Galveston (CLG 3) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 16 text:

The great Smokey Bear Cookies shortage and the eventual fate of the Greek college ship Ariadne were a pair of mysteries that kept us scratching our heads. At right, Commander Hanson is confronted with a spurious air drop ' ' of Smokey Bears. Below, Galveston sailors scramble to sign up for the rescue detail. The story of Ariadne appears on the facing page. 12

Page 15 text:

Non-routine events began to fill the void. Galveston ' s ice cream machine began operating for the first time in many months. Equipment problems on some of the destroyers in company brought them alongside for trans- fers of parts, technicians, and, in one case, water. Our own electronics wizard Schumacher became one of the first official Galveston Hi- Liners of the cruise. Many would follow him.

Page 17 text:

The Ariadne Affair By Curtis Jordan (as published in The American Weekend , July 14, 1905 USS GALVESTON--A fictitious Greek vessel skippered by a 72-year-old captain, manned by retired Greek Navy men and officers and carrying 130 college girls on a world cruise, pro- vided the bait for an elaborate hoax on the crew of this guided missile cruiser while she was enroute to a 7th Fleet battle station off Vietnam. The Galveston, serving as flagship for ComCruDesFlot 9 with 11 destroyers and an oiler under the overall command of Rear Admiral R. F. DuBois, left San Diego June 4 for Subic Bay, the Philippines. And during the next few days, her newspaper, the Galveston Star, laid the groundwork for a plot that had men and officers clamoring to rescue 130 maidens in distress. On June 7 the Galveston Star routinely reported the departure of the Greek ship Ariadne from Japan bound for San Francisco on the last leg of a world cruise. She was described as a college ship because she carried 130 junior-year college girls. The item mentioned that the Ariadne had developed minor engine trouble but her crew of oldsters expected to have it re- paired in a few hours. On June 9 the plot thickened when the Star reported that the Ariadne ' s troubles were traced to her evaporators. She was unable to convert sea water into fresh water. This meant that her means of providing water for steam power and for drinking had gone kaplooey. In an ocean of water, the Ariadne was literally drying up. In her plan of the day on June 10, the Galveston advised all divisions to review rescue and assistance procedures— just in case— and said that the Ariadne was creeping back to Japan at four knots. In a special bulletin, the Star reported that water had become so scarce on the Greek ship that her passengers were drinking wine and champagne and were bathing in the ship ' s small swimming pool, her remaining source of fresh water. And just before her boilers went dry and her radio went dead, she was reported to have sent a feeble message asking for help, giving her position as directly in the track of the Galveston. Late in the afternoon of June 11 a call for 30 able-bodied volunteers came over the Galveston ' s speakers and within three minutes the passageway outside the office of the chief master-at-arms was jammed with eager men. The offer was withdrawn after 67 enlisteds and three ensigns signed up to over-subscribe the number needed for the rescue detail. Saturday, June 12, was the day Galveston was to rendezvous with the distressed ship and her thirsty passengers. But June 12 never came. The Galveston crossed the International Date Line from June 11 to June 13 and 24 hours of life saving time was lost forever. The fate of the Ariadne was chalked up as just another mystery of the Far East. 13