at sea aboard the uss annapolis

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On the misty morning of Tuesday, September 15,1931, the USS Annapolis prepared to weighanchor from the peaceful harbor of PontaDelgada, Azores. This was the beginning of the

most hazardous leg of the cruise, and could very well havebeen her last contact with the outside world. Ponta was thelast foreign port of call on the 90 day itinerary of her sum-mer training cruise to Northern European waters.

Annie’s old-fashioned anchor had rested on Ponta’smuddy bottom for four days. During this time the cadetsloaded stores and 220 tons of soft coal for the remain-ing 2400 miles ahead to Philadelphia. How well theyremembered shoveling the black gems from two flatbarges into large canvas bags. A coal-blackened cadetalternately wrapped and released the lifting fall aroundthe winch niggerhead and the bags were lightedaboard, set on carts, wheeled to the many deck scuttles,and then dumped through canvas chutes to thebunkers. The impact kicked up clouds of dust. Theblack gang crawled on their hands and knees to stowthe precious gems in the dark and narrow bunkers. Thecoal dust created a dark atmosphere throughout andpenetrated the innermost corners of our lockers, defy-ing our best efforts to seal off openings and cracks. Anintensified field day became a must, not only to clearup the ship and its equipment, but also to whiten ourminstrel-like faces and bodies.

The last days in port were more pleasurable after coaling.There was swimming over the side and fishing and sail-ing in the beautiful harbor. Ponta did not offer much for thesailor after the first liberty. Cadets negotiated “changy forchangy” with the natives, who preferred white hats,scivies, and dungarees rather than “spic” money inexchange for their colorful trinkets, fruits, and Portuguesecognac.

To the cadets it was a routine departure with much activ-ity on deck. When the pilot came aboard, special sea andanchor detail was set and a string of usual events followed.

At Sea Aboard The USS AnnapolisCdr. E. D. Maissian, USNR (Ret)

H I S T O R I C A L P E R S P E C T I V E

USS Annapolis (ex-PG-10) 29 June 1939 atthe Delaware River Port Day parade.

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At Sea Aboard The USS Annapolis

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Leaning over the starboard foc’sle railing, Bo’sun TomFlaherty kept a watchful eye on the last shot of anchorchain as it inched its way through the rusty hawse pipe.He sounded off “Fifteen fathoms at the water’s edge sir”and bent over the booby hatch. He ordered the engineeron watch “Heave ‘round lively laddie.” Feathers of steamhissed in erratic pxz0atterns from the piston rod glandsof the anchor engine as it labored. Soon the chain stoodvertically, and for a moment quivered, when big lumpsof oozy gray mud helplessly flopped back into the drinkunder the pressure of a fire hose from above.

Flaherty, with hands cupped to his mouth, roared towardthe bridge “Anchor’s aweigh Sir — Clear Anchor.” Theanchor broke surface. He then ordered, “AvastHeaving.”

At 0914 the engine order telegraph jingled. The pointercrazily whipped back and forth and rested at 1/3 ahead.The ship slowly gained headway. Elmer Jones was sentdown a Jacob’s ladder and guided a pendant with the cathook to the anchor. He stood on one of the broad palmsand as the anchor slowly skimmed the surface of thewater he managed to slip the cat hook through theanchor ring. The anchor was then raised to dock leveland stowed on its bill plate.

Amidship, the second division secured the starboardmotor sailer which was still dripping from its last mailtrip ashore.

On the fantail the quartermaster two-blocked steamingcolors to the monkey gaff while the third division clearedlines and covered the dinghy and wherry and trimmedIrish pennants. The Annapolis gained speed, and themany bumboats leeched alongside could no longer keepup with the ship and were forced to peel away.

Ponta Delgada harbor was normally quiet. It’s silencewas occasionally interrupted by the chug of a smallsteam launch and the toot of French automobile hornsashore. A visit by a naval vessel, especially a training ship,was a gala occasion for the natives. It meant an influx ofbusiness to the shops and restaurants.

The Portuguese pilot who boarded before sailing wassmall of stature and sported a mustache and goatee. Hestood on his toes to see over the bridge canvas andpolitely called the various channel headings to Capt. JohnF. Mines, USN (Ret.) The ship moved slowly through thenarrow channel and barely cleared the many seagull-laden buoys. The discharge from our many scuppers dis-colored the wake. As the Annie cleared the approachesto the jetties, a crusty old Italian merchantman, inboundfrom Genoa, dipped her colors to us in passing.

