Navy Shower

I jumped into the shower recently without my large fluffy towel hanging on the nearby rack  which I discovered as I came out and reached for it. All that I was able to reach was a hand towel by the sink so I started using that to drive myself off.

This all suddenly brought back memories of my Navy showers of some fifty years ago. We were issued two small towels for taking showers and general use that were just slightly larger than the hand towel I was using at the moment. The navy towels were small because of the space shortage on a ship. Everything counted. So I was using the hand towel the other day and the movements and method of drying oneself with such a small towel came back naturally. I made it work just like I did back in the day on board a ship. I was dry and the little towel was wet.

Back in Navy boot camp we were actually shown how to shower efficiently including how to use your hands to flic most of the water off your body before you started using a towel. I've been doing that naturally now for the past fifty years whenever and wherever I take a shower. I always flic the drops of water off my body before grabbing a towel. That's what I did when I had to reach for the hand towel the other day and why it worked for me to drive myself off. 

We were also trained to take very quick showers. Fresh water was a scarcity on a ship and a one to two minute shower was the norm. Navy showers always taken to conserve water. One minute to get soaked. Turn off the water and soap up and scrub. Then turn on the water to rinse off.  Use the little towel to dry off and using your hand to remove most of the water drops. A navy shower.

The head on my two ships was much smaller than the photo above. There were two rows of toilets facing each other. There were about four in a row for a total of eight and very close together.

Another thing about the showers. They were also used for anti-nuclear decontamination. If someone was exposed they were to jump in the shower and a special valve at the base and behind was opened that would spray seawater in the shower. Occasionally it would be a bad joke on someone to sneak by the shower and turn that valve while shipmate was taking a shower. They would suddenly be sprayed by very forceful and very cold harsh seawater. Yuck!