Not your average day at work

[El Pirata]

We had a storm hit Norfolk this morning and it sunk one of our boats which we happened to have tied off on carrier row. We are not sure exactly what happened and will not know for sure until Friday when it is planned to lift it from the water and either try to get it to float by itself or set it on a barge for a trip back to Useless. I would elaborate more but I am heading back to work a full 4 hours after returning from dealing with this fiasco all day for another 18 - 20 day full of fun and adventure. Army, pee all that you can pee..... Incidentally, the water here is about 60 feet deep and the boat has bottomed out. Enjoy...

[Capt Grey]

Wow! That water is ROUGH!

Trying to stay awake is why God invented Starbucks.

[El Pirata]

Here's pics of the revcovery today. The original plan was for a tugboat to pull it so that the bottom was facing the water again and have the divers fill the stern with air uuntil the vessel was free floating again. Once on the surface the remaining hatches would be opened and the water pumped out. For whatever reason this never heppened and they ended up using slings tp just plain lift it to the surface then open the hatches and drain the water out. Once the water was drained the vessel would then be put onto a barge and sailed back to her home port.

As seen this morning two days after she sunk.

These next 3 are the tugboat pulling her flat.

Here's how she settled after she was pulled flat and the crane that would lift her later in the day.

One of the diver's about to hook up the slings.

The Small Tug 911, she is one of the 900 series and had just been completed around 9/11 so she was renamed Enduring Freedom.

The diver's mobile equipment and the two types of slings used for the lift.

The initial lift attempt.

[El Pirata]

The slings got hung up on the initial lift attempt.

The sheen on the water from the bilge oil and the diesel fuel coming out of her hull.

Attempt 2 went flawless.

The winch is now visible.

The pilothouse is now visible.

And the stern. You can see the pilothouse door is open. As she sank the door was forced open by the pressure and the window in the door was blown out.

The first people board her to start salvaging her. That's the mast where it fell when it broke off sometime during the previous 48 hours.

One of the engine rooms filled to the brim with water and oil.

[El Pirata]

The hydraulic room filled with water and hydraulic oil.

The inside of the pilothouse.

All of us got into the salvage effort at this point so no pics were taken which is why the sun is close to setting in the remaining pics. Here she is being lifted up.

Here she is on the barge.

Here she is being pushed home by the ST 911 into the sunset.

[Rummy3]

El Pirata! 'Sounds like your day's excitement tops the list here at the pub! Let me buy you and your mates the next round! Huzzah to you and your crew!