Triton treated its return to St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks as completion of the submerged circumnavigation before continuing toward Cádiz and home. Announcing success required the captain and communications officer to draft, code, and destroy five versions before settling on the official signal. The crew also reenlisted Machinist's Mate First Class William Roy Welsh for six years at depth and high speed at the moment of completion. Because Navy personnel rules normally prohibited reenlistment at sea, the ceremony required advance permission from the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and the Bureau of Naval Personnel. Recording all of those conditions in Welsh's service record and the ship's log turned an administrative act into a deliberate commemoration of the voyage.
Notable Point · 3:05:19-3:07:09
Sandblast's completion becomes a naval ceremony
Reaching St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks closed the circumnavigation, after which message drafting and a specially authorized reenlistment marked the achievement.