November 25, 1997 is a day I'll not soon forget. I left my house at 6:40am unsure of what was to come. All I knew was that I would meet the helicopter in an hour, fly out onto a ship, spend the night, and ride back into port with them the following day. I was prepared with the following words of advise "wear comfortable clothes (no skirts), rubber soled shoes, start taking Dramamine the night before, take lots of good pictures, and have a great time".
I met Captain Young, Chaplain Brown and
the helicopter pilots at the Naval Air Station around 7:30am.
Before I knew it we were up in the air, on our 30-45 minute
flight over the Atlantic Ocean to meet the
USS ESTOCIN FFG-15.
My 1st helicopter ride was an exciting experience, but my journey
had just begun. We landed smoothly and safely, and were met with
a warm welcome. The Change of Command ceremony was only an hour
away, so everyone was busy getting ready for this honored Naval
tradition. I was taken to the Officer's Ward room where we hung
out with 2 "Scientists at Sea," Elmer and Gretchen.
They flew into Puerto Rico to meet the ship 8 days before, and
were onboard for the entire long (civilian) trip back to Norfolk.
Elmer, Gretchen and I stood on the upper deck during the ceremony. At least I think they were there, I was taking pictures the whole way through. This United States Navy tradition marked the official transfer of of the USS ESTOCIN from Commander John C. Mackercher, JR. to Commander David W. Prothero as Commanding Officer (Captain of the ship).
After the ceremony, there was a reception in the helo hanger.
It was quite impressive, especially knowing that it was all prepared out at sea. As my reception
montage shows they had a long buffet table full of goodies, a
silver drink fountain of punch and of course a boat ice carving
full of shrimp cocktail!
Once all of the hustle and bustle of the ceremony
was over, LT. Rapaway gave me a VIP tour (or so it seemed) of the
ship. Lots of cool stuff, most of which I did not comprehend. I
took the digital camera with me, but was so overwhelmed I forgot
to take pictures along the tour. After the tour, it was time for
dinner; then the NavBrief (Navigation Brief on returning to port
the next morning). A crowd gathered in the Officer's Ward Room,
attentive to the details of returning home (just in time for
Thanksgiving). I think they were a little annoyed with my
excessive picture taking, but I got some great shots and that was
the purpose of my trip out there.
After the brief I made a quick trip to the ship's store to buy typical tourist things; you know, souvenirs for the family. Then I met Al Garrido, the ship's Webmaster for a few hours. Those sailors work ALL THE TIME!! I headed back to the Ward Room for movies (they play movies on 2 channels from 4pm-6am everyday). However, the mild rocking of the ship was making me really sleepy. I went to bed, and to my suprise had a wonderful night's sleep.
Wednesday morning Gretchen and I got up
around 8 and headed for the deck to see if we were insight of
land yet (she being more anxious after 9 days onboard). We could
see the Virgina Beach Oceanfront, but it was SO COLD we quickly
receeded back inside the ship. About 2 hours later we were
crossing the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and heading into port.
Cold or not, this was a photo opportunity I could not pass up!
Luckily (for me) we moored at Pier 20, so we passed all the other
ships in port (lots of pictures of that!). The tug boats guided
us in, and we tied up next to another ship.
My dad was there waiting for me at the pier,
camcorder and all (playing that parental role to the fullest). He
took me back to the Naval Air Station to get my car, and that
concluded my ship trip.
WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!
Special thanks to CAPT Guerke, our Chief of Staff, Kathleen Martin in Public Affairs, and the crew of the USS ESTOCIN for making this happen.