The Lockheed P-3 sub hunters had given the all clear for the northwest coastal Pacific waters and returned to their base on Whidbey Island. The sub moved silently down the well traveled route from Puget Sound towards Pearl Harbor. They were due west of the Oregon-California border and about 300 nautical miles offshore. The initial rendezvous would take place in less than six hours. At that time they would pick up the necessary equipment, receive updated orders, and set a new course, the one not towards Pearl Harbor.
Waterson understood it was an extraction, but puzzled over the timing. It wasn’t like this had to be done yesterday, but it wasn’t routine either. And yet they were sending a sub on a long trip to Central America. And then his boat would end up on the wrong side of the country! He had heard the action was near La Ceiba, on the Caribbean side, but they certainly didn’t have time to get around the horn. And going through the canal, well, this was supposed to be a secret mission, wasn’t it? He wondered what the 2nd fleet was doing and why they hadn’t been given this mission. The 3rd fleet, of which he was a part, took the central and eastern Pacific, but the 2nd fleet usually took care of the Caribbean.
He broke out of his reverie and returned to pricking the charts on his table. All was in order. They would surface, meet the refitted sub tender carrying a little more than the usual stuff, load up and be on their way. He was unclear on whether they would add any personnel.
The course he had plotted from the rendezvous point to their final destination was unexciting. He had estimated three days, pushing the ship to the max. Then came the fun part. Submarines weren’t meant to have helicopters land on them. They also weren’t designed to beach themselves like some kind of whale with nematodes in its ear. Yet those were the two options for the extraction.
There wasn’t much of a shelf along the Pacific side of Central America; that’s what made it a surfer’s paradise. Only the surfers didn’t know it yet. They were only now really investigating Hawaii, and it would be years before Costa Rica or Nicaragua would become playground for adventurous Americans. But the lack of a shelf could allow a sub to approach much closer to shore without any real danger of hull damage. Waterson smiled to himself. He was pretty sure they’d end up using the helicopter, but damn, he’d love to tell stories of the time he ran his boat up on the beach!
I am behind, but will read up this week. Keep writing!!
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