If my memory serve's me right. It was on the 74-75 wes pac cruise Cheif Barton was fishing off the side of the ship and lost a large marlin fought it for a while. The captain Smokin Joe Bolin even slowed the Ship down for him while he fought it , But alas it was the big one that got away. I guess the net wasn't big enough HA HA can Anyone else add to the story I do remember I was below deck in aft fire room upper level watch ,but did get up there just to see him lose it. steve

Hey Steve! Glad I'm not the only one that remembers that! Never know what your'e gonna pull out of the ocean! Yall take care! marc

I remember that day too, Bugs was fishing with a hand line and didn't stand a chance of landing the marlin, if he would have gotten it to the stern there was no gaff to assist in bringing it aboard.

I also remember pulling into Diego Garcia in December of 1977 (I stand corrected) and watching the crew of a FF loose a shark to what everyone believed was Hector the hammerhead. They had rigged some 1/8 inch wire with a hook made by their HTs and baited with a beef roast, passed through the stern chock. They hooked what appeared to be 6-8 foot shark and reeled it in with the capstan. As it was being winched from the water there was a strange silence as the thrashing stopped and 3/4 of the shark disappeared in one bite. I later ran into a Warrant Officer who served on the Jason and he had a picture of the captains 26 foot gig tied up to the boat boom as Hector swam by, the shark extended past the bow and stern of the gig by a couple feet. No wonder they told us not to swim in the lagoon!

Hey Dave, I think you might have your dates mixed up a bit there. If you remember, in December of 1978 we were just getting ready to leave the next month for that great SouthPac of 1979. So you sure that's not just another "fish story" you're telling us? Just kidding, guess with your advanced age and all, just got the dates confused.

Mike Gray HTC USN Ret.
HT3 Cochrane 77-79

Ok, so it was maybe December 76 or December of 77, what's a couple years amongst shipmates? A little help from anyone else that can recall this episode would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Dave, no problem. Just trying to help an old shipmate regain some of his memory back. And besides, I'm probably a little younger than you and still remember dates a bit better. Just kidding you there Dave. But I'm always willing to lend my assistance when needed. Take care Dave, and have a great day!

Mike Gray HTC USN Ret.
Cochrane HT3 1977-1979