wind in my face, and hear the jet engine props right now...
(3)
(0)
PO1 (Join to see)
SrA (Join to see)
You're most welcome. There is no greater honor than to serve onboard a ship. For every sailor the time onboard is always reminded of their service in a bitter-sweet manner. May time allow the bitter taste fade and the good memories stay to the fore.
You're most welcome. There is no greater honor than to serve onboard a ship. For every sailor the time onboard is always reminded of their service in a bitter-sweet manner. May time allow the bitter taste fade and the good memories stay to the fore.
(3)
(0)
CPT (Join to see)
Love and miss being at sea. Nothing better than enjoying a cup of coffee as the sun rises on the ocean, with nothing else in sight than water and the ship. The smells, the sounds, and the best sleep ever! The gentle hum and vibration of the screws below the berthing would put me to sleep in about 2 minutes, can't beat that. And of course, being able to shoot our weapon systems off the flight deck almost daily, nothing better.
(3)
(0)
7
7
0
Free flowing vulgarities, smoking on crew's mess after coming off mission, and Spaghetti Wednesdays, probably my favorite meal underway. Also the circle game....
(7)
(0)
PO2 Pete Donahue
John, I don't even want to know what the Navy's "circle game" is.. Some questions are better left unasked.
(1)
(0)
PO2 David Wagner
I never quite understood the "puddle pirate" references, nor the knee-deeps. While I am less than six feet tall and a good swimmer, I was never able to walk ashore. I EARNED my Sea Service ribbon, along with my Antarctic Service Medal x 2 and my Arctic Service Medal. I've crossed the equator four times and the dateline twice. I transited the Panama Canal three times and went around Cape Horn. In my 48 month Coast Guard enlistment, I was underway for 38 months. In my 172 member AMVETS post, I am one of two Coasties. Of the former Navy members, most spent their time as Seabees, in shore installations or tied to a pier. Few saw the world as described by their recruiters. They depend on me for the sea stories.
I miss a lot things about going to sea. As others have described, I miss the tranquility of the ocean late at night. I miss 20 degree rolls in the Cape Cod Canal and the 45s and 50s in a South Pacific typhoon. What I think I miss the most is the shear power of a ship that could grind through ice more than 20 feet thick and the sounds that it makes against the hull.
I miss a lot things about going to sea. As others have described, I miss the tranquility of the ocean late at night. I miss 20 degree rolls in the Cape Cod Canal and the 45s and 50s in a South Pacific typhoon. What I think I miss the most is the shear power of a ship that could grind through ice more than 20 feet thick and the sounds that it makes against the hull.
(1)
(0)
PO1 Cliff Heath
PO2 Katie Benson - My niece is serving her country in USCG and I am damn proud of her. Her first station was at Ilwaco MLBS and she would go out over the Columbia Bar. They don't call it the "Graveyard of the Pacific" for nothing. USCG ARE SAILORS you would be surprised to see where they have been and are today. Plus putting their asses on the line to save others. SEMPER PARATUS. Like Navy some are lucky enough to be aboard ship and see the world. 9 1/2 yrs. and never wanted shore duty except for schools.
(0)
(0)
6
6
0
5
5
0
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.
(5)
(0)
5
5
0
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!
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!
(5)
(0)
PO2 Christopher Morehouse
I'm glad I brought back goods memories. So many of us saw or experienced something bad in our time that we should focus on the good as we move on.
You skittles definitely had a world unto yourselves up on deck. If the deck had a zero in front, I felt weird being there as an engineering bubba. Though, I did enjoy the times we didn't have an admiral on board and I would go to the flag bridge where the officers had hidden a bike and a treadmill in there. Great views up there.
Fair winds and following seas, ABE3.
You skittles definitely had a world unto yourselves up on deck. If the deck had a zero in front, I felt weird being there as an engineering bubba. Though, I did enjoy the times we didn't have an admiral on board and I would go to the flag bridge where the officers had hidden a bike and a treadmill in there. Great views up there.
Fair winds and following seas, ABE3.
(3)
(0)
CAPT Charles Weishar
I spent time on three carriers and can well understand the adrenaline rush, the winds on the ocean and its fragrance -- plus the drive and seriousness of working round the clock. Good times indeed !
(0)
(0)
3
3
0
3
3
0
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.
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.
(3)
(0)
CPT Jack Durish
The Brig Pilgrim at Dana Point is manned by an all volunteer crew who are repaid for their hard work by being allowed to sail the ship every year. You'll need to study Eagle Seamanship to learn the theory and then practice on board the Pilgrim to learn the ropes. The first task every Spring is tarring the rigging.
Now that you've read all the O'Brian books, go back and read Hornblower. You'll be struck by the similarities in some of the adventures. Is it coincidence? Of course not. Both are founded on the real life adventures of Lord Cochran. His biography "Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain" are even more exciting than the fictional captains who sailed in his wake.
Then read the books of Frederick Marryat. He served under Cochrane and went on to a distinguished naval career as a British frigate captain. As someone who stood on the deck of a wooden warship in some 52 engagements, his stories are riddled with cannon fire and bullets that you can almost hear and feel. Like a beloved grandfather telling tales beside a fire, he often lapses into personal accounts of his own exploits when his story touches on a scene that reminds him of one.
Enjoy
Now that you've read all the O'Brian books, go back and read Hornblower. You'll be struck by the similarities in some of the adventures. Is it coincidence? Of course not. Both are founded on the real life adventures of Lord Cochran. His biography "Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain" are even more exciting than the fictional captains who sailed in his wake.
Then read the books of Frederick Marryat. He served under Cochrane and went on to a distinguished naval career as a British frigate captain. As someone who stood on the deck of a wooden warship in some 52 engagements, his stories are riddled with cannon fire and bullets that you can almost hear and feel. Like a beloved grandfather telling tales beside a fire, he often lapses into personal accounts of his own exploits when his story touches on a scene that reminds him of one.
Enjoy
(0)
(0)
PO1 Cliff Heath
Hey CAPT JACK when i was young and living on the coast of Oregon at Pacific City, I used to commercial fish on dories that went out through the surf at Cape Kiwanda 20'-24' open, flat bottomed for sliding up on the beach. Was great times in my life, really got Mother Ocean in my blood major reason i joined Navy.
(1)
(0)
CPT Jack Durish
PO2 Christopher Morehouse - One of my shipmates on the Brig Pilgrim served as a crewman on the ship in Master and Commander. Inasmuch as he had so much sailing experience on tall ships he became an unofficial consultant. He appears briefly at the beginning of the film as a boatswain moving in the dark 'tween decks.
(1)
(0)
CPT Jack Durish
PO1 Cliff Heath - The dory I used to row was as light as a feather and fast. Loved rowing it
(1)
(0)
3
3
0
Angles and Dangles. Definitely miss those.
And the three EBs I've lived through...
And the three EBs I've lived through...
(3)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google