Tailhook '91

[MasterBates]

What is this 'steel beach' you speak of. i presume it has something to do with one of those boat things, perhaps.

The "Ocean Breeze Conference Center" between the CBQ and Navy Lodge used to be the O-Club @ NRB.

The "Steel Beach" is the bar, which is made up to look like a Knox class FF flight deck.. H-34 Tail paddle on the wall, SH-2F tailboom on the other wall.

When I first got there (early 03) it was still open.. But then it became "event only" for ZTRs and such.

 

[FastMover]

Steel Beach on CVA-43

Here's a good pic I came across of steel beach on the Coral Sea in 1973.

 

[A4sForever]

That top left picture is a little odd .... looking, actually.

WHAHY??? ODD LOOKING !!??

Because we love one another's company and enjoy sweating with the boys??!! :tongue2_1

BIGOT !!!

BIGOT !!!

 

[Catmando]

I know the dice game you're talking about, but can't remember the name, either. ...

The dice game of choice we played in the Cubi O'Club was Klondike:

Man with cup (house) places bet on table. Others to the left in order kick in enough $$ until the house's bet is matched.

With 3 die, the house keeps rolling until he gets a pair – the odd die is then the "number." The house then passes the cup to the left. That person rolls the 3 die until he gets a pair, with his odd die being his "number." If his number is lower than the house's, he loses his bet. If higher, he takes out of the pot double of what he originally bet. If there were other bettors to his left, he passes the cup left. When all betters have rolled a number, the cup goes back to the house for another round.

Aside from having a high, winning "number" or "point" with the odd die, there also were some automatics - a 4-5-6 was an automatic winner; a 1-2-3 was an automatic loser. "Trips" - 3 die of a kind were either automatic winners or losers, depending upon "West Coast" or "East Coast" rules. (Two East coast carriers came 'round the horn to WestPac and caused the game problems.:icon_rage)

The house could relinquish the cup to his left at any time. If he won, he had to keep letting the pot build until he either lost all of it, or passed the cup so he could finally rake in the pot. Therefore, the pot often doubled, and then redoubled etc resulting in some massive pots.

Several Klondike games would start early in the evening, usually melting into one large one that often continued until sunrise. The pile of cash on the table, and the amounts won and lost were staggering.
Back then we were all paid in cash, in$20 bills, and many of them ended up in the pile on the table.

 

[A4sForever]

The dice game of choice we played in the Cubi O'Club was Klondike:...... The pile of cash on the table, and the amounts won and lost were staggering....

Klondike. I was introduced to that in the TRACOM as an Advanced Jet STUD -- Kingsville. It was very popular with the just-back-from WestPac-Instructors .... and they took great glee in "teaching" us STUDs ....

Now THAT was a serious game ... not a game just for drinks or for the faint of heart ('course none of us were .... ), but Cat's talkin' about thousands, repeat: THOUSANDS of late 60's/early 70's dollars on the table at any one time.

 

[xj220]

Is this game still played today and is it more prominent in certain communities?

 

[Catmando]

Now THAT was a serious game ... not a game just for drinks or for the faint of heart ('course none of us were .... ), but Cat's talkin' about thousands, repeat: THOUSANDS of late 60's/early 70's dollars on the table at any one time.

Absolutely! Many guys ran out of cash - even though they brought a month's pay worth of $20's to the table - so "paper" IOU's were common. But most everyone was good for it, despite some massive losses. I know guys who paid off their night's Klondike losses in installments for the remainder of the cruise. I heard of one guy who was still paying, over two years later. I even saw one guy bet his car at the table, and lose it. But for every big loser, there were some big winners, too. Surprisingly, given the enormous stakes, it most always remained a gentleman's game.

You actually could get in and out of the game, quickly and cheaply. But it was all too easy to quickly get sucked in way over your head....and many unfortunately did. Regardless, it always was a great and free, spectator sport for those standing around the table.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Is this game still played today and is it more prominent in certain communities?

Yes. My squadron played it.

 

[Catmando]

Is this game still played today and is it more prominent in certain communities?

I doubt it. Like most everything that occurred at the Cubi O'Club, it would not be allowed today.

We did play Klondike at the Miramar O'Club for awhile (Capt Lloyd Bucher of the Pueblo was a frequent participant there), but it was later outlawed.

From all I've seen, it's probably just as well it isn't played anymore.

 

[A4sForever]

I doubt it. Like most everything that occurred at the Cubi O'Club, it would not be allowed today.

