Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[Bally002]

Feb 19, 1942: the Clemson-class destroyer USS Peary (DD-226) was sunk by Japanese aircraft at Darwin, Australia. A nearby seaman in the British Merchant Service reported witnessing a U.S. sailor perform one of the bravest acts that he had seen or read in all his life.

G'day.  When we lived in Darwin I took the wife and tinlids fishing out of the harbour.  Not the first time.  I had heard there were big fish to be had around the Peary so off we went. .  At the location I picked the Peary up on my sounder but a breeze had sprung up and along with the current I was moving at a clip across the surface.

Mistake one.  I dropped anchor to slow the drift.  Winch set up for the chain and Danforth anchor.  What could go wrong?.,  

Mistake two.  Miscalculated the wind speed, direction and current drift.

Mistake 3.  Did not count on the amount of chop/waves.  

Boat started bouncing under the weight of the anchor.  Couple of the tinlids started getting green around the gills.

So along came Mistake 4.  Started the boat.  Throttled towards where the anchor had struck and at the same time winching in to lift the anchor.  


Yeah,,,,Nah. I'd hooked the Peary (sorry).  Tried everything.  Looping, winching up and down, dropping chain at a slack until eventually reversing causing water to pour over the stern from the chop and started flooding the engine space.  (enter lengthy use of choice words here.).  Near pulled the bow off.

The only solution was to run the chain off the winch which I did.  Lost the anchor and a long bit of chain.

So perhaps Bally's anchor and cable is resting on the Peary.  To cap it off, no more fishing and no flamin fish.

RIP to all on board USS Peary.  You were all heroes.

Kind regards,

Bally) salute.