I served on Trigger from February, 1970 until June 1972 as a QM3(SS). I made the cruise from Charleston to San Diego via Montego Bay and Rodman, Acapulco. I thought you might be interested in a story that happened on that trip.

We anchored in the Atlantic anchorage waiting for a canal pilot. When the pilot arrived, we weighed anchor. Unfortunately, the anchor chain chose that particular moment to part. To the best of my knowledge, the anchor remains at the bottom of the anchorage to this day.

We had a liberty call scheduled for Acapulco. The Captain, Charles R. Flather, knew that without an anchor we would have to cancel the stop. There was no pier space available and anchoring was the only way we could make the stop. He was unwilling to cancel. We went through the canal and spent a day or two in Rodman. The captain managed to secure 2 railroad wheels and the cooperation of the Rodman people. We put a diver over the side to secure a line to the bitter end of the anchor chain so we could raise it and fasten the 2 rail road wheels to it. The wheels were lowered into place with a crane, fastened to the chain, dropped over the side and raised into the hawse (which was on the bottom of the boat). Somewhere in my things I even have a photo of the crane and the wheels with the bow of the boat in the foreground.

That's what we used to anchor in Acapulco.