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Hi,
My
name is Craig Blichfeldt. I served on the Kamehameha with the Gold crew from
June 1983 to June 1986 as a "Nuke" ET. I reported on board at the off
crew office in Groton while the Blue crew was there. The fellow on desk
duty asked me "are you on the Blue crew or the Wet crew?". Here I was
fresh out of Nuclear Power Prototype school, so I couldn't help thinking
"what the hell did I get myself into?". I knew the next few years
were going to be interesting to say the least! (That's my wet crew story.)
We
took the Boat from Charleston, S.C. to Holy Loch, Scotland via Halifax, Nova
Scotia on my first patrol. I remember them saying the fog was so thick we would
never make it in to Halifax. What would end up being our only port of call my
whole time on the boat would have to be cancelled. From what the forward guys
told me later, the Pilot kept telling the OOD that the fog was clearing
"just a little further in" in order to keep us coming. I
guess the people of Halifax really wanted us to make that port of call. We
had to dock a few miles from the city at a small pier, but the city supplied
vans to ferry us back and forth. I remember mostly how clean that city was and
how very friendly the people were if they found out we were American
sailors. When we arrived at Holy Loch and after assisting with bringing shore
power on, I finally got a few minutes to go up on the tender and look around. I
could hardly believe it, but there was my brother's submarine, the USS Whale
(SSN-638), tied up to the other side of the tender. They were in for a three
day port of call. What are the chances of that? The first visit to Scotland for
both of us!
Three
years and six patrols later, we brought the Boat back to Groton, CT with a few
awards and ribbons that the Blue crew helped us earn. I had decided to
jump on the "early out" program offered that year, so three days after
docking in Groton I walked off the Kamehameha and out of the Navy.
It was
an honor to serve with all the hard working and dedicated people on the
Kamehameha. It was a great thrill to relive that part of my
life through your website. Thank you!
Craig
Blichfeldt ET2(SS)
I
took a few photos of the Boat while I was on board. I have some external shots
tied up to the tender. A good series of shots showing the boat pulling into
the floating drydock. I also took a few shots back in the engine room. I figured
I had just spent three years of my life back there, so on my last day in
the Navy I ran back with my camera. There are a lot of Engineering people in
those photos.
