"This is warship 18"

[rgoff]

On my boat trip from Dana Point to Oceanside (about 22 nm) yesterday, I passed this large Navy ship a couple of miles off the coast at marine base Camp Pendleton. It was not underway and I had been altering my course to stay a reasonable distance in front when I crossed its bow.

When 1/2 mile or so away I got a call on the marine VHF channel 16: "Small sailboat off my starboard bow, this is warship 18". After switching to channel 10 I told him my course and intentions and was asked to change course some to open up the distance in crossing her bow. Naturally, I did so.

Shortly after crossing its bow it got underway and steamed over the horizon.

BTW, I looked it up and it's the USS New Orleans (LPD-18), an "amphibious transport dock".

Had to put up with 2 hours of very heavy fog (1/4 mile visibility at times) when I left Dana Point, but was clear the last half of the trip. The sea was nice and smooth and expected to remain that way. Clear and sunny here in Oceanside harbor right now. Hope it stays that way for my return trip Friday.

 

[boethius27]

There was one of those here in Boston last summer. It brought a bunch of crew for some parade or another.

Yay tax money.

 

[noproblemo2]

We always preferred the dolphins over the large ships

 

[tenders]

That's the shiny new model of the LPD-class ship. LPDs are designed to sink their sterns, flooding a giant well that extends 2/3 of the way into the ship, allowing air-cushion vehicles as well as various types of small boats to go in and out, loading and unloading tons and tons of Marines and equipment. They also have flight decks and can accommodate several types of helicopters and Harriers. Very flexible ships -- they can do a lot of stuff at once.

I spent three years aboard one of the old class, USS OGDEN (LPD-5) in the early 1990s, loading and unloading Marines from Pendleton and going to places as far afield as Pearl Harbor, Kuwait, Perth, and Mogadishu.

That ship was so old (how old was it?) well it was so old that we used to say that until the Russians developed a rust-seeking missile we had absolutely nothing to worry about.