My 2009 Ride on the PT-728

The foredeck of the 728 at the dock at Battleship Cove. (Kathleen Mitchell photo)

In July 2008, I had my first opportunity to go aboard Fleet Obsolete's PT-728 and go out for a ride on her. True, … True, … she's actually a late war Vosper that was built in Annapolis, Maryland for the Soviet Navy in 1945 but was never handed over to them, … but hey, she's as close to an actual PT boat as I'm going to ever get on.

When I got off of the boat in 2008, the thought, which was foremost on my mind, was, understandably, 'when can I do this again?' Well, the answer to that question was to be August 30, 2009.

As my family and I were already on vacation at my house on Cape Cod, going to Battleship Cove would not be a terrible hardship, since Battleship Cove is just about a hour away from the Cape. The boat was going to be at "The Cove" during the weekends of August 22 and 23 and August 28 and 29.

We travelled to the Cape on the 21st so that I could go on the boat on the 23rd. A good idea, but Hurricane Bill decided to change my plans for me. So, I planned going out on the boat on the following Sunday, the 29th. All week long, I looked forward to that day. But, by mid-week, my brother informed me that another hurricane was forming and heading our way. My initial thought was "Merde' … Foiled again …"

The cockpit section of the 728. One of her replica torpedo tubes
can be seen in this view.. (Kathleen Mitchell photo)

PT-728 carries two depth charges on her foredeck along with a single .50 caliber
machine gun on a simple pipe mounting. The machine gun has a shoulder stock,
which isn't exactly accurate. (Kathleen Mitchell photo)

.50 caliber machine gun

From that day on, I kept a close eye on the 'local' news broadcasts on the off-chance that one of the projected tracks of the hurricane would have sent it out to sea and it would not effect us. But, that was not to be. Even though the hurricane, Hurricane Dave was downgraded to a tropical depression later in the week, it still meant that a lot of rain was headed our way on 'Old Cape Cod'. As the weekend neared, it was announced that Saturday was going to be a complete washout but Sunday was going to be okay. That was what I 'banked' on and even entertained a little hope. As predicted, Saturday was a complete washout and we had heavy rains all day and into the late night hours but the 'weather Gurus' on all of the 'local' channels up here were still saying that Sunday was going to be okay. In fact, Saturday afternoon, my brother Tom called the Captain of the 728 to see if the group was still going to run rides on Sunday and the answer was yes.

T. Garth Connelly in maroon and his brother Tom, in blue on board PT-728.
But, believe it or not, Garth is eleven years younger than Tom. (Kathleen Mitchell photo)

I went to bed thinking I would get up, have breakfast and head off to Battleship Cove in sunshine. Reality? I got up, greeted by overcast skies and a heavy drizzle that appeared as if it was going to continue. To quote Queen Victoria; "We were not amused." Then, as we were preparing to leave, the drizzle stopped but the skies remained very dark as if there was going to be a downpour at any moment.

However, we forged on. We climbed into my Dodge van and took off. By 'we' I mean my older brother Tom, my older sister Kathleen Mitchell and I. On the way down to Battleship Cove, it would rain on and off and the sky seemed awfully dark in places. Those things were not instilling an overwhelming sense of confidence in me. In fact, Tom told me that whereas I'd get to see the boat and her crew again, it was not looking promising to go out. I didn't really respond but I agreed with him.

The same 'type' of scenario played out a year previously when he and I went to my first NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Loudon, New Hampshire. It rained heavily the morning of the race right up to about an hour before the race and then, cleared and became sunny throughout the course of the race. I was hoping that something like that would happen now.

Would you believe it, as we passed through New Bedford and neared Fall River, where Battleship Cove is located, the rain stopped and the sky actually lightened in brightness, giving me a little more hope than I had just a few minutes previously.

We pulled into the parking lot and I noted that the boat seemed a little smaller than I remembered her. Perhaps that was because I was looking at her with a South Dakota class Battleship behind her. The last time I had seen the boat, she was in a harbor filled with small speedboats and sportsfishermen and sightseeing boats, but near a Battleship, the term "Mosquito Boat" took on new meaning.

Even though I've seen photos of PT boats tied up to capitol ships, seeing that perspective in person really makes an impression. After of the greetings and the catching up and the presenting of books were done, I was lifted onto and seated aboard the boat. While the other people were buying their tickets and getting in line to board the boat, I listened to the 1940 era music over the boat's loud speakers.

My sister walked around the boat and took some photos for me.