In Recreation Program—
Army T-Boats Go Fishing
By DRAYTON COOPER
Most people are under the im
pression that only the Navy, the
Coast Guard and the Merchant
Marine are in the business of op
erating boats and ships. Not so.
The United States Army also
maintains a fleet of vessels, and
two of them call Southport their
home port.
Late last fall, two T-boats, as
the Army calls them, sailed into
town to tie up at the city dock.
Since that time they have car
ried several thousand service per
sonnel and their dependents out
to the sea to fish.
The T-boats are small freight
ers which were built for use
by the Army around harbors and
between islands. Actually some
folks call them inter-island
freighters. They have a cargo
capacity of 40 tons but the two
here have given up their freight
hauling days. Instead, six days
per week they make trips out
side, taking an average of 30
fishermen with them. This means
that every week nearly 200 peo
ple go fishing out of Soutnport
aboard the Army boats.
It doesn’t take much high math
to figure out what this can mean
to the community. In the course
of a month, nearly 1000 people
will have walked out the city
dock to board one of the craft.
Sgt. Will Buchanan, non-com
missioned officer in charge, says
“These boats have really been a
hit with the men so far. Right
now, we’re booked ahead 20 days.”
Technically, the two boats and
the crews are assigned to special
services at Ft. Bragg near Fay
etteville, and it is for the use of
Bragg personnel that the boats
are operated. However, any mem
ber of the nation’s armed services
can use the boats, provided they
make arrangements through the
sports division of special services
at Ft. Bragg.
Fishing trips are made on a
strict non-profit basis, acording to
Sgt. Buchanan. All the men who
use them have to pay is their
share of the actual expenses in
volved in the trip. The boats are
stationed here for the benefit of
the Army men who want to take
some time away from their rou
tine work.
There are seevral of the larger
Army bases who . operate such
craft as these, but as far as can
be determined, Bragg’s operation
involves bigger boats and more
people than do the others. Ac-'
T-BOAT NEARS CITY DOCK AT SOUTHPORT
tually, the boats were assigned
here on a temporary, experimen
tal basis, but as Sgt." Buchanan
said, “This thing has been so
successful, I’m sure the Army
will leave them here.’’
As the sergeant talked, the
two boats slipped up to the dock,
returning from a trip 20 miles
out. The faces of several of the
more obvious landlubbers were
glowing with happiness that at
last land was in sight.
Cpl. Ben Gouch, skipper of one
of the boats, said “This was one
of our bad days. We didn’t have
five aboard who didn’t get sea
sick. But even then they seem
ed to enjoy it.”
As the catch was unloaded, the
newspaper man was invited
aboard. Stepping into the wheel
house, Buchanan, related the story
of the seasick fisher-woman who
caught the biggest fish of the
day recently.
“We had this lady aboard,” he
said, "who got deathly ill out
near the lightship. Really, she was
sick. Everyone agreed we ought
to come back in, so we started
for town. Just as we got inside
the mouth of the river, she
dropped her line overboard to try
to get her mind off her sickness.
“We, the bait didn't even get
to the water before a dolphin
snagged it. Believe me, she got
well faster than most anybody
I’ve ever seen.”
Cpl. Gouch echoed the ser
geant’s opinion. “Most of the fel
lows who begin to feel a little un
easy get cured the minute they
get a strike.”
Within the wheelhouse, the
boat shows quite an array of
modem instruments. Tucked away
neatly on the starboard side of
the house is the radar set. It is
5. 20-mile range outfit, enabling
the skipper to "see” what’s over
the horizon. Of course there's the
radio, too.
Going below to the cabin we
stopped off by way of the en
gine room. Here, beneath the wa
ter line, is the heart of the boat.
A. 280-hp diesel engine rides
amidships, flanked by a four
cylinder gasoline engine which
drives the emergency fire pump.
On the starboard is the electric
power generator.
"This engine will give us a
top speed of about 10 knots,”
Cpl. Gouch related. "We carry
1100 gallons of fuel, and con
sume on an average of 10 gal
lons per hour.” The average
range of the T-boat is 700 miles.
Leaving the engine room, we
spent the rest of the time loung
ing in the cabin. "That emergency
pump you saw there,” Buchanan
said, "is ready to go at any
time. It will pump about 400 gal
lons of water per minute, so you
can see, it’d be a big help in case
of fire.”
‘So far, we haven’t had to
use it,” the sergeant said, “but
we’re here in case we are need
ed.” He went on to say that the
city of Southport would have full
use of their facilities in the
event of an emergency.
Bringing the conversation back
to fishing, Cpl. Gouch remarked,
“You know, we have a lot of
fellows who come down here and
see the ocean for the first time.
It’s amusing to see their re
action. A few of them tell us
this was their first, and last, trip,
but most of them ask, ‘When can
we get the boat again’?”
From what the men said, evi
dently the general reaction among
Army men has been very favor
able.
All three of the men who are
in charge of the boats, Buchanan,
Gouch, and SP-5 John Driggers,
are veterans of this type service.
Buchanan pulled a hitch in the
Navy before joining the Army’s
water wing, and Driggers has
been in the business of sailing
ships for the Army for 20 years.
His last assignment before com
ing to Southport was in Korea
where he was skipper of a ferry
across the Han River, Buchanan
I came here from Nome, Alaska.
Proud Owners Of New Boat
MR. AND MRS. IVAN LUDLUM AND DAUGHTER
All Good Things Must Come To An
End—Dead-End Road In This Case
Comes Winter, when folks sit
around the fire and tell of the
excitement of their 1962 summer
vacations, two couples in an auto
from Charlotte who visited Sun
set Beach in the wee hours of
last Friday should be in the top
seat in the “thriller” department.