Outside the jetties the engine was stopped and the shiplay to. A long boat struggled alongside and the pilot madehis way down the Jacob’s ladder and leaped into the boat.The bells jingled again and the Annapolis gained head-way, rounded the last buoy, and stood out to sea.

Departure was taken from the breakwater light and theship steadied on a 262˚ true course. Special Sea andAnchor details were secured, and the regular steamingwatches were set.

The Annapolis skirted along the wind-swept southerncoast of the island of San Miguel while topside, commo-tion continued until everything was secured for sea.Fourth-class cadets relieved the wheel and lookoutwatches and resumed their training.

During the first dogwatch, all hands were called on deckto set sail. Four men walked out on the bowspritfootropes and several swarmed aloft each mast toremove gaskets and harbor furls from the sails. Thencame the creeking of snatch blocks, when groups of tenor more men from each division grabbed bites of hal-yards, and leaned aft with all their muscles to set thelarge staysails, jib, and flying jib.

To set the larger trisails and the spanker required theentire watch to man the outhauls. The topmast stay-sails were the last ones to be set. The decks once againbecame an organized confusion of halyards, downfalls,outhauls, clewlines, and lazy sheets in the vicinity ofthe pin rails.

Moderate shifting winds filled the sails in grand style,straining the travellers and the sheets. Annie heeled overto port. The taffrail log line spun with glee. Late in theafternoon, San Miguel vanished over the starboard quar-ter and Mt. Pico on the westernmost island was silhou-etted on the starboard bow.

The Annapolis headed into the isolated slow steamer lanes,where no merchant ships were sighted for many days.

During the next few days, activity aboard settled to anormal level and everyone was happy at the thought ofbeing homeward bound. The crew counted the time tothe Delaware Capes. “Only 12 daze to go,” was chalkedup on the gun deck G.I. can. However, mess deck intel-ligence fixed a two day earlier ETA at the Delawarebreakwater.

The cadets appraised gifts and souvenirs that had beenacquired at the various ports. Lockers bulged with per-fumes from Paris and LeHavre, wooden shoes fromAntwerp, statues of Johnny Walker from London (wewere still in the prohibition era), and a shop-worn licensefrom a Paris cathouse. Many items were stowed in pas-



NAVAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL SPRING 2001 97

sageways, in the bookroom, and in the master-at-armsroom. There were ten cages of canaries stowed in nearlyevery corner of the gun deck. They were picked up atPonta Delgada in exchange for white hats and scivies.Wally Holt put me in charge of these unfortunate birds.Canary feed was not available, so I rationed them withspuds, onions, and cabbage. Each afternoon they weretaken topside for much needed sunshine and air. Oneday the wind was so strong that half of their featherswere blown off. Someone put dishes of beer in theircages and the canaries became groggy. They were eithersea sick or drunk— we never knew which. Nevertheless,they survived the ordeal and became quite hardy.

For a whole week the Annapolis plowed her way throughvast carpets of radiant seaweed, which fouled-up hertaffrail log line. With trade winds on the quarter, all of hercanvas remained proudly spread and she held a steadycourse for several days. The ship was steered by thelarge double wooden helm at the after steering station.

In the mornings, the cadets attended classes in naviga-tion, seamanship, and signals. Immediately after everynoon chow, they turned to on ship’s work, usually towork off demerits. On topside the clatter of chippinghammers became ceaseless, and the smell of red leadpaint pervaded the air.

The cadets mastered the palm and needle art becausemany sails, boat covers, and tarpaulins had to be repairedin Bo’sun Flaherty’s extra duty sewing circle.

Below in the gun deck, Henderson’s mess cookssougyed bulkheads, swabbed the mess deck, and shinedbrightwork. Thelning’s engineers overhauled steamvalves and repaired various parts in the machine shop.The Executive Officer’s yeoman, Dave Cale, pounded thetypewriter and turned out miscellaneous letters, reports,requisitions, and memoranda.

As the cruise progressed, the onions and spuds sproutedfrom the moist sea air and hot sun and displayed an arrayof green foliage through their screen lockers on deck.

