Hurricane... that's pretty serious. When we got into such weather on the surface, nobody could stay on the bridge and the first officer had to direct the sub from the periscope. We were always happy when we reached our diving area and could get away from such ghastly conditions..
Money was good too on the subs. Some 600 German Mark extra, which was a fortune for us guys at the time. Plus we had the best food :-)
And I saw some nice places in Denmark, we even spent two days in Copenhagen once :-)
We had air dried lamb, air dried cod, pilot whale, boiled lambs heads and other local specialities.
Thing is... we agree that it was not at all romantic, but it does give you access to a secret brotherhood - just look at us chatting away :)
To me it was a great way to be accepted in my family in law (I call them the schooner Hansen-Nielsen). In that family it is important to have been on the sea and I was way more accomplished than most of them.
You are right, the sense of brotherhood is definitely there. Have always felt it with everyone who shared the experience.
The camaraderie on the sub was intense too, particularly since everyone's life depended on everyone else.
Funny thing is, my wife was on a ship too, when she was a young girl... made a much smarter choice than me though. There is a German TV show "Das Traumschiff" (equivalent to the American "Love Boat") and she was a barkeeper and stewardess on that ship!! Her memories are somewhat different 😉
So, your family in law, are they ship owners? Or why is it important to them to have been on the sea?
No, they are not ship-owners, except if you mean small fishing boats. But my wife's oldest uncle has been sailing since he was 14 - sent away due to poverty and divorce after the war, and I guess that in Denmark there is some respect for sailors. It was and still is an important part of your identity.
I found some small bits of Traumschiff on Youtube. Part of my childhood we had German television so it felt quite nostalgic :)
I see. Yes, understand what you say about the identity.. same in northern Germany.
Haha.. we watch it too every now and then. Trip down memory lane... and like I said, much better ship and destinations than I had ;-)