SURFLANT and the San Antonio wanted to tout what officials are calling a successful second phase of sea trials for the much-troubled ship, so they invited me and five other reporters and photogs to ride out from Rudee’s Inlet in Virginia Beach aboard an 11-meter RHIB Wednesday morning and conduct interviews on board as the amphibious transport dock ship sailed back to Norfolk.
The sea state out where San Antonio was steaming was about a 2, a sailor told me. But at the inlet, he said, it was more like a 4 or 5. It made for an interesting 7 a.m. transit, as you can see:
On an 11-meter RHIB June 15, headed out to the San Antonio. // Photo by Bill McMichael
The above sea spray obviously nailed me, but I was lucky; due to some strange twist of fate, the guys on the port side of the boat were getting the worst of it — there were some really wet clothes, notebooks and cameras when we arrived.
I didn’t catch the boat captain’s name, but I got the sense that he loves this stuff. JUNE 17 UPDATE: Got his name: It’s Ensign Dave Lopez, the boat officer. Thanks, Dave!
San Antonio, coming into range. // Photo by Bill McMichael
All turned out well. And it also seems to be turning out nicely, after years of problems, for the San Antonio. Check out the story here.