On Sunday, the fifth day out, the wind petered to lightairs and the sea became glassy smooth. The trisails hunglifelessly from their gaffe, and often luffed, whippingtheir huge sheet blocks with a thunderous sound. It wasunlike the Annapolis to be so motionless. Her main (andonly) engine was throttled down to a lazy 55 R.P.M., andthe taffrail log line seemed to observe Sunday routine.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon until all hell broke loose inthe library, better known as the head. An eager secondclassman lit up some crumpled newspaper and cast it

adrift in the headwaters of the swift current in the headtrough, when all head seats were comfortably occupied.

To kill the monotony of the afternoon, Wally Holt stageda strawberry festival for the amusement of all hands. Theboot class welcomed this opportunity of being matchedagainst the upper classmen in the boxing ring. The ringconsisted of two parallel lines rigged athwartship, 15 feetapart. The after line extended from the engine room fid-ley to the hammock nettings, and the forward lineextended from the main fifi rail to its main pin rail. Thebouts drew all off-duty men topside and lasted threerounds, or when blood spots (strawberries) appearedon the contestant’s scivies, whichever occurred first.

This was my first day during the cruise as Captain’ sorderly. A team of two fourth classmen was assigned asCaptain’s orderly on alternate days when at sea. Duringthis time they ran errands, carried his wicker chair tothe quarterdeck, and did miscellaneous chores. Inbetween they read comic books. They were relievedfrom standing all regular steaming watches with theirdivisions, and consequently rated a full night’s sleep.Last but not least, they took on a priceless immunityfrom all hazing from the upper classmen and enjoyed aregal life. It was “hands off” to the upper classmen.However, the upper classmen made up for this libertyduring the following week.

That afternoon, Capt. Hines called me aft. His role hadchanged from C.O. to that of a parent as he dispensedfatherly advice. I could not understand this transforma-tion in attitude until I discovered, to my embarrassment,a letter he had received from my mother. It read,“Honorable Captain Hines, please alert my son to thepitfalls of sailors in foreign ports.” All during this timemy ears were tuned to his words but my line of sight waslocked in on a target - a large bowl of Ponta Delgadagrapes setting on his table. Sensing my awkward plight,he reached over and gently gave me a bunch enhancingmy embarrassment further.

For my class, our boot cruise was nearing completionwith many pleasant memories of Westminster Abbey andChiser Cheese Inn, the Scheldt River and its long barges,Montmartre and Rue Blondell. On the continent thecadets had treaded the jagged cobbles of Antwerp andexplored the sights of Le Havre, They had revered theArc de Triomphe, and rollicked through noisy Rue deGallion and Des Champs Elysees. Some of us carved ourinitials atop the Eiffel Tower, and even more seriouslytook in the treasures of the Louvre, behaving like real“Americans in Paris.”



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The cruise taught us all about sails, how to set and reefthem. We learned to stand lookout and wheel watches, towash clothes, and bathe with a bucket of rusty freshwater a day. Sleeping in a hammock or on a wooden deckbecame second nature and sea sickness no longer fright-ened us. My class cut its eye teeth in the ways of the seaand we happily looked ahead to leave the boot ranks andto our first hash mark.

Cdr. Edward D. Maissian, USNR (Ret) has a BSand ME in mechanical engineering from the University ofPennsylvania. He also completed graduate engineering studiesin naval architecture at the Post Graduate School of the U.S.Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland and is a graduate ofthe Pennsylvania State Maritime School. Cdr. Maissian’scivilian service began in the Design Section of the PhiladelphiaNaval Base with continued service with the Supervisor ofShipbuilding, Camden, New Jersey where he worked on thedesign and construction of the USS Kitty Hawk. He was then

transferred to the Naval Plant Rep. Office where he serveduntil his retirement in May, 1995.

His civilian service was interrupted by active war service inthe U.S. Navy with his commission to Lieutenant (jg). Hisservice included many engineering billets in naval vesseldesign, construction, and battle damage repair. After the warhe became actively involved in the U.S. Naval Reserve, holdingseveral administrative assignments including CommandingOfficer of two Naval Reserve Units and duty as staff advisoradvancing to his present rank of Commander. During this timehe served aboard nine aircraft carriers, three destroyers, aguided missile cruiser, and a battleship in addition to his manyshore assignments.

Cdr. Maissian, a frequent contributor to the Naval EngineersJournal, is a 56-year member of the American Society of NavalEngineers, as well as a member of the American Society ofMechanical Engineers, the Society of Naval Architects andMarine Engineers, and the California Society of ProfessionalEngineers. He is also a registered professional engineer inCalifornia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.❋


at sea aboard the uss annapolis

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