Arrived yesterday evening and anchored in what proved to be a significant tidal current. We really needed 2 anchors so Chuck treated us to a night in the Marina after struggling to find an alternative spot.

We spent this afternoon as the USS Yorktown. I highly recommend being shown around an aircraft carrier by a ‘Naval Aviator’.  So many interesting facts, including:

Present on the flight deck were a Hornet (F/A-18), a Skyhawk (A-4) and a Tomcat (F-14) – all planes that Chuck flew. F means it is a fighter; A that it is an attack plane. The flight deck is covered in several inches of rubber with metal shards embedded in it to provide sufficient grip. (The on board cobbler is very important as well soled shoes are critical). The carrier has 3 bridges: one for sailing the boat, one for running the Battlegroup ie: the war and one for managing the aircraft. There are 4 meals a day the last being ‘Midrats’ – midnight rations. We shall adopt that for our boat immediately!

We also got to see the submarine USS Clamagore -  I wasn’t surprised that it was indeed claustrophobic, but was surprised that it was so narrow (98m x 8.3m). 

This is how you tie a rope