Manatee (AO 58) - Naval Cruise Book

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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 ' '

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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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The narrow harbor entrance to Kaohsiung requires expert navigation. KAOHSIUNG TAIWAN After a two day delay, the ship pulled into Kaohsiung for a three day stop. Kaohsiung is the major Nationalist Chinese harbor and homeport for the Nationalist Navy. The narrow muddy harbor teemed with cargo and fishing craft. After contact with Subic and briefly with Sasebo, Kaohsiung was the first place with the look (and smell) of an Oriental port. It is a favorite R R port for US Ships, since besides the exotic entertainment, Kaohsiung is the center of a well developed furniture and woodcraft industry. With the ab- sence of copyright agreements, the streets are lined with bookstores and record shops selling pirated editions at a fraction of their US cost. Unfortunately, purchase of these items was illegal for US crews. Many crew members took at least one ride in a pedicab, a combination bicycle-taxi that is one of the major means of transportation in the city. The fare is open to debate and, of course, the drivers are extremely proficient at bargaining with the US servicemen. 26