On April 1, 1960, a 19-year-old Filipino fisherman Rufino Baring reportedly encountered the USS Triton (SSRN-586), the U.S. Navy’s massive nuclear-powered submarine, during its top-secret Operation Sandblast, the first submerged circumnavigation of the world. The fisherman reportedly mistook the periscope as the eye of a sea monster, leading him to believe he was seeing something monstrous.
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| Rubino Baring sighted by USS Triton in the Bohol Strait on April 1, 1960. |
The Triton, commanded by Captain Edward L. Beach, was on a landmark 60,000+ mile underwater voyage following (roughly) the route of Ferdinand Magellan. It stayed submerged for nearly the entire 83-day journey to showcase nuclear submarine capabilities during the Cold War.
While transiting Magellan Bay, the sub briefly raised its periscope. The crew spotted Baring paddling nearby, only about 50 yards away. Captain Beach described the surreal scene in the ship’s log: an “impassive Asian” in a simple canoe staring at the periscope, while on the other end was a state-of-the-art $100 million submarine crew looking back. He noted the vast “abyss” of centuries of technological difference.
The photo was taken by a crew member (likely involving National Geographic photographer Joseph Baylor Roberts, who was aboard).
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| USS Triton (SSRN-586) during sea trials (September 27, 1959). |
Baring was terrified. He later told National Geographic (which published the photo and tracked him down) that he thought the periscope was the “gleaming mysterious eye” of a sea monster. He paddled away as fast as he could.
He became the only civilian/unauthorized person known to have visually spotted the Triton during its entire secret mission.
The image perfectly symbolizes the clash between ancient, traditional ways of life and modern military technology. It’s a fascinating, almost whimsical footnote in one of the most impressive feats of underwater navigation in history.
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