We did play Klondike at the Miramar O'Club for awhile (Capt Lloyd Bucher of the Pueblo was a frequent participant there), but it was later outlawed.

From all I've seen, it's probably just as well it isn't played anymore.

I gotta hope and believe SOME of the O'Club traditions are still alive and well -- and above ground. I know the overseas Clubs are a little more "traditional" than CONUS Clubs ..... I'm sure they still have their dedicated little slot machine rooms ... ... at least one would hope so. I used to shake dice for drinks with my airline crews ... most of them were seeing it for the first time.

When I left Whidbey in the '70's dice game$ of chance were $till an active FRI/$AT night pur$uit at the Club ... when I returned @ 10 years later -- it had disappeared.

 

[Lovebug201]

In Iwakuni around this time the Friday happy hour game was the Yen roll.

With all of the aircrew sitting around a big table in the "filight suit" bar, the skipper would call out a number. Lets just say 127.

The 127 ace rolled then scored the Yen roll.

the Yen roll was made up of everyone sitting at the table contributing 1000 Yen (about $3.00).

Rules were - 5 dice in the cub until the number of aces needed to win was 5 for less. Then with each ace rolled a die was removed from the cup. I have seen the cup go completely around the table looking for the last ace.

Whoever rolled the last ace won the "roll" then had 30 seconds to leave the bar and 30 minutes to leave the base. If you were the winner and were caught, you gave up the roll to whoever caught you.

You were excused from Saturday's work schedule

You could not spend the roll on anything tangible, no cameras etc. If someone from your squadron ran into you in a bar in the ville, you had to buy.

Nothing is funnier than watching a young Lt. scrambling to leave the bar in the required 30 sec.

Good times:icon_glas

 

[Flash]

I gotta hope and believe SOME of the O'Club traditions are still alive and well -- and above ground. I know the overseas Clubs are a little more "traditional" than CONUS Clubs .....

In Iwakuni around this time the Friday happy hour game was the Yen roll.

Iwakuni's O Club was pretty new in 2004, it was in a common building with the other clubs but in its own wing, pretty nice and very active. A good time was to be had on Friday evenings with the resident and UDP squadrons filling it up to capacity.

 

[HeyJoe]

Klondike. I was introduced to that in the TRACOM as an Advanced Jet STUD -- Kingsville. It was very popular with the just-back-from WestPac-Instructors .... and they took great glee in "teaching" us STUDs ....

Now THAT was a serious game ... not a game just for drinks or for the faint of heart ('course none of us were .... ), but Cat's talkin' about thousands, repeat: THOUSANDS of late 60's/early 70's dollars on the table at any one time.

Absolutely! Many guys ran out of cash - even though they brought a month's pay worth of $20's to the table - so "paper" IOU's were common. But most everyone was good for it, despite some massive losses. I know guys who paid off their night's Klondike losses in installments for the remainder of the cruise. I heard of one guy who was still paying, over two years later. I even saw one guy bet his car at the table, and lose it. But for every big loser, there were some big winners, too. Surprisingly, given the enormous stakes, it most always remained a gentleman's game.

You actually could get in and out of the game, quickly and cheaply. But it was all too easy to quickly get sucked in way over your head....and many unfortunately did. Regardless, it always was a great and free, spectator sport for those standing around the table.

Concur...BIG money...I've seen pink slips on table and even JOs making monthly payments to winners afterwards for years as well. One guy had to "buy" his Corvette back...same guy was a cruise and Vegas/Reno perennial "double up to catch up".

 

[Harrier Dude]

Iwakuni's O Club was pretty new in 2004, it was in a common building with the other clubs but in its own wing, pretty nice and very active. A good time was to be had on Friday evenings with the resident and UDP squadrons filling it up to capacity.

I hear Klondike is how Brett actually lost his bike.

It's still played. Particularly in WESTPAC. I've won/lost some money, but never seen a game as serious at what's been described above.

Yen rolls are a blast. I've seen the pot end up in the thousands, but our rule was that whoever was the first to find the winner got half of what was left. All else remains the same. Lots of fun.

 

[Intruder Driver]

Concur...BIG money...I've seen pink slips on table and even JOs making monthly payments to winners afterwards for years as well. One guy had to "buy" his Corvette back...same guy was a cruise and Vegas/Reno perennial "double up to catch up".

Klondike was halted at Oceana in the late '70's after a LTJG's wife complained to the Admiral's wife about losing their car and TV in one night. Took about six months to get Klondike back. Fortunately, there were still the strippers and other dice games.