I had the Mid Watch on the bridge. I was on the helm which is the steering wheel of the ship. The Boatswain mate of the watch was overseeing us while the Officer of the deck and Conning officer are on the flying bridge above us. (Us being the Bridge team). Any time there is a course change, the conning officer talks to us through a brass voice tube. We repeat the orders back to them and then execute the order. When the ship is off course, the conning officer yells down to " Mind your Helm", which means get your ass back on course. On this particular night, these two officers are just talking and talking. We can hear them through the tubes. So the challenge is on. If you slightly turn the helm 5 degrees slowly, the ship will start turning. If you go to fast, the ship will lean and give you away. We made a 360 degree circle. The quartermaster is over at his table busting a gut. Just as the circle was complete, I shifted the rudder to stop the swing. The Conning officer barks down to mind my helm because I was using too much rudder to correct a 1 degree overage. Sucess!

Chief Scott Brown
Toledo, OH