From Leo Taflin

 Here's one for your collection:

One of my favorite memories of the Segundo is the time the skipper, Dave Fudge, decided that a dependents' cruise would be a good thing for morale.  We put the word out, and on the appointed day, while a large group of wives and children stood by on the pier as we performed preunderways, a small fire broke out in a switchboard in the control room.  Nothing big, but the word, "Fire in Control" went out over the 1mc.  Shortly thereafter, the dependents were brought topside while we held quarters.  Watanabe, a cook, had been frying off a bunch of hamburgers to serve as snacks while we were transiting to the op area, but he left them on the grill while he went topside for quarters.  The next word over the 1mc was, naturally, "fire in the galley."  The grease fire was put out without any major problem, and we soon got underway.  We were moored north side inner at San Diego, and as we backed out, we were set down on the Florikan, moored north side outer, scraping along her side as we slid by, so by the time we were fair in the channel, we'd already had two fires and a collision.  The dependents' eyes were beginning to resemble saucers.  We drove out to the op area without further incident and submerged, and our guests began to relax, at least until we decided to snorkel.  Our lead snorkel engine had never had a false start.  Before.  It provided a world-class false start this time, though, and as smoke and diesel fumes roiled through the boat, dependents were choking and coughing in every compartment.  We finally got snorkeling and got the fumes cleared, and after a few demonstrations, decided to put down the main meal - a feast of steak and lobster, with all the trimmings.  I was in the conn for the meal service, but after they finished serving in the wardroom, the skipper came up to relieve me so I could eat.  Some of you may recall that Captain Fudge's strongest personal trait was impatience.  It wasn't long before he got a bit bored, so he decided to show the guests some angles and dangles.  What he didn't do is check to see if they were finished serving chow.  A fresh seating in the crew's mess  had just sat down to eat when the skipper ordered a fifteen degree down bubble.  Suddenly, the after battery atmosphere was an airborne mixture of steak, lobster, drawn butter, salad dressings, etc.  What had been intended as a meal became apparel, accessories, and makeup.  Although the remainder of the trip was uneventful, I heard later that when asked if there was anything else the riders wanted to see, one of them, probably seasick and covered with butter and steak sauce,  said, "Yes, sir; I'd like to see just how fast you can get this sonavabitch back to San Diego."

Leo Taflin
USS Segundo 1966-69