CLEARWATER — This fish tale is true, David Schermerhorn says. The 16,000-ton one that got away.
A nuclear-powered, guided-missile submarine, surfaced and shimmering off the coasts of Key West, cut across the horizon in front of his eyes. Schermerhorn, of Clearwater, and his friend Bryan Marlowe had boated halfway to Cuba hoping for a haul of dolphins and marlin. Instead, they discovered a highly classified, battle-capable force of the United States' naval fleet.
"It was a trip, man," said Marlowe, 32. "I don't see a lot of that type of crap. It just popped up out of nowhere."
The men put down their fishing poles and Miller Lite, and watched. Before them was the USS Georgia, about as long as the Tampa skyline is tall. Crew members stood on top of the vessel, looking out at the waves.
The sub, wrote Navy Commander Patrick W. McNally in an e-mail, was being used for routine dive training to prepare "operators for possible missions overseas." McNally wouldn't share specifics "due to the sensitive nature of special operations."
Schermerhorn and Marlowe learned that when five boats stocked with machine guns approached. Men in sunglasses and black fatigues told them to move 2,000 yards away. Marlowe grabbed the boat's wheel. Schermerhorn held his camera.
"Due to my extensive knowledge of the sea and out of concern for our national security, I took many photographs," said Schermerhorn, 48. "It's my obligation and duty to investigate."
The Georgia, launched during the Cold War in the early 1980s, was once an arm of the American nuclear arsenal, carrying two dozen warhead-packed Trident missiles. But after a 2004 refitting, it traded its nuclear capabilities for weaponry the Navy says is better suited for the "global war on terrorism" — 154 strike missiles, four antisubmarine torpedo tubes and room for 66 Special Operations soldiers.
It was all a little too Tom Clancy for Marlowe, a self-proclaimed Georgia boy who wanted only to fish. But Schermerhorn, who called the sub's activity "suspicious," has kept digging. He contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office with his story. He may write a book.
It's a fish tale he thinks needs to be heard. If only there were fish.
"We didn't catch a damn thing once we got there," Marlowe said. "The sub ran them off."
Drew Harwell can be reached at dharwell@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4170.
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