Do you remember your first cruise, well I do.

[oldhippy]

Back in 1958. Gads that before you were out of diapers. Nasty night to fly in, crew stayed seatbelted, from D.C. To Norfolk . Got to the ship around 11 pm.
After giving my orders to the deck watch, I was directed to the aft berthing area.
Sorry no bedding tonight,mattress and my P coat for a blanket. Oh and the heat was down, burr December is cold there. The next day got even better. For a temp job, four others and myself got to paint the bilge. Very bottom of the ship.
No vent, soon we were laughing and walking in our fresh paint. Then up on deck
For some air. The weeks that followed were miserable, Atlantic in January off New York . But some time it changed. We sailed south. Ah sun shine, and sandy beaches. I'll never forget the first of many things. I guess that why my matto is
As long as it got warm sandy beaches and cold beer, I'll cruise there. Later Ed
Sorry just rambling tonight. USS ROSS DD-563

 

[tirediron]

You've got me beat by a BUNCH of years (but out of respect, I'll keep quiet about the exact number! ), but yeah, I do remember mine as well... born and bred on the west coast, and in typical military fashion, my first draft was to a submarine on the east coast. They were bloody miserable old <female dogs>; running patrol in the G-I-UK gap and snorting, the forward accommodation area was so cold that cleaning water would freeze to the deck; down south in "Rosey" Roads for torpedo training, it routinely hit 150 degrees in the centers when the diesels were shut down. I loved every minute of it!

 

[oldhippy]

Old dogs, but we still go back to the sea.

 

[tirediron]

Old dogs, but we still go back to the sea.

Yep.... something not quite right about us I reckon! :er:

 

[Steve5D]

Got to my first of eight ships, a sub rescue ship, in May of '81.

Stepped of my last ship, an Aegis Class Cruiser, in November of 1997.

These are the ships I served on:

USS Pigeon (ASR-21)
USS Chandler (DDG-996)
USS Ortolan (ASR-22)
USS Pluck (MSO 464)
USS Sentry (MCM-3)
USS Constant (MSO-427)
USS Adroit (MSO-509)
USS Princeton (CG-59)

I retired in January of 2001.

Go back to sea? No, I don't think so...

 

[Buckster]

January of 1977. Sub Tender USS L.Y. Spear out of Norfolk, VA. My first memory out to sea was of all the guys on the mess decks leaning back and forth in unison as the ship rocked it's way through the Atlantic. Spent the rest of that cruise getting initiated into the ways of being one of the Deck Apes.

 

[baturn]

HMCS Saskatchewan. Fall of '64. Hawaii, San Diego and home!

 

[Steve5D]

Spent the rest of that cruise getting initiated into the ways of being one of the Deck Apes.

Oh, what fun that must've been.

I was a Twidget, so I never got to enjoy the fun stuff the deck apes and snipes used to do...

 

[amolitor]

I do, but mine was a little different, since I've never been on the ocean in anything bigger than 53 feet. Apart from the skipper, I was the only one not seasick, so I took it in turns to make the worst-off guys drive, and tried to keep the sails in more or less the right spot all night. Which because more important when the engine conked out. Good times, good times. Nice boat, though, apart from everything breaking.