Surface, surface, surface! - *WHAT* ??

Martin · 12-18-08, 11:50 AM

Hmm.

So there I am in my SCX/SCU Upholder, tucked in tight into the littoral zone off the coast of the Murmanskaya Oblast, snorkeling at periscope depth, running at 4kts with 20ft of keel depth clearance, attempting to evade a squadron of Grisha V corvettes, pinging away with their active sonar.

After recharging the air, and a quick sniff with the ESM to confirm that the radar paint from the Beriev maritime patrol aircraft is still weak, I lower all masts and antennas, and head out into slightly deeper littoral waters, so that I can get some data from my shortened towed array.

So now I'm running at 80ft at 6kts with 50ft under the keel, and I plot a set of waypoints for a course which follows the bathymetric contour line to maintain keel depth.

Things are going well, course changes are made according to the waypoints, except that there appears to be some rudder wandering prior to each turn. Odd, but not a bad thing, might help the TMA solution accuracy

.

Then all of a sudden, there is an announcement on the 1MC, "Surface Surface Surface", followed by "Commence a low pressure blow of all main ballast tanks".

Excuse me??

No!

There's an ASW group hunting me and you want to surface??

So I countermand *that* order right away.

"Make my depth 80ft, aye, Sir."

Better

30 seconds later, can you guess? "Surface Surface Surface!"

I storm up to the bridge and give the watch officer a serious talking to. Dude!

"Erm ... Make my depth 80ft, aye, SIR!"

This time it took 10 seconds.

"Surface Surface Surface!"

Well things got a little argumentative at this point, I think I must have ordered an 80ft depth 30 times in 10 minutes, before I eventually gave up.

So there I am running on the surface

off the Murmanskaya Oblast coast, in full view of any hostile unit that cares to look my way. Surprisingly, I only get weak radar returns and my scope is clear, so maybe I got away with it.

"MAKE YOUR DEPTH 80ft and STAY THERE, damnit!!"

"Sir yes SIR! Dive, Dive, Dive!".

"Reporting conditions normal on the dive."

Finally, ship shape and bristol fashion.

1 minute elapses.

Maybe more.

"Surface Surface Surface!"

No!!!

not cool.

Was the waypoint feature always this bad

??

- Martin.

12-18-08, 11:50 AM	#1
Martin Nub Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4 Downloads: 44 Uploads: 0	*Surface, surface, surface! - WHAT* ??** Hmm. So there I am in my SCX/SCU Upholder, tucked in tight into the littoral zone off the coast of the Murmanskaya Oblast, snorkeling at periscope depth, running at 4kts with 20ft of keel depth clearance, attempting to evade a squadron of Grisha V corvettes, pinging away with their active sonar. After recharging the air, and a quick sniff with the ESM to confirm that the radar paint from the Beriev maritime patrol aircraft is still weak, I lower all masts and antennas, and head out into slightly deeper littoral waters, so that I can get some data from my shortened towed array. So now I'm running at 80ft at 6kts with 50ft under the keel, and I plot a set of waypoints for a course which follows the bathymetric contour line to maintain keel depth. Things are going well, course changes are made according to the waypoints, except that there appears to be some rudder wandering prior to each turn. Odd, but not a bad thing, might help the TMA solution accuracy . Then all of a sudden, there is an announcement on the 1MC, "Surface Surface Surface", followed by "Commence a low pressure blow of all main ballast tanks". Excuse me?? No! There's an ASW group hunting me and you want to surface?? So I countermand that order right away. "Make my depth 80ft, aye, Sir." Better 30 seconds later, can you guess? "Surface Surface Surface!" I storm up to the bridge and give the watch officer a serious talking to. Dude! "Erm ... Make my depth 80ft, aye, SIR!" This time it took 10 seconds. "Surface Surface Surface!" Well things got a little argumentative at this point, I think I must have ordered an 80ft depth 30 times in 10 minutes, before I eventually gave up. So there I am running on the surface off the Murmanskaya Oblast coast, in full view of any hostile unit that cares to look my way. Surprisingly, I only get weak radar returns and my scope is clear, so maybe I got away with it. "MAKE YOUR DEPTH 80ft and STAY THERE, damnit!!" "Sir yes SIR! Dive, Dive, Dive!". "Reporting conditions normal on the dive." Finally, ship shape and bristol fashion. 1 minute elapses. Maybe more. "Surface Surface Surface!" No!!! not cool. Was the waypoint feature always this bad ?? - Martin. __________________ - Martin.