THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 8, 1996 TAG: 9610080286
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 69 lines
The Navy scrubbed its plans to send hundreds of local civilians to sea aboard five warships today, as a fast-moving tropical storm raced up the East Coast.
The decision canceled one of the centerpieces of the seagoing service's first-ever ``Fleet Week'' celebration in Hampton Roads, which was to begin this morning with the embarkation of nearly 1,200 ``sailors for a day.''
``Obviously this is a big disappointment for us,'' said Cmdr. Morgan Smith, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet. ``We have been looking forward to having an opportunity to show our ships off to our neighbors and friends.
``The ships had made a lot of preparations in getting ready for a day at sea. We had quite a show planned.''
Tropical Storm Josephine, which emerged Sunday night from the Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of at least 70 mph, was forecast tomove northeast along the East Coast.
By midafternoon today, winds off the Virginia coast were expected to range between 40 and 50 mph, producing 12- to 16-foot seas and heavy rain.
Navy forecasters predicted it would pass through Richmond by 2 a.m. Wednesday, Smith said.
Not in time for Fleet Week Hampton Roads '96, and an event for which the Navy, Hampton Roads city governments and media companies had been distributing tickets for weeks.
Four ships - the oiler Merrimack, the destroyer Barry, the guided-missile cruiser Thomas S. Gates and an amphibious transport dock ship, the Ponce - were to have taken on area residents about 6:30 a.m. today at the Norfolk Naval Station.
Visitors to a fifth vessel, the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge, were to have reached its anchorage by landing craft from the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.
The five ships were then to have steamed into the Atlantic to meet the Florida-based carrier John F. Kennedy, observe flight operations, and take in demonstrations of seamanship and naval expertise.
But the advancing storm confronted the Navy with the prospect of sending landlubbers steaming onto mountainous seas, and the unpleasant side effects that suggests.
``Safety is our major concern,'' Smith said. ``We didn't want to put anybody through that.''
The Navy will be unable to reschedule the program because of the ships' other commitments, he said, stressing that the Navy has ``a number of other events scheduled throughout the week.''
Those holding ``Sailor for a Day'' tickets may use them for admission to the Fleet Week Hampton Roads Navy Band concert at Willett Hall in Portsmouth at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The concert features three Navy bands.
Other Fleet Week activities include:
A parade of ships and 20-aircraft flyover at Town Point Park on Norfolk's Elizabeth River waterfront, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Friday.
Free concerts across the area through the weekend, including a performance by country star Pam Tillis at Town Point Park at 5 p.m. Friday.
Open houses aboard various ships and Navy watercraft, Thursday through Sunday, in downtown Norfolk, at Portside on the downtown Portsmouth riverfront, at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, at the Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base and at the Great Bridge lock.
A Civil War re-enactment at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth at 10 a.m. Saturday and a chili cook-off at Nauticus at noon.
A 5-kilometer run at the Norfolk Naval Station at 10 a.m. Saturday and an F-14 flyover at the Suffolk Peanut Festival at 2 p.m. that day. ILLUSTRATION: FLEET WEEK
For more information, call Infoline at 640-5555,
Ext. 4688, or 322-2857. by CNB