Sea Stories Index
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Sea Stories

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Those of you that haven't spent hours at a watchstation underway might wonder what a "Sea Story" is. In a functional sense, it is little more than an anecdote or short tale of an event or events that took place in the life of the story-teller while on-board the submarine.

For the story-teller, it could be bragging, boasting, decompression, passing on of critical truths, teaching the unqualified, or a hundred other things. For the listeners, it was always taken with a grain of salt, because sea stories had a way of evolving, in which the story-teller always became the 'good guy', and the tale, despite having taken on the proportions of Paul Bunyan and the blue ox, Babe, was still unarguably "true". Whatever it was about, it usually started with the expression "this is a no-s_____r".

Regardless of who was talking and who was listening, sea stories were a way of life, a part of the tradition of sailors from ages past, a way of passing time, that filled our endless hours and sometimes, for a brief moment or two, helped us escape the reality of the present.

We hope you enjoy these.

 

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We recognize that some sea stories might not be flattering to specific individuals that feature prominently. The passing of time has taught us that while the story might remain relevant and funny, we are much more careful now with our words and stories than we were then. It is not our intent to disrespect or demean any individual in the re-telling of these sea stories, but to share the humor and camaraderie that surrounds our shared experience.
We trust you will enjoy these stories in the spirit intended, as it is not our intention to hurt or offend. Contact me if you feel we should modify or remove a specific story.
On the other hand, in the true spirit of sea stories, I imagine you have a few in which I feature prominently, and I expect you to share them as well.
~ Brad Williamson, Site Administrator

 

Stories sorted most recent to oldest.

Filters
List of articles in category Sea Stories
Title Author Hits
The Catamaran USNS Hayes (T-AGOR-16) Brad Williamson Hits: 2615
Too Much Potable Water? Paul Gomez Hits: 1764
Admiral Rickover, I Relieve You! Brad Williamson Hits: 3713
Earthquake in Subic Bay Brad Williamson Hits: 1350
My First Week on the Billy B! Steven Perry Hits: 2041
Chin Hae and the Jesus Cow Brad Williamson Hits: 1523
Red Next to Green, Don't Sail Between! Brad Williamson Hits: 1754
Submarine Damage Control Trainer Sean Gawne Hits: 2133
The Mail Buoy Albert Frankel Hits: 1749
Tilting the Tuscaloosa Brad Williamson Hits: 2424
Welcome to the Horse and Cow Tavern in Mare Island! Sean Gawne Hits: 4824
Messing with the Middies Brad Williamson Hits: 1533

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© 2019 Brad Williamson
and/or the
USS William H. Bates (SSN 680) Association
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U.S. Naval Institute News

17 JAN 2019

  • SECNAV: Adversaries Remain but Expect Defense Budget Increases to Disappear
    ARLINGTON, Va. – With increasing threats abroad and anticipated tighter defense budgets ahead, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer will spend 2019 instilling a sense of urgency into how the Navy and Marine Corps operate. Since taking office, Spencer has focused on training, capabilities and the way the Navy and Marine Corps invest resources. Now, a […]
  • Navy Wants 2 Variants Next Common Auxiliary Hull: One for People, One for Volume
    ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy now plans to design and field two hulls under the Common Hull Auxiliary Multi-Mission Platform (CHAMP) program, after the program office realized the five mission areas CHAMP seeks to cover fit neatly into people-centric and volume-centric categories. The Navy last year began work to find a common design as a […]
  • VCNO Moran: Navy Must Do More to Harness Data to Help Win Future Fights
    ARLINGTON, Va. — If the Navy’s going to leverage revolutionary technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to help make decisions in combat it needs to improve how it handles its data, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Surface Navy Association National Symposium, Moran made a plea […]
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