# Standby for Heavy Rolls - In August 2016, we did an Alaskan cruise, which I highly recommend! - It was the last night and our group of three couples were at dinner. The ship was heading to Victoria on Vancouver Island where we were to spend a few hours before sailing back to Seattle for disembarking the next morning. We were waiting for desert to be served and we were having a energetic conversation about training for stressful situations such as S.E.R.E school for the military or one of the the civilian schools for missionaries. - All of a sudden, there was a loud bang and the ship sharply rolled to starboard then back to center. Initially, we all thought it was just a "heavy roll" and all would be well within a few seconds. - However, it then heeled over to starboard about 30 degrees and felt like it was going to continue going over. The reaction in the dining room was incredible fear. People started screaming, "we are going over!" Most of us with gray hair had flash backs to the 1972 "hit" movie, "The Poseidon Adventure" and / or "The Titanic" for the younger crowd! There was a mass staggering rush to the exits as passengers attempted to get to their staterooms for their life jackets. Even the crew panicked! So much so that the maitre d' had to get on the speaker system and order the staff back to their respective stations. - Thankfully, the ship stabilized at the this incredible heel angle. Although the dining room was less than half full now, our group stayed at our table hoping the ship would right itself and we could get desert. - Initially, the view out the porthole was nothing but water. Then, some of the San Juan Islands came into view. It appeared we were doing some sort of sharp turn to port. The whole scene reminded me of some videos I had seen of carrier ship qualifications which required such maneuvers. - Because of the loud bang that proceeded the heel, we were speculating there had been some sort of propulsion malfunction which ultimately was the cause. - The damage around the ship was incredible. The booze that had been displayed on the numerous bars all slid off onto the deck. The upper deck pools emptied over the rails onto the balconies below. All the deck chairs were slung to the starboard railing. The shops were a mess. - Many of the passengers wore their life jackets for the rest of the cruise. Some of them even got off the ship in Victoria and never got back on to sail to Seattle. ### But for the Navy, this was just another day at sea! ![[IMAGES/SPECIAL/1695559337_Charlie_FB.png]]