Manatee (AO 58) - Naval Cruise Book

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Even though the ship was only in Subic for a few days at a time, some of the Officers made the monthly Subic Bulletin (Above). In Singapore and Hong Kong, some of the Officers shared rooms and made shopping and sightseeing tours together. Some spectacular shop- ping by LTJG Rick KLAUBER, CAPT FAAS, LTJG Dave BROWNING and LT Gary KOELBL produced a memorable collection. Between the long hours of work and watch- standing at sea the Wardroom enjoyed the fine cooking of the ship ' s stewards. Bridge, reading, and movies filled out the lei- sure hours at sea. In the nightly bridge games LT Loren KRIENKE established himself as the authority. 60

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ENS FINLEY passes instructions to the helmsman, while standing wa ' ch as Officer of the Deck. For the ship ' s officers, the wardroom offered a place to relax, a dining room, a place to hash out administrative problems. The ship had a rapid turnover in officers during the cruise. LT Harve SCHUTTE was relieved as Supply Officer by LTJG Rick KLAUBER when the ship arrived in Sasebo. In Subic CAPT GILLOOLY was relieved by CAPT FAAS. As a result of the early release program initiated in September by the Navy, the ship ' s Communicator LTJG George RIPPEL was relieved by ENS Jeff FINLEY, and LT Jim LAWIN was relieved by LTJG Wally NABERS as First Lieu- tenant. Both ENS FINLEY and LTJG NABERS were already serving aboard and Fleeted up to their new positions. By January LCDR Ken FISHER, LT Ron THOMPSON, Chief Warrant Bosun Joe HEENEY, Ensigns Dave MILLER and Mike ANDREWS had joined the Wardroom. LCDR Bob MUMFORD, LTJG Wally NABERS, and LTJG Al WEYL were transferred to new duty stations. With the rapid turnover there were constant hail and farewell parties at the Kalayaan Officers Club in Subic. OFFICERS Taking a break in the LTJG CALKINS. rdroom: (L-R) LTJG GABRIEL, LTJG WEYL, 59

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«, tu- 1f t. Sasebo lies in the distance from MANATEE ' S anchorage. It as a long boat ride for the liberty party. The ship was scheduled for a five day upkeep period to prepare for Northern operations and the transit home, but a casualty to another oiler required an immediate departure from Subic for services to a carrier group off Okinawa. The carrier CORAL SEA and her escorts were replenished on January 27 but during the unrep part of the span wire wrapped around MANATEE ' s screw. The ship limped into Sasebo and divers began to investigate the extent of the damage. It was considerably colder in Sasebo during this time than it had been in late August when MANATEE had passed through the Japanese port. With the prospect of up to a month delay in departing for home, most of the crew were feeling as miserable as the weather. But the divers from the repair ship AJAX were able to remove the cable using small explosives. The idea of sitting on a potential Molotov cock- tail while men used explosives underneath was less than comforting, but the success more than compensated for the discomfort. The crew took advantage of the outstanding shopping opportunities to buy cameras, pottery, and optical gear; pur- chases that had been postponed for the cruise. One of MANATEE ' S screws was damaged during the Jan. 27 Unrep. (Above) workmen hoist a screw into position during the yard period. 61