[CW] Trivia 1964 sea story

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

From: Richard Ostrowski <n2na at tds.net>

CQ,

One of my sea stories that actually happened.

73,
Richard Ostrowski ,Sparks

When you mentioned sight off Cuba, a situation occurred in 1964 to us
aboard the R/V Robert D. Conrad WHBA, a scientific survey ship operated by
Lamont Observatory which was a part of Columbia University. We were on the
southern coast of Cuba taking core samples, mapping the bottom and who.
knows what else when a single engine Cuban aircraft buzzed us at bridge
height, you could see the pilots face and feel the fillings in your teeth
rattle. He was that close, a hand painted Cuban flag on the tail. The rest
of the story goes on when a short time later a US Navy jet buzzed us a
couple of times.

You would have thought this was the end of aircraft for the day, well sure
enough a while later a 4-engine US Navy patrol plane showed up and this is
where I had my first blinker light training with an aircraft. The only
thing Ican remember was that the OM wasn't particularly happy!

‘The next morning we were stopped and circled by 4 Navy destroyers when
their launch arrived alongside, guns in tow. Once aboard one chap wanted to
see the radio room which said it all. Before the launch arrived back to
their destroyer, the OM was using my amateur station making a phone patch
to Lamont, the chief scientist Dr. Ewing explaining to him what happened.
Of course he could have used the commercial cw station, this guy I think
wanted to be ham! The guy who handled the patch was so nervous listening to
what was going on he dropped the you this was all after the Bay of Pigs and
we it! The vessel really did look like some sort of spy ship with all the
antennas and other top side stuff...yes, the blinker light did work just
fine.

73

Rich

N2NA
[image: RCA MSG RCVD WHBA.jpg]
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