STORY:
U.S. Sub Celebrates On Dateline

USS Topeka marks millennium by straddling the International dateline

(Everything2000) A United States submarine managed to be in 1999 and 2000 at the same time. The USS Topeka took a travel in time under the Pacific Ocean.

The bow of the sub was in one year, its stem in another and all this 400 feet beneath the international dateline in the Pacific Island near New Zealand. The Pearl Harbor-based Navy submarine straddled the line as the New Year dawned in the South Pacific.

The submarine also managed to be in both the northern and southern hemispheres by straddling the equator at the same time. Some of the 130 crewmembers were in the winter in the north, while others were in summer in the south. The sub is 2,100 miles from its home in Honolulu, Hawaii and took advantage of its location. Some crewmember took small water samples to take home as a souvenir of the occasion.

The Navy says this isn't just a publicity stunt. The submarine was working, checking out possible Y2K computer problems also. The submarine's commanding officer, Mark Patton of Cheyenne, Wyo., said the sub demonstrated the Navy's confidence that it's ready to handle the Y2K computer bug.

The USS Topeka wasn't alone in the waters of the South Pacific. Traffic around the dateline was filled with boaters rushing to greet the millenium and watch the first sunrise.

Source: Associated Press

DATE: 12/31/99

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