December 23, 2012

• North Pole? Been there, done that.

  Christmas is but two days away, and we have a 30% chance of snow in our forecast for Christmas Eve.

  Although the spiritual meaning of Christmas is deepest in my heart, I do enjoy the merriment of the secular holiday, including the beloved and maligned and over-marketed Santa Claus.  As his home is the North Pole, I thought I'd share that I've actually been to the North Pole. Perhaps you already knew that, perhaps not. If not, then settle in for my little tale.

  Our family moved to Pearl Harbor, HI late in 1984, following several months at the naval nuclear prototype in the Idaho desert. Entertainment wasn't huge in that Mormon corner of the world, so we did what young couples often do, and soon thereafter our daughter was conceived. In the same month, we bought a new car - a silver Dodge 600, and we received orders that I would be stationed in Pearl Harbor, HI.  

    

   

  We moved in late 1984 and our daughter was born in April of 1985. That summer, our submarine, the USS Aspro SSN-648 was deployed for an Arctic run. Our mission was secret and only on a need-to-know basis. With the exception of a few crew members and a couple of cryptologists we had on board, the crew only knew we were deploying some sort of listening array for Soviet submarines. 

  The ice is thinner in the Arctic summers, and our submarine was designed to break through the ice. The layer was too thick on our first attempt, and we actually got stuck underneath for a while. That's an interesting predicament if you think about it. What if you can't break free? One could then only hope for assistance and that the hull of the sub would withstand the pressure of the shifting ice.

  For us, it was a moot point. We took on enough water to weigh the sub sufficiently to break free. We then tried a different location and succeeded. We surfaced and broke through a 4-6 foot section, such that the sail of the sub (the part that stick up and houses the periscopes) was the only part that came through - well, that and part of the rudder. 

  We were there for a couple of days, so all of us had the opportunity to go out on the ice. It's really kind of weird. There is absolutely nothing to see but ice from horizon to horizon. The days were clear while we were there. More accurately, the "day" was clear. Instead of rising and setting, the sun rotated around the horizon, at about the same place you would expect it in mid-morning. 

  Yes, it was cold, but not so bitter as one might expect. There wasn't much wind while we were there, and a thin fog was usually present. 

  We brought a red and white "North Pole" that we put out on the sea of white ice and took pictures standing next to it. Our children delighted in knowing that their dads had stood where stories of Christmas legend were born.

  

  Regrettably, I did not meet Santa ... although I'm told his magic has ways of hiding his workshop even from intruding submarines.

  • 9:28 pm
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