"An Unexpected Time"
by Tabatha Haas Charles Barnum School: 3rd Grade
Click. Click. Click. I was typing my password on the computer. I had to check my e-mail. I looked at the corner of the screen. I saw the mailbox. I looked closer. There in the mailbox sat a tiny letter. I opened the e-mail. It said I won a day on the Nautilus submarine! My mouth dropped open. I only entered the contest because my dad told me to. I did not think I would ever win. Now I was jumping with joy.
The next day I was at the submarine base. I stepped on the submarine. The captain said hello and welcome to the U.S.S. Nautilus. It was really small!! But it still had a lot of stuff on board. I wondered how many people were on baord with all of the special equipmet they had.
Soon we were off. I felt the boat moving forward. I was supposed to go on top and check for other submarines. While I was up there I saw a little group of dolphins playing in the waves. They were jumping in the waves. The sun shining against the water gave it a little sparkle. I thought they looked very graceful.
I didn’t want to stop looking at the dolphins but the captain told me that the submarine was going to dive. We went below. I heard the captiain send a few people up to close the hulls and hatches. They put water in the tanks so that the submarine would be heavier. A few sailors went to the periscopes and check one more time.
After all of the checking was done it was time for lunch. Another one of the crew mates told me where the mess was. I was halfway done with my lunch when the captain looked very worried. A crew mate had come in to tell the captain something. He told me there was a leak in the torpedo room and he wanted me to help! I knew that this was an important job. A leak on a submarine is very dangerous because we can’t get out. I had to help fix the leak. I was supposed to hand out tools which was hard because water was squirting at me like an overloaded water gun. Every time they had to use a tool, I handed it to them. I was not sure that we would fix it in time. The water started squirting at me even harder. About six men were trying to fix the leak. They were in a big hurry. As I handed out the last few tools, the leak was finally taken care. Everybody gave a strange sigh of relief. As soon as the leak was taken care of half the day was over.
I was hungry and tired. I went to the mess hall and had dinner. Next, I went to the bunk and pulled the little curtain so nobody would bother me. I fell fast asleep. When I woke I noticed that the bunk room was very crowded. There were a lot of bunks in there. They were very close together. Around the bunks I saw lots of pictures of the sailor’s family and friends. I think the sailors must miss their family and friends. Soon we had to go back. They let the water out from the tanks filling them with air so the submarine gets lighter and can lift. My time on the submarine was very exciting.
I liked being on the U.S.S. nautilus. I remembered when I was handing out tools and getting squirted with water. I realized that people on submarines work really hard. I would like to visit the submarine again because I had a good time. I would not like to have another leak. If I do visit the Nautilus again I want to look at the dolphins through the periscope.