For us in Fox division, our Sea & Anchor detail assignments were on the fantail where the aft mooring lines were laid out on the deck at our feet.  As you sailor men may recall, the junior men did most of the actual work on that detail.  They handled the dirty mooring lines and would sit on the deck (always dirty, sometimes cold and wet too) pulling with all their might…in the process of getting us moored to a pier in ship-shape fashion.  It didn’t take long for me to get tired doing this type of thing and wanting to find a way out this wretched work, so I came up with “The Plan”.  I figured all I had to do was make it happen and then I would have it fairly easy, no more getting my uniform dirty, no more problems, no sweat! 

What I had noticed were the men on the Sea & Anchor detail who threw the Heaving Lines.  After they did that, their job was basically over.  They really didn’t have to get down on the deck, get dirty nor did they have to work hard at what they did.  Also, their ability to get their own heaving line ashore first was something that carried a particular status among the crew.  As an added bonus, they were allowed to move about during the detail and didn’t have to stand in just one place for long periods of time ‘Manning the Rail’ either.  Yes, all that went into my cunning mind’s plan. 

 I then contacted the Boatswain and told him I would like to be one of the men to use a Heaving Line on the fantail during Sea & Anchor detail.  That was agreeable to him, but first I had to make my own personal Heaving Line.  I was issued a round lead weight to which I tied a Monkey Fist knot around it (doing so correctly to pass his inspection took some time).  Only then could I attach it onto the actual Heaving Line.  My Heaving Line was a ¼ inch cotton rope, approximately 100 feet long, made usable by stiffening.  To do that, I would let it stream in our ship’s wake for hours at a time.  Then I’d stretch it out by wrapping around our lifeline deck stanchions and leave it to completely dry.  Only after doing this several times did it eventually end up in perfect condition.  Next, for many a day I practiced throwing it until on almost every throw I could place the Monkey Fist knot within a three-foot circle at 100 feet.  When I adequately demonstrated my newly acquired skill, I became one of those who threw a Heaving Line, then stepped back and watched others do the really hard dirty work. 

That is, until around 1965 when we were pulled into port at Yokosuka, Japan.  The pier was full of people waiting to greet those on our ship and others aboard another couple of destroyers in our DESRON who would moor outside of us.  Wives, children, and many other people were crowded around in rapt anticipation of a happy reunion.  Me, I got to thinking, this is the perfect time to impress everyone, by being the first one to get his Heaving Line on the pier!  So, I waited gauging the distance, till everything was just right, then I reared back into my throwing motion.  At that point someone took a step behind me and hit the Monkey Fist…just as I released it.  With that my Heaving Line instantly took a 90-degree turn from its intended direction, traveled up in a big arc…to end up, wrapping itself around a large radio antenna positioned on the 01 level aft.  Seeing such a funny sight, the crowd suddenly roared with laughter, but I loudly bellowed my displeasure…in the manner of many a sailor-man!  The words I used were so….ahhh…‘salty’ they almost instantly silenced everyone on the pier.  As I paused to take a breath (the sound of my voice still echoing back and forth between the pier and our ship), I suddenly noticed women turning color, some trying to cover their innocent children’s ears, others on the pier were recoiling back with shocked expressions on their faces, but worse of all…the Captain was leaning over the wing of our Bridge fixing his steely gaze upon yours truly!  Within minutes, of our mooring to the pier, I was ordered to turn in my Heaving Line.  Then for some time thereafter my work at our Sea & Anchor details was some of the hardest and dirtiest that could be found!

WETSU!

Bert Royster, STG2 1964-1966