10. The garbage ejector threatened the success of the mission on February 22
Submarines disposed of their garbage through a device which had two hatches, one opening to the sea, the other to the inner hull of the ship. They were designed so that only one door could be opened at a time, preventing accidental flooding through misoperation. On February 22, the outer door jammed open, and the use of the garbage ejector was suspended. Garbage aboard a submarine builds up at astonishing speed, and there are few options regarding where it can be stored, even for short periods of time. The use of torpedo tubes to eject the garbage was considered. Beach favored the idea, his torpedo officer did not.
In the end, crewmen cleared the jam. The incident marked one of the inconsistencies of submarine life – indeed all military life. Handling and disposing of garbage are unpleasant tasks, usually given to a junior and relatively inexperienced hand. Yet the consequences of error based on inexperience could be catastrophic. When the jam was cleared the cause was determined to be one likely the result of inexperience, over-greasing the mechanism, from, “an excess of enthusiasm against which we shall hereafter guard ourselves”, according to Beach’s narration of the event. Two days later, St. Peter and Paul Rocks were sighted, and the circumnavigation of the globe officially began.