14. Triton photographed statues on Easter Island through its periscope
When the explorer, Thor Heyerdahl visited Easter Island, he restored one of the fabled ancient statues to its perch, recording its location. Through the use of the periscope Captain Beach spotted Heyerdahl’s statue, “right where he said it was”. Several other statues were sighted at a distance, which made them indistinguishable. Beach reported the sighting to his crew over the general announcement circuit, and invited anyone who wanted to view the statue to come up to see it through the periscope. Submariners called such a privilege, which is relatively rare, “periscope liberty”, another small break from the grinding routine which marked extended submerged voyages.
From Easter Island Triton’s next destination was the island of Guam, some 6,800 miles to the west by north. The journey to Guam included the second crossing of the Equator, from south to north. Triton crossed the line on March 19, and Captain Beach noted of this second crossing, “King Neptune had apparently passed the word along the line; for none of his minions delayed our passage, and Triton suffered to cross the boundary in peace”. The following day Triton reached the closest point to Pearl Harbor of the cruise, and the crew celebrated with a submerged Hawaiian Luau, complete with Hawaiian costumes and hula dances.