AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) -- Its bow in one year, its stern in another, the USS Topeka marked the new millennium 400 feet beneath the international date line in the Pacific Ocean.
The Pearl Harbor-based Navy submarine straddled the line, meaning that at midnight, one end was in 2000 while the other was still in 1999."I can assure you we were the only ones at 400 feet below the surface to experience it," said the commanding officer, Cmdr. Mark Patton of Cheyenne, Wyo.
The 360-foot-long sub, which was 2,100 miles from Honolulu, straddled the equator at the same time, meaning it was in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Some of the 130 crew members were in winter in the north, while others were in summer in the south. Many took small water samples to keep as mementos, the Navy said.
"Words can't describe the feeling," said Lt. Michael Bratton of Little Rock, Ark., "It's better than Times Square."
The nuclear-powered attack sub can carry MK-48 advanced capability torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The sub had plenty of company on the surface. Traffic around the date line was heavy with boaters rushing to greet the millennium or witness its first dawn.
Patton said the Topeka's position was not just a publicity stunt. He says that positioning the sub along the date line -- submerged -- demonstrated the Navy's confidence that it's ready to handle the Y2K computer bug.
Some fear that the new year will confuse computers that might mistake 2000 for 1900, causing systems to crash.
But Patton said there were no worries aboard the sub.
"Topeka was probably one of the safest places to be for Y2K," he said.