[Anderson Scrapbook 1] Page: 64 of 75
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As it is, they are taking ner out
in all sorts of weather, sweeping
the main ship channel of this vital
port for moored mines, magnetic.
mines and acoustic mines. Moored
mines are anchored to the bottom
and usually set some 20 feet be-
low the surface of the ocean. Mag-
netic mines float about "on their
own." Acoustic mines are devil-
ish inventions tuned to be ex-
ploded by the vibrations of a
ship's engines.
Clean Sweeping Assured
On this trip we are sweeping
only for moored and acoustic
mines (the magnetic mine gear,
incidentally, costs about $20,000).
The small-c 90 and a sister-ship,
both specially built as auxiliary
coastal minesweepers, and two
smaller but more seaworthy con-
verted -fishing seiners, make up
our division, with Lieutenant (j.
g.) Bob Baker of Berkeley, Cal.,
skipper of the small-c, also tac-
tical commandeP of the group.
Out through a gap in the sub-
marine net and under the Golden
Gate bridge we move in Indian
file, our Diesels throttled down to
one-third speed. At a prearranged
point outside the gate, the gear
is put ,out-the torpedo-shaped
"pig", sporting a gay yellow-and-
red flag, which marks the end of
the moored-mine sweeping cable;
the otter and other rig`,yhich
holds the cable down at the pti.p-
er subsurface level and at a fixed
distance from the ship; the cut-
ting gear which will cut loose a
mine if we encounter one, send-
ing it to the surface to be ex-
ploded by gunfire, and the so-
n.rations, will detonate acoustic
mnmes.
The four ships move into eche-
lon, so that a considerable area is
assured of clean sweeping.
The sun is bright and cheery,
the sky and the water blue, the
sea flecked with whitecaps as the
wind picks up.
In the combination bridge,
wheelhouse and chartroom, Lieu-
tenant Baker gives the course
hanges to the helmsman, Lee
Clawson., Lee's twin brother Iecis topside on lookout, and ready
to uncover and man one of tl
m lmaclhineguns in an
Emergency. Those guns are our
armament--they, and a tommygurnI
racked up on the wall of the cozy
but crowded cabin which Baker
shares with hiis threeni_
oe Alattlhews, tall, perpetually
seasick blond from Rogersville,
Ala.; Seaton Daly, a Spokane
(Wash.) husky who used to play
tacklee for Gonzaga, and Charles
.F arrar from San Mateo, Cal.,
who's been on duty only two
w Neeks.
Craft Pitches and Rolls
Matthews ia executive officer
andiavnigator -Is commissary
and training officer; Farrar is
engineer and communications of-
ficer.
It's getting rough. There's a
grade-3 (heavy) swell rolling from
north to south. The small-c 90
pitches and rolls, pitches aid rolls.
A laden tanker, inbound, passes
us. She doesn't seem to be pitch-
ing at all. A tin-can destroyer
wallows by, and then a Coast
Guard patrol launch which from a
distance looks no larger than a
tiny speedboat.
From starboard comes a low-
lying lumberman, southbound.
She cuts across our bow as we
throttle down. Quartermaster Wil-
son flashes her a message - to
stay at least 500 yards clear the
next time she passes a mine-
sweeper at work.
Several hours go by, and we
near the end of the outbound run,
where the ocean floor drops sharp-
ly from its maximum coastal
depth of 50 fathoms (300 feet)
and submarines therefore would
have a tough time setting moored
mines. Bob Gardner, seaman first
class and mess attendant, pops up
through a hatch in the wheel-
house floor.
* "Chow down," he yells, and En-
sign Farrar asks if I'm interested.
I follow him down the ladder.
Four, men already are at table.
They're eating boiled beef, boiled
potatoes, beans---and eating hear-
ty. It looks good. It is good-
for three bites. Luckily I'm han-
dy to the door. But the moment
I hit fresh air, I'm o. k. Farrar
isn't so fortunate.It's no disgrace, though, to be
seasick aboard these craft. Half
the crew has to beg off part of
the time. Matthews has been
making these sweeps for months.,
yet invariably gets sick. Even
Baker, at it since last winter, has
to retire to his bunk for a spell.
Start Rolling Home
We start rolling home, and
we do just that. Going out, the
small C pitched and rolled going
into the swell at a slight angle.
Heading home the angle still isI
there, but now the main force of
the swell is behind us.
"I don't like the pitching be-
iuse it makes me sick," says the
s Icfl n lookout. "I don't mind
ang because it doesn't
make me sick. But I don't like
t, either, because sometimes we
roll so far over you wonder if we
are coming back."
The weather has begun to turn
a little dirty. The sun is gone,-
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Anderson, Richard Alan. [Anderson Scrapbook 1], book, [1942..1945]; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1662121/m1/64/?q=%221937%2F1945%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.