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We made a run
under a Cat. 5 hurricane and missed our earlier slots for radio communications
due to its severity. At 400 feet, we were still getting tossed
around. On our last slot available to radio in or be considered missing,
we cam to periscope depth to pass the message. Due to possible incorrect
trim, we popped to the surface and ad to do an Emergency Dive ops. I was
opening a cabinet containing lab chemicals at the time and a bottle of
potassium hydroxide pellets popped out and shattered on the counter edge
resulting in chemical burns around my neck. By the time we got back down
to depth and safely sorting things out, we had a mess to clean up throughout
the sub. Fortunately no one was seriously injured. An old trick of
sailors to protect their vessels in the face of an approaching hurricane was to
actually sink their boats up a creek. This placed them on the bottom in a
narrow area and thus did not sustain much damage other then having to pump them
back out. Respectfully, Jay K. Jeffries Natura nihil fit
in frustra |