USS Hampton at the North Pole.
The United States Navy submarine USS Nautilus crossed the North Pole on August 3, 1958.Navigation beneath the arctic ice sheet was difficult. Above 85°N both magnetic compasses and normal gyrocompasses become inaccurate. A special gyrocompass built by Sperry Rand was installed shortly before the journey. There was a risk that the submarine would become disoriented beneath the ice and that the crew would have to play "longitude roulette". Commander Anderson had considered using torpedoes to blow a hole in the ice if the submarine needed to surface. The most difficult part of the journey was in the Bering Strait. The ice extended as much as 60 feet (18 m) below sea level. During the initial attempt to go through the Bering Strait, there was insufficient room for the submarine to pass between the ice and the sea bottom. During the second, successful attempt to pass through the Bering passage, the submarine passed through a known channel close to Alaska (this was not the first choice way through the Bering Strait as the submarine wanted to avoid detection). On March 17, 1959, the USS Skate actually surfaced at the Pole, becoming the first naval vessel to do so. Following these early "pole" encounters, numerous other submarines from a number of countries including the United States made similar conquests.
HMS Superb, USS Billfish, and USS Sea Devil in a North Pole rendezvous in 1987 (U.S. Navy Photo)
During an Arctic summer, the sun is in the sky 24 hours per day, giving the Arctic ocean more total sunlight than anywhere else on the planet, excepting the Antarctic during its summer season. The result is that large areas of the Arctic Ocean are ice free in summer at any one time, with large leads of open water and even larger `polynyas', stretches of open water tens of miles long and miles wide. This photo of three submarines visiting the North Pole in May 1987 shows the whole area criss-crossed with open water leads before the summer had even arrived.
By contrast, a similar photo taken 12 years later of USS Hawkbill (with the ominous number SSN-666) at the North Pole during the spring of 1999 shows a vast expanse of unbroken new ice. (Hawkbill was nicknamed `the Devil Boat' due to its number, and was decommissioned in 2000 shortly after its last Arctic cruise, much to the relief of those familiar with the `Book of Revelation').
USS Hawkbill at the North Pole, Spring 1999. (US Navy Photo)
The coordinates to each cache of the series may be found by answering the questions below. Upon finding each cache, make sure that you note sequentially the number on the inside lid of each cache as you will need this information to reach the Final. Smooth sailing!
During the period from the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s one of the US Navy’s most critical missions was to find and “trail” Soviet missile subs. In doing so there were several collisions between the American submarine’s and the Soviet forces.
The coordinates for Blind Man's Bluff #5 are N47 06.ABC W122 45.DEF where
1. ABC equals the hull number of the only submarine in the US submarine forces to have a slot-machine next to their coke machine plus 69.
2. DEF equals the hull number of the American submarine which, in October of 1986 was successful in decoying the Soviet Navy’s attention away from the USS Parche SSN-683, allowing it to escape the Soviet ships and radio “Mission Accomplished” before returning to San Diego plus 171.