According to Ed Gore, congen
ial operator of Vesta Pier at Sun
set Beach, one of Brunswick
County’s newer and booming de
velopments, the foursome in the
1954 Pontiac plunged off the east
end of the beach's paved road
into the edge of that oft-harm
less, oft-dangerous body of wa
ter known as Tubb's Inlet.
Fortunately for the occupants
of the somewhat aging auto, the
tide was low at the time and
they were saved the added danger
of possible drowning. But, their
faithful buggy was not so lucky.
Gore said that the car, which
had a rear window broken by
the force of the 4-5-foot drop
from from eroding asphalt high
way, landed on the beach and
could not "find” its way back
without assistance. Such assist
ance was finally procured some
Incidentally, he says that South
port and Nome are very similar,
except for temperature. It, too,
was a sea town of about 2500
population. 'About the only dif
ference was the fact that there
weren't any highways into Nome,”
the sergeant stated.
What are the future plans for
the T-boats? "Right now,” Buch
anan said in answering, “we
can’t do much trolling, so we’re
missing the really big fish. We re
getting ready to modify the boats
so that we can. Then I don’t see
how we’ll be able to handle the
crowds.”
Other than that refinement, it
looks like things will stay pretty
much the same for a while. But
why should they change, one may
ask, because it appears that the
Army has a good thing going.
One of the soldiers who’d been
at sea for the day said the only
thing he’d like to see changed
is the distance between Ft. Bragg
and Southport. “When you have
to roll out of the sack at 3 a. m.,
pile into a bus, and ride 100 miles
to go fishing,” he said, “you real
ly have to love it!” But the men
must love it, for the big blue-and
silver bus is parked here nearly
every day.
What has the arrival of the
two boats meant to Southport?
"It surely is good to have them,”
one local restaurant owner re
marked. “They’ve really helped
me out.” This seems to be the
general opinion of businessmen
contacted.
A thousand people a month
coming through town can be a
big help. And there should be
even more as word gets around
that fishing's good in Southport.
Waterfront
On Friday we attended the
North Carolina Press Association
meeting in Morehead City. We
were accompanied by our next
door neighbor. Rip Howard.
While the editor was attending
press meetings, we swam in the
Morehead Biltmore Hotel pool and
visited Atlantic Beach.
We were impressed with At
lantic Beach because of its many
recreational facilities. They seem
ed to have taken advantage of
time later—they thought—when a
wrecker from the Little River, S.
C., area was brought to the scene.
But further difficulty developed
after the wrecker backed down
the sandy slope and hooked onto
the fallen Pontiac.
The motor in the would-be “res
cuer” decided not to cooperate
and never did, at least not on
that mission.
As the ■ old adage says, “Time
and Tide Waits For No Man" . . .
Well, it didn’t! Not even for the
Pontiac and the wrecker.
The incoming tide is said to
have completely covered the auto
from Charlotte and partially in
undated the wrecker from below
the border. But the drivers and
spectators didn’t lose sight of the
wrecker, according to reports. Its
lights burned brightly during the
high tide, while all awaited more
help.
Finally, Gore said, about 9 a.
m., another wrecker was secured
Continued On Page 6
what they had to begin with and
have made it into what is perhaps
the finest resort amusement beach
on the North Carolina coast.
In many ways Morehead City
is very much like Southport. Both
are situated on protected waters
near the ocean and have beaches
across the causeway with a foil
nearby. The fort there is historic
Fort Macon.
Another thing which impressed
us was the fine convention facili
ties that Morehead City had to
offer. Not only did they have a
hotel with a large dining hall,
but they also have numerous
smaller motor lodges and motels
to accommodate additional guests.
We came to the conclusion that
Morehead City is a fine location
for a state port terminal, but de
cided that they have nothing
there that Southport could not
accommodate just as well, if not
better. A port at Southport would
save time and money for the
people of North Carolina.
At present, ships going to Wil
mington have to travel a 20-mile
channel that pilots have to be
put aboard the ship to navigate
safely. Also, it has been found
that the channel near Wilmington
has a rock bottom that will make
deepening extremely difficult and
expensive. Because of this, we
think the only logical location
for a port in southeastern North
Carolina to accomnidate the super
tankers of the future will be here
at Southport.
TEMPEST
PONTIAC
HARRIS PONTIAC, Inc.
Next Door to Bus Station Wilmington, N. C.
Pontiac - Tempest ~ GMC
ROger 3-8231
1
1
!
I
ROUND lb. 79c
Tip Roast lb. 89‘
Cube Steak *• 89‘
Crisp 2 FOR
LETTUCE... 35c
Daisy 5-String
BROOMS 69c
Small Handling Charge On Special Items Unless
Accompanied By $5.00 or More Regular
Grocery Order !
TIP ib. 89*
Rump
ROAST ib. 89*
China Doll 3-Lb. Pkg.
RICE..3^
Santa Rosa
PLUMS ib. 29*
Cabin Home Regular Grind
COBH MEAL 5 Ib. bag 25
Fairlane Sliced IO-Oz Picas
STRAWBERRIES 2 For 49
Minute Maid Frozen 12-Oz Cans
PRANCE JUICE 37'
Large South Carolina (Coming Friday)
WATERMELONS 79*
Local (Coming Friday)
CANTALOUPES 2- 39'
Southern Cream Reg. 55c
PEACH CAKE—39c
Hudson 4-Roll Pkg.
TOILET TISSUE—45«
Southern Reg. 29c Val.
POUND CAKE---19c
CHICKEN PARTS
Breasts lb. 45c Wings lb. 25c
Legs & Thighs lb. 39c
Necks & Backs lb. 10c
LEWIS
RED&WHITE
“THE STORE THAT PUT SHALLOTTE ON THE GO”