FW: [Ansteorra] SCA at sea with US Navy

[Vicki Marsh]

Forwarded with permission and the confirmation that yes, Baron Valust was
also on board the Nimitz at the time.

Mistress Xene


Geoffrey sais:
    You certainly can forward it and yes Vallust was aboard with us.

-----Original Message-----
From: GulesBaron at aol.com [mailto:GulesBaron at aol.com]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 7:49 PM


As is the case with many urban legends this story is only partly true.
I never served under a Captain Clexton and I was on board the Nimitz from
just after commisioning until about 1982 when I rotated to shore duty.
After I left, the SCA group disintegrated until the early 90s.  I know of
this revival only because I met a later seneschal/herald at Atlantia's 20
year celebration a couple of years ago.  However during that revival the
boat would no longer have been sailing to the Mediteranean because it was
now stationed on the west coast and remains there until this time (Except
for overhauls at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock).  If the story
happened during a Med cruise it had to be while I was aboard.

So let me tell you what really happened.
This was during our 1979-80 Mediteranean cruise.  The Captain was Jack
Batzler.  We had just spent about 4 of our 6 months on a "Show the Flag"
cruise to the Mediteranean.  We call it a show the flag cruise because there
was no pressing reason to be there. No wars no terrorists, nothing.  All
that changed shortly after the Ayatollas take over of Iran.  I remember it
like yesterday.  It was just before Xmas as we were entering Naples Harbor.
I was waiting in sick bay for an appointment when Capn Jack came on the
general announcing system and told us that after the Xmas stand down we
would be leaving the Mediteranean to go to the Indian Ocean for an
indefinate period because the Iranians had stormed the American embassy and
taken hostage a large group of American citizens.
Less than 3 weeks later we were on Gonzo station in the Indian Ocean.  Bear
in mind that we did not use the Suez canal to get there and we spent over a
week in Naples before we left, so do the math. We were flying. It was a
nuclear powered ship after all and so were our escorts.
Currach Mor (Our first seneschal researched a gaelic name and assured us
that it does indeed mean big boat) spent the next 5 months on station in the
Indian Ocean. We did not pull into port once.  Our only real break was a
flight deck picnic where we were given the distinct priviledge to be served
the first alcoholic beverages on a ship since it was banned in the 1800s
(those two beers were ice cold and deeeeelicious)
Needless to say the boredom was tremendous.  Fortunately there was the SCA.
We regularly fought in the hanger bay at night and our numbers grew
(everyone was bored and we were having fun).  When we weren't flying we
fought on the flight deck and thats where the story comes from.  We were
having a well attended practice under the watchful eyes of a Soviet Krivak
Destroyer.  All carriers had a soviet tattletale following them back in
those days.  They usually stay a good ways off but while we were fighting he
took a great interest in us and closed to less than a half mile.  That night
I was called aside by one of the intel guys who told me that we had
generated a lot of interest on that ship and some communications were passed
from the ship to (where ever?) speculating on the reasons for the unusual
training we were conducting.

And thats the real story.  No aircraft and we were not called to the flight
deck for the express purpose of confusing Soviets.  And I can say NSTIW.