| Fleet
Week 2006 Special by
Rick W. Pisio
RWP
Photography
~~~~~~~~~~
All
Photos by Rick W. Pisio
~~~~~~~~~~
San
Francisco Fleet Week 2006
To the City of San Francisco, California,
the first week of October is known as
“Fleet Week,” a weeklong event
where The City celebrates its naval
heritage and welcomes the U.S. Navy to
town.
Fleet Week dates back over twenty years
when the Navy’s influence in San
Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area
was much greater than it is today. Even
with the most of the major bases in the
Bay Area long since closed (Alameda NAS,
Mare Island, Concord Naval Weapons
Station, Hunters Point, Treasure Island,
et al...) the Bay Area still is proud of
its Navy heritage and once a year greets
the visiting Navy vessels & crews
with enthusiasm.
Our day began in a standing room only
briefing within the dining hall of the
Yerba Buena Island Coast Guard Station,
where the Mission Commander always starts
the 7:30 a.m. briefing right on schedule.
The presentation includes information on
weather, procedures, protocols, and what
the patrol crews can expect out on the
water.
A major focus of the briefing on Saturday
morning is the Parade of Ships, which
will start passing under the Golden Gate
Bridge at 11:00 a.m. The lead ship will
be the Ticonderoga Class Aegis Cruiser
USS Princeton, followed by the USS
Nimitz, the latter of which was expected
to launch and recover aircraft while in
the Bay. In total, we are told that 6
Navy ships are expected to pass under San
Francisco’s most famous landmark.
This was the second year that I had been
given the opportunity to participate in a
Fleet Week Patrol with the crew of the
Coast Guard Auxiliary boat “Silver
Charm.” Skippered by Linda Vetter,
and crewed by her husband Terry
Blanchard, the Silver Charm is a 33-
foot, privately owned, aluminum hulled
vessel, custom built for the purpose of
working closely with the Coast Guard
patrolling the waters of San Francisco
Bay.
All the patrol boats were expected to be
on station by 10:00 a.m. when the air
show box, a one square mile area off the
San Francisco waterfront, is officially
closed to all boat traffic. Any civilian
vessels entering the air show box would
be stopped once they exited the other
side and subject to disciplinary actions.
The patrol position of the Silver Charm
would be on the west end of the air show
box facing the Golden Gate Bridge.
Just before 11:00 a.m. the USS Princeton
(CG-59) could be seen on its approach
outside the Golden Gate. As it passed
under the bridge the Princeton fired off
a number of volleys, blanks fortunately,
from its deck gun. Trailing the Princeton
was the San Francisco fireboat,
"Gaurdian Fire Boat No 2,"
pointing its fire nozzles skyward and
shooting up lofty plumes of water.
Following the Princeton was the aircraft
carrier USS Nimitz (CVAN-68.) The 1,072
foot long ship, with its superstructure
barely clearing the underside of the
Golden Gate Bridge, was an impressive
site as it entered San Francisco Bay.
Barely noticeable in contrast with the
immense size of the Nimitz, were the
smaller Navy and Coast Guard patrol boats
that swarmed around the ship and provided
the inner ring of security.
A pressing concern to the Coast Guard
Commanders was the safety of the Navy
ships once they were in the relatively
confined area of San Francisco Bay.
Though these great warships could protect
themselves out on the open ocean, the
potential for a “USS Cole” type
incident was not inconceivable.
A pair of HH-60’s, with their swivel
mounted machine guns displayed, patrolled
the area around the Golden Gate 30
minutes before any of the Navy ships
arrived. All six of the 87 foot Coast
Guard Coastal Patrol Boats, which formed
the outer ring of protection, were
instructed during the briefing to
“uncover your 50’s” in
reference to the 4-50 caliber machine
guns on each of the 6 vessels.
The inner ring of protection was the
domain of the fast moving Navy RIB boats
and Coast Guard Safe Boats. The small
craft had sufficient firepower to disable
a hostile vessel should it venture too
close to the fleet.
As the Nimitz approached Alcatraz Island,
which is located in the middle of San
Francisco Bay, it launched a pair of
F/A-18 Hornets from its waist catapults.
The planes joined up to make a formation
pass, thereafter splitting up with each
subsequently making a touch and go on the
deck of the Nimitz, before departing the
airspace.
Following the Nimitz was the destroyer
USS Higgins (DDG-76), guided missile
destroyers USS Chafee (DDG 90) and USS
John Paul Jones (DDG-53), and the
amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme
Richard (LHD-6). The pairing of the USS
John Paul Jones and USS Bonhomme Richard
was fitting since Bonhomme Richard was
the name that Captain, later Admiral John
Paul Jones, gave to his famous,
French-built, Revolutionary War frigate.
Trailing the parade of ships was a pair
of LCAC landing craft that had been
launched from the stern of the Bonhomme
Richard.
Once the parade of ships had finished,
the patrol line regrouped. As the Red
Bull Air Races started along the San
Francisco waterfront, the Silver Charm
took the opportunity to deliver a few box
lunches to other Coast Guard Auxiliary
boats on patrol near Alcatraz.
As the Red Bull Air Races concluded, the
airshow was opened by a pair of F/22
Raptors coming in over the Golden Gate
Bridge and making a couple of passes
along the waterfront. Their departure was
a climb straight up until they could no
longer be seen.
The Raptors were followed by Sean Tucker
in his Oracle Challenger biplane and the
Air Force Heritage Flight, consisting of
the Planes of Fame’s F-86 Sabre and
an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II. After
the Heritage Flight, the F-86 departed
the airspace while the A-10 did a flight
demonstration above the Bay’s water.
As each aerial performer went through
their routines, the number of boats on
the water increased. By the time the U.S.
Marine Corps' Lockheed KC-130R Hercules,
"Fat Albert," flew his pre-Blue
Angels performance, the Silver
Charm’s crew and other patrol boats
in their sector had their hands full
making sure that dozens of civilian boats
stayed clear of the air show box.
With clear skies and unusually light
winds, the Blue Angel "Delta
Formation" was clearly visible as it
made its way northbound on the west side
of Golden Gate Bridge. Soon the show was
on and those lucky to be out on the water
were treated to awe inspiring, eardrum
blasting, close up views of the underside
of an F/A-18 Hornet. As the planes made
their way into the air show box from the
west, their flight path took them right
over our position to the delight of the
spectators on the boats, all of whom
responded with shouts and yells of
enthusiasm.
For the crew of the Silver Charm, the
busiest part of the day came after the
Blue Angels' performance. Even though the
team had concluded their performance, the
air show box and the water beneath
remained closed until the Blue Angels
themselves, had safely landed at San
Francisco Airport. Many of the civilian
boats were not aware of this rule and
immediately tried to cut across the
"not-yet-open-to-boat-traffic part
of the bay." For the next ten
minutes all of the patrol boats were busy
cutting off would be transgressors.
As the Silver Charm made its way along
the San Francisco waterfront back to the
Coast Guard Station at Yerba Buena
Island, all of the Navy ships that had
arrived earlier in the day could be seen
berthed along the piers. The only
exception was the USS Nimitz, which was
moored in the deep water channel south of
Yerba Buena Island. Over the next few
days many of the ships would be open to
the public to allow "The
People" an opportunity to get close
and go onboard these great warships that
~ through their hard-earned and
thoughtfully paid tax dollars ~ were
sacrificing to pay for and maintain,
along with the selfless crews that live
and work inside.
|
