|
Amazon
Ravensquawk
Wesley's Online Bookstore
Category:
Memoir
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN-10: 0595228372
Type: Non-Fiction
Pages: 522
Copyright: Jun 3 2002
The Hooligan Navy is a biographical fiction about the Coast Guard of the late 1940's. The story begins on the West Coast and traces the adventures of the author (a radio operator) on the cutters Alert, Bramble, Chautauqua, Escanaba, and Taney. In the last chapters the story shifts to the East Coast and the CGC Storis, an ice-breaker--and a voyage that ends in Juneau, Alaska.
Excerpt
On a cold and ugly November morning, after two weeks at the Goat Island dock doing nothing at all, the CGC Bramble shook itself like a wet, shaggy dog and made ready to get underway. The crew, having emptied their pockets and worn out their welcome all over Oakland, seemed more than ready to breathe the fresh air of the northern California coast.
It all began for me about daylight when one of the grease monkeys came into the quarters to wake the other grease monkeys. I was lying on my bunk, with the back of my head cupped in my hands when i heard him come in. He was being careful not to disturb anyone else; so I guess it must have been the strong smell of spent diesel oil he was carrying around with him that woke me up.
Then someone from the bridge gang came in and began to stumble about, tripping over piles of dirty laundry and shoes, aiming for my bunk. When he came close enough, I grabbed him by the leg. It was Carnes, a quartermaster striker.
"Hey, Red, bridge wants you on the radio."
"That's the best news I've heard in a month of Sundays."
|
