So once we become aware of what we are suppose to do, just like in life, things will go much better...  Well back to Key West, during my Navy days...  I had become a seaman, E3 by now and was seeing the world...  Had been to a couple of foreign  countries, Cuba, and Jamacia...  Had been up and down the Atlantic coast Fla to New Port RI and back... And now training at the Fleet Sonar School.... Life was good...

Well if you have read the previous edition, we would operate Mon Thru Thurs, out in the Submarine operating area just south of Key West....  The water was so clear there that one day I was up on lookout, above the bridge and saw the training sub as we passed over it...  You could see the hull number, the antenna sweeps, and of course the screws turning in the water...   The Sub hull is black so did not make out much there...  Neat experience, It was down about 150 FT...  The things you can see if you just pay attention in life....

One day as we were out in the Sub pen as they called it...  We were the containing ship, so was patrolling the parameter and were always watching the merchant ships, going north out in the Gulf Stream passage... [Yes there actually is a movement of water moving constantly north, off the east coast of the USA, it move at about four knots, and varies in width up to half a mile...  So there in the Florida straits, {one of the busy ship ways in the world} all the ships would be in the Gulf Stream getting a free ride north... 

We noticed that on of the freighter was pouring out smoke from the forward hold.. We broke off patrol and went along side to offer assistance...  {BTW the Navy has some of the best, if not the best fire fighting, damage control systems in the world} The ship replied that they had a load of cotton, from Mexico and did not want our assistance...  (Bad hair day; a real bad decision on their part...)  So being international waters, we were obligated to just watch and let them go on their way... {The Navy has foam, that is mixed with the sea water and used to smother fires on board ships.... It would have been easy for our damage control people... But someone decided otherwise... }   SO.....

Well as it turns out the next week we went up to FT Lauderdale, for some R&R; being the Spring Break period....  You know plenty of young wild women.... {if you remember from previous chapter this was the same time; I met those women who came on board the ship, and were looking in the port holes trying to see some naked men} So when we pulled into Port Everglades, we saw this ship all burned out sitting over in the Quarantine Area...  We ask the Cost Guard what happened, (of course we knew) they told that the ship never smothered the fire and so ti just burned the ship up and the ship was disabled and had to be towed into Port Everglades...  {We tried to tell them....} The Coast Guard suspected that they had some dope hidden in the cargo holds and were afraid we would have detained them..  Well they lost either way...

BTW there were women ever where,  I was impressed.... A couple of us rented a motel room right on the beach...  Nice time was had by all....

We will get back to some of these sea stories later, see ya...

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