the most scared I've been (on the boat)

I posted this on http//www.bubbleheads.blogspot.com and figured some of you may enjoy this. for those of you without dolphins, sorry but keep reading.


Please note that I typed this in and then went back and XXX’ed out the stuff that might be sensitive, you have to fill in the blanks.

This event happened when I was the XXLCPO onboard the SSN-XXX out of XXXXXX.

It was your typical “workup” evolution/drill day onboard and I was lucky enough to be the morning-watch EWS. The EDMC and the rest of “us goats” had just re-re-re-arranged the watch bill and gotten us in the “optimum” positions. The midnight watch had graciously finished the drill prep checklist, implying that the whole boat was ready for the fun to commence.

Owing to some unknown forward (coner) issue we failed to slow and get at sat X/X trim just prior to the drill set. We later found out that we were about XXK heavy aft when the set started. The standard “stop the shaft” and a pump shift (XX/XX to XX/XX) not difficult- getting us ready for the main event. The “gagger” of the morning was an unisolable steam line rupture. We took our normal actions and met in shaft alley, I got a head count and reported to the boys in the box. I got up the ladder to look for “steam” in around the EPM controller and the EDMC gave me the wave (with a piece of sheet). The AEA and I went up to shift propulsion on the order and when we got it, he did quite well…almost. The poor bastard couldn’t get the clutch to engage.

I guess this would be an appropriate time for some background on the old EPM. We had a hassle getting shifted to the EPM when undocking (SRA) and on each maneuvering watch since. I would know as I was the Maneuvering watch EWS. Each time one of the magic M-divers would come back and touch it (the clutch) and things would happen. In the end there was a pinhole in the bladder on the XXXX XXXX. On this particular morning the “magic” guy was a drill monitor in ERF.

Things didn’t seem to be going that poorly from where I stood, the steam suit guys were doing their thing, I could hear some machinery starting and stopping according to the established scenario, just my poor little EM3 (SU) looking like I had kicked him in the junk. It was then that I looked into the XXXXX window and noticed that the XXXX was spinning, ASTERN. Not fast mind you but spinning none the less. It was then that I heard an alarm that I was not expecting, that’s right three blasts on the old diving alarm and all hell broke loose. Well not all hell but all of those things that you would expect after 3 blasts on that alarm.

Obviously, we secured the drill and in the debrief we found out that we were at a XXX degree up angle (felt about right for that drill), we were heavy aft and sliding backwards at XX knots passing XXX feet when the CO ordered the blow. It was not as nearly as scary when it was happening as it was when we found out what was really going on.