During the early fall of 1991 I was stationed on board the USS Scott, DDG995. We were home ported in Norfolk Virginia and had recently returned to the US from a short trip over to Europe. During our time in Europe we operated in the North Atlantic and even crossed into the Artic Ocean.
We have all heard stories about the North Atlantic during the fall and winter months. The area was already fairly rough and it was only September. We had sailed around the Caribbean Sea for most of the summer months so traveling north to the rougher waters was a shock to some of us. The worst part about rough seas was eating. It was hard to keep your tray on the table. It was even harder to keep you drink on the table.
One rather rough morning it was time to take our advancement tests. The Navy gives these twice a year to all those qualified to take the test. As we sat in the crew’s recroom we would take rolls and slide around the deck in our chairs. It was not the easiest test I had ever taken and with the added rolling of the ship it made it all the harder.
As we finished our war games we headed to liberty in Bergen. What a totally beautiful city. The people were very friendly and the city was so clean. My only regret is I never made it over to see the U-boat pens that are now being used for cold storage. We left Norway and hit a pretty bad storm as it blew in off the North Sea. The rest of our time in Europe was dogged by rain and overcast conditions. We even had to pull into Portsmouth harbor to allow a storm just off the coast to pass.
The trip back to Norfolk was fast and without much excitement. After returning to port the ship underwent some repairs for damage she took off the coast or Norway. We went about or regular import duties, training, painting, and watch standing. As the month of October drug on things were fairly normal. I was attending training at the Little Creek Amphid Base. The ship left on a couple of two day training cruises and everything else seemed normal.
The weather had been a little strange all summer. While on our drug operations off Columbia in June we had high temperatures and next to no wind or storms. Then while out for a quick run to Puerto Rico one evening we ran across a really nasty thunderstorm that came out of no where and really threw us for a loop. Then in early October we had to seek shelter in Portsmouth harbor while a storm ran out in the Atlantic.
In. late October off the coast of Bermuda a sub tropical system formed into Hurricane Grace. This was the 7th named storm of the 1991 season. The storm tracked almost directly at the Norfolk area. As the storm drew closer the surf along the coast began to pick up and it began to get cloudy. Although I am from Illinois I had never has the misfortune to be in a tornado. Now it was looking as if I would get my first hurricane in my first year on the coast.
However events far to the North and off the west changed the original projection of Grace hitting Norfolk. Over Indiana an intense low pressure system formed and began to move slowly east. This low deepened as it moved east until it formed into an extra tropical cyclone east of Nova Scotia. This system at first looked to be your typical Nor’easter, however it soon began to draw energy from Hurricane Grace.
Back in Norfolk it was now Halloween day, October 31st. The Chief Engineer allowed the entire engineering department to take off early this day. Shortly after we left the headquarters of DESRON 10 called. They wanted all ships to top off their fuel tanks and stand by to get underway. Since we had all left the squadron allowed the Scott to refuel on Saturday. I had duty on Saturday and had never refueled the ship as duty oil king.
Although the storm had reached its peak strength on October 30th it was headed once again straight for Norfolk. Since it was coming in backward this would be a major danger the fleet riding at anchor. We had seen the news reports first about Grace, now this monster storm headed straight for us. Hurricane grace provided the storm with subtropical heat and moisture while the low added pure strength to the mix. The combination was deadly.
The combination of so many weather systems acted on this one storm, a dying hurricane, a low pressure system from Indiana, and a high pressure ridge that ran up the east coast. Everything mixed just right at the right tie to form, “The Perfect Storm.” At its peak it was estimated waves exceeded 39 feet, some say over 100 feet. Winds were clocked in excess of 75 knots, or hurricane force. High tides all along the east coast set records that had stood since the 1960’s.
Trapped in the middle of this storm was a mixture of small craft. The fishing vessel Andrea Gail is possibly the best know of these boats to be in the storm. She was lost with all six hands sometime prior to midnight on the 28th, just before the storm reached its peak strength. The cutter Tamaroa was also in the storm, although not at it center. She rescued three persons from the sailboat Satori 75-miles off Nantucket Island.
