Submarine life not all smooth sailing

[Onkel Neal]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-...04-column.html

To kick off Fleet Week, I went out of my depth — and out of my comfort zone — to get a taste of life aboard a nuclear-powered U.S. Navy submarine.

The USS New Hampshire is cramped and not for the claustrophobic. Imagine going on a packed 24-hour flight from Miami to Mumbai, except you go down 600 feet into water instead of climbing up seven miles into the air. It's a steel tube without windows, a bit longer than a football field but only 32 feet wide. It can deploy as long as 100 days continuously, carrying out clandestine missions around the globe.

"Isolated. Dark. Demanding," said crew member Jason Patrignani, 26, of Naples, when asked to describe submarine life. "Nobody knows what you're doing, and they need the best to do it."