Journal Entry  -  October 2, 1999  -  Day 21

Saturday Morning Position Report
8:00 a.m., Mountain Daylight Time
Latitude:

17 Degrees, 30 Minutes North

Longitude:

102 Degrees, 59 Minutes West

Days Run:

70.8 Nautical Miles

Speed:

5.9 Knots (Average)  running at reduced speed due to a fixed ETA of October 16 at the Panama Canal.

Total Run This Leg:  1,327.6 Nautical Miles
Total Average Speed:  5.26 Knots
Hours / Days This Leg:  252.5 Hours, 10.52 Days
Distance To Go This Leg:  1,620 Nautical Miles to the Balboa Sea Buoy, Panama
Estimated Time Of Arrival:  7:00 a.m., Saturday, October 16
Present Course:  117 Degrees, Southeasterly
Winds:  Southwesterly airs, a light breeze
Seas:  Rippled Surface
Swells:  South-Southwest at 9 Feet
Barometric Pressure:  1009 Millibars
Air Temperature:  81 Degrees
Sea Temperature:  82 Degrees
Visibility:  10 Miles +
Skies:  Partly Cloudy, Cumulus Clouds
Sea Floor:  1,907 Fathoms or 11,442 Feet

Position:  USS New Jersey is 35.5 Miles Southwest of Buffadero Bluff, marked by a light visible from 23 miles.  The coast between this bluff and Punta Mangrove, 33.5 Miles to the East-Southeast, is backed by several bluffs for the initial 16 Miles, then by an unbroken sandy beach for the remaining 17.5 Miles.

BB-62 Visitor Questions And Answers

Question:  I noticed in the "Ship's Fact Page" that the USS New Jersey's two outboard propellers have 4 blades, and the two inboard propellers have 5 blades. Why is that?

Answer:  Captain Ogaard notes the difference in the diameter of the two pairs of propellers: 17 feet, 5 inches on the two inboard wheels, and 18 feet, 3 inches on the two outboard wheels.

He still thinks that the reason for that is probably due to the shape of the hull, and possibly to prevent harmonics with all four propellers being the same.  They're more likely to have equal thrust this way.  5 blades times 17 feet, as opposed to 4 blades times 18 feet, perhaps came out to equal thrust.

Question:  I would like to know about the towing cable and how it is hooked up.

Answer:  Captain Ogaard begins the description from the tug end of the wire, and works towards the ship.

This is a 3,970 Foot, 6 strand wire tow cable.  It has a poured socket in the bitter end.  That socket is shackled with a 3 Inch safety tow shackle to 2 shots (1 shot = 90 Feet), so 180 Feet of 3 1/2 Inch stud link chain, which I believe is Grade 3 Navy, which is very high quality and high strength chain.

This 180 Feet of chain is further connected into a 250 Foot long wire pennant.  This pennant is 2 1/2 Inches in diameter.  That pennant is further shackled into 3 shots (once again, a shot = 90 Feet), so that's 270 Feet of the ship's anchor chain, which is 3 3/8 Inch diameter.

About 260 Feet of this chain extends out past the ship's center bullnose, and that chain on the bow of the Battleship New Jersey is dead ended by 3 massive turnbuckle, pelican hook attachments.  Its wire is wrapped around the wildcat where it spills down the spurling tube to the chain locker.  It is further secured to itself by many passes of wire rope and