I think that it was the Pomodon (events get crossed when having served aboard sister boats).  We were at the submarine base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The weekend was coming up, and we were looking forward to being with our wives and girlfriends.  No such luck.  The Hot Running Rumor had it that the CO had a fight with his wife (I don't really believe that, but that was the rumor).  At any rate, everyone was called back in off the beach, and off we went from Oahu to the Big Island of Hawaii for no apparent reason.

Murphey and his Law kicked in.  I pulled First Duty Section Inport.  The water was too shallow for us to pull alongside any pier, and we anchored out just a short distance from the Kona coast.  This is where Kona coffee is grown - halfway up a volcano perpetually shrouded in mist there.  The CO wanted us to treat this as a liberty port.  So we did.

Everyone hit the beach except for the duty section.  Not to be outdone, we decided on a barbecue and swim call.  We had that well going after the sail, and two guys donned scuba gear, dropping over the side.  We had one guy with a loaded rifle for shark watch, and the rest of us were running around the teakwood decking in our swim shorts.

After a bit, the two UDT diver types (Underwater Demolition Team) popped up all excited.  "Hey!  You guys ought to see the big shark down there!"  Of course, we, as hand-picked volunteers of the Silent Service, prided for our intelligence and skills, all promptly shouted as a man, "You're kidding!  Where?"  And, as a man, we all jumped off the side of the boat to get a closer look at what they had found.  I'm no expert on sharks, and hadn't the slightest notion what kind this was, but I was close enough to reach out and touch it as it slid by me.  And by me.  And by me.  And by me.  It was about the size of a Great White!  We were all underwater gawking at this thing, when, as a man, we all thought at the same time, "WHAT the HECK am I doing down here with this SHARK?"  We ALL came shooting out of the water and clambered back onto the boat at precisely the same time.  All was quiet for a spell.  Nobody said a word.  Just stared at the water in contemplation.

A few put together some line, grappling hook and meat from the galley, as the rest of us resumed the barbecue.  They never did catch it.  As hand-picked volunteers of the Silent Service, prided for our intelligence and skills, we never considered what would have happened if they did manage to hook it...