Return to Home Port

Moored! Shift colors!

Suez: The Going

A fine day indeed in Egypt as we come to the north end of the Suez Canal. I figured I had enough pictures of sandy landscapes, so I opted for some people and a bridge. The quickly reddening fellow just to my left is Trevor Petrou, our ship's physical therapist and roustabout. He didn't burst into flames from the sun this time out, but it was close.

The bridge was a gift to Egypt from Japan; I'm not sure where that puts them on the friendship scale, since it is eminently practical but not particularly personal. At any rate, it was a welcome sight, being toward the end of the canal transit and all.

Just for Joshua

Some of our Memphis friends have a little boy who digs some of my pictures of big guns and planes. Here are a couple from the last few weeks.

And So It Goes...

And verily, the IKE did sail in boxes for weeks on end, occasionally visiting a hot, dusty dirka port. Bahrain was fine, good food, nice to have a Navy base to step onto. Dubai again, same hotel, different golf course, same ridiculous skyline. And then cameth the Fourth of July, celebrated on board whilst transiting the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal. I can't say that getting to hit golf balls off the flight deck made this whole cruise worth it, but it certainly fulfilled one of my latent golf wishes.

Swim Call

Having a nice reliable internet connection here in Lisbon (don't let the date on this post throw you) allows me to reach way back into the middle parts of cruise to finally post of few of the goings on. We had a swim call off of elevator 3 a couple of months ago. You might not think 35 feet is that far, but it is. You also might think, "Daniel, you big sissy, why are you holding your nose?". The answer, of course, is that the ship's instruction said we had to and there was someone at the edge making sure that 100% compliance was obtained.

Pale? Why, yes, yes, I am. The North Arabian Sea is quite buoyant, especially for a fat kid.

Dubai Golf

A highlight of our recent port visit to Dubai was a round of golf at Arabian Ranches. I brought my golf clubs all the way to the other side of the world and I was going to make sure they got used.

Plenty of scrubby wasteland to hit into...

The obligatory first tee photo. Our radiation health officer and I were still a nice pale shade of whiteness. That would soon change, cause that light fog in the background burned off to reveal a robust day of 33 degrees Celsius. If it weren't for the GPS in the cart (or buggy), I would have had to play everything in metres. I need a calculator for all these conversions. At any rate, we both got burned to a nice medium rare and the peeling continues even today.

Overheard

These lyrics floated down from on high whilst I was walking around the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, UAE:

"Where I come from, it's cornbread and chicken..."

Nashville's finest serenading the Emirates.

Suez Chop

15 March 2009: The ides of March brings us through the Suez Canal. It was hot, there was lots of desert, and this picture pretty much says it all. Apparently, there were not enough rocks to pull off the 'T' in Egypt. I was amused and then went down to the Wardroom for waffle Sunday. Fat kid's gotta eat.

Marseilles, France

Ahhh, beautiful Marseilles, France. Our first port call, fantastic Mediterranean location, deep blue water, just a mile or so out of reach. The Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica rises above the old port area, and makes for a stellar opening picture.

Aw, I'm still smiling because its early in the port call. I had duty the first day, the sea state was really rough for the liberty launches, there were problems getting people on and off the ship, yada yada yada, the port visit got cut short and the duty day lasted about 48 hours. Smiles didnt exist at the end of that. This is less painful now since I am sitting in my room at the JW Marriott Dubai, after 54 straight days at sea. I know subs go longer, but I am just a simple dentist.

Early Deployment

The Mighty IKE pulled out of Norfolk on 21 Feb for little cruise to the other side of the world, mainly to deliver American goodwill and cheer, but also some other stuff.

Other stuff, like the business end of an F/A-18C.

We rolled past the Moroccan coast line in the Straits of Gibraltar. The seas were rough and the view obscured, but land is land and I am always glad to take it in when I can.

Just checking on the ordinance. Cause, you know, that could be a collateral duty of mine. Or I am waaay to close to things that go boom.

I had no idea that the fintails of bombs had expiration dates and warranties. How would one cash in on that warranty? "Um, yes, I would like to speak to someone in Customer Service regarding the bomb tail warranty. I think they are out of date..."

Just a Workin' Man

Fine motor control with 16-foot seas and 50 knot winds, like it's my job.

A Few More Pictures of COMPTUEX

A deck level view of a COD catapult...

the USS Bainbridge steaming along as our escort...

and engine turns off the fantail at night.

Moonset

And with that, the IKE wraps up a torrid preparation schedule and pushes off for deeper waters. The moon sets in the west and reflects the color of the rising day.

COMPTUEX

From within yet another list of alphabet soup Navy acronyms comes COMPTUEX! We spent the greater part of January out off the balmy Florida and Bahamian coasts, playing war games against the dreaded 'Red Team'. Apparently, we did something right, as CSG8 (Carrier Strike Group...go google it...) passed and is certified for deployment and blue water flight ops. And now the pictures:

An E-2 Hawkeye comes in for a trap while the USS Vicksburg (CG 69) keeps watch in the background. There was usually one of the strike group guided missile cruisers within sight of the IKE, as an escort and a maneuvering buddy. Or something like that... my surface warfare qualifications are non existent.

A C-2 Greyhound pulls into the slot for a shot off catapult #3, slowly bringing its wings up for flight.
The same C-2 (obviously, its side number is 54) at the beginning of the shot. The shooter (yellow jersey guy pointing down the flight deck) gives the all clear to fire, the hold-back bar drops from behind the front landing gear, and steam starts to rise as the catapult pistons move down their chutes.

For the first time, I really got to see some ordinance being moved around this ship. Laser-guided bits of joy that hose red-shirted guys really love. Seriously. They dig blowing stuff up.

Late afternoon glance up the flight deck. When cats 3 & 4 are active, the fore of the deck becomes a 2 acre parking lot.