Manatee (AO 58) - Naval Cruise Book

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FAIR WEATHER ON THE LINE BUT With the prevailing Southwest monsoon the weather was fair and warm for the three line trips which lasted from August until the end of September. Ground action had been moderately heavy and MAN- ATEE returned to Subic with heavy loads of ammuni- tion retrograde. HEAVY WEATHER HERE COMES TYPHOON ELSIE! Fall is typhoon season in the Pacific and each trip had at least one storm to add to the planning. After MANATEE ' S third line trip, a liberty stop in Kaohsiung, Taiwan was sched- uled but Typhoon ELSIE forced a diversion as she swept over the North end of Taiwan. Even though the storm passed a thousand miles North of the ship, storm seas and gale winds were encountered. In the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Northern Philippine island of Luzon, MANATEE un- repped two ships both low on fuel from trying to avoid the same storm. The supply ship WHITE PLAINS and destroyer GEORGE B. MACKENZIE braved heavy seas to come along- side for servicing.

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VERTREP Vertreps are the helo drop of food or supplies. MANATEE doesn ' t have a helo deck, but often re- ceives necessary supplies on the fanrail. k ARMSTRONG, LYNCH RE-ENLIST In the appropriate setting of an underway re- plenishment, pictured above, Master Chief Boat- swain ' s Mate ARMSTRONG and Engineman Second Class LYNCH re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy onboard MANATEE for two and six years respectively. Pre- siding over the ceremony was Captain FAAS, MAN- ATEE ' S skipper. The re-enlistment ceremony pictured here was taken during a six hour replenishment at the end of one of MANATEE ' S numerous line swings up the coast of Vietnam. 23

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STANDBY TO RECEIVE THE USS GEORGE MacKENZIE The MACKENZIE begins her op proa ch into the ten foot seas picking up speed to come alongside. The waves get choppier as siie closes the gap. ALONGSIDE STARBOARD ' '