5. The Navy intended to release the narrative of the cruise to the public once it was completed
Captain Beach noted in his prologue to the ship’s cruise narrative that it was intended for public consumption. “For these reasons, the normal naval style will have been expanded in the narrative section to follow”, he wrote. Beach noted that when possible conversations and other descriptive passages were included in the official document, “in non-restricted and non-technical language”. Captain Beach’s previous success as a novelist placed him in good stead as the author of the document, which was titled, USS Triton SSRN 586 First Submerged Circumnavigation *1960*. He also noted that due to its immense size and power, Triton was referred to as a ship, rather than a boat, by the men in the vessel.
The narrative indicated that the crew, although it did not know the specifics of the mission, was well aware something unusual was contemplated. Beach credited the crew with keeping the evident length of the mission quiet, even from their families. Although they were scheduled to depart in February, the crew was told to complete their tax returns before departure, or arrange for them to be completed in their absence. That told them they would be gone beyond April 15. On February 16, 1960, Triton departed New London, eased down the Thames River, and entered Block Island Sound. Just over three hours later the ship submerged. Beach noted in the log, “We will be coming to periscope depth occasionally, but we shall not surface until May”.