On November 1st I reported for duty on Saturday thinking all was well. The pier had many service cranes and trucks parked by the various ships on the pier. This was strange for a Saturday, but I did not think anything was going to happen. When I made my way to the oil lad I got my first taste of bad news. I had to refuel the ship and get her on internal power. Normally I would have a dozen people to help, but today with just the duty section I had the bare minimum, 5. To make things worse the chief Engineer had come in to make sure we had every last gallon we could hold. We got that done and then went about getting the ship on internal power.
A gas turbine ship has a luxury of being able to go from cold iron to full power in 5 minutes. A steam ship can take up to 24 hours to build steam pressure to get underway. We were only a push of a button away from being able to take off and leave port. Since we were going to be deployed over Christmas the first of two leave periods had begun on the ship. Half the crew was at home and half was on the ship. Since we were in a five section duty rotation this meant only 1/10 of the crew was actually on board the ship this Saturday for duty. Roughly 35 sailors and maybe 5 officers were on board.
Around 12:30 on this day the DESON called all the ships and told them we were on 1 hour stand by. The duty officer called all hands to the flight deck. Not just the duty section, but all hands. He told us we were on 1 hour stand by to leave port and that anyone left on the ship that was not on duty would be onboard all weekend. He then told us to go back to our division muster stations and see the watch bill for getting underway.
The storm was headed straight for Norfolk and was not looking to loose strength. A ship is much better at sea than in port when a storm hits.
Every ship in the harbor was getting ready to leave. If I recall there were only two ships that were not going to leave. All the steam ships started to fire off their boilers to get up steam and the gas turbine guys all hand their brows removed and mooring lines singled up. The storm was beginning to weaken but this was not known to us in Norfolk.
We made our way back to central control and looked over the watch bill for emergency port break out. It was not good at all since we only had like 8 people in main engineering. Three had to stay in central, three in each engine room, and then the oil king. Not only were we two people short, but also we were short on petty officers. The chief put me in charge of both engine rooms and the oil lab. I was not qualified to be a MER Sup in port let alone underway. But, he had to do what he had to do. I was pretty much the only guy who could be mobile and check the engine rooms on a regular basis.
The crew went about getting the ship ready to leave at a moments notice. We were already on internal power with one generator running. The main engines could be started quickly enough so they were left off. The mooring lines were singled up and they actually had an axe at each line to cut it is need be. The brow was removed after the last non-duty person left the ship. We were all ready to leave. The duty cook broke out the steaks and lobster tails for dinner. This was what we called our “make-up” dinner.
The storm was not done with its tricks. After such a violent formation and destructive couple of days it turned and headed back up north. Almost a quickly as the storm formed it went away. It was the second most destructive storm of the 1991 Hurricane season. The storm should have been given a name since it did actually obtain hurricane strength winds. Most people know it as, “The Perfect Storm.” It is also called the Halloween Nor’easter and the No-name Strom.
Twelve people lost their lives in this storm including, 6 people on the Andrea Gail, Air National Guard para rescue jumper, TSgt Arden "Rick" Smith. The storm caused $210 million dollars damage to the coast. Shortly after dinner that Saturday we were told to stand down from port break out. Sunday morning the sun rose to a clear sky and the next duty section arrived. We mustered on the helo deck with both sections and the Chief Engineer, he came back Sunday morning. The on coming Officer of the day thanked for what we had done, even though we didn’t do much. We had a big breakfast, turned over the watch to the on coming crew and went home.
Monday morning it was time to go back to work. The DESRON sent us all a thank you and asked which ships could be used for search duty. They were going to send out a group to look for the Andrea Gail. This was called off shortly after her the 406-Megahertz EPIRB beacon was found washed ashore on Sable Island, it was never turned on.
That weekend slipped away like so many other weekends until I saw the movie “The Perfect Storm.” At the time all we were told is a fishing boat was missing. As the movie went along all the events of that weekend came rushing back, half way through the movie, I told my wife, I was almost there. Although I never did put to sea during that storm the preparation for doing so was nerve racking enough.
Those Coast Guard and National Guard personal who did go to sea during that storm are true hero’s. Having read many of the accounts since the estimates vary on the strength of the seas those days. Some estimate the waves at only 39 feet, others say over 100 feet. None the less while we were in the North Atlantic the worst we went though was around 15 feet.
So there is my story of the Perfect Storm. The sailors who left the ship Friday afternoon and returned Monday morning were all in the dark as to what happened on Saturday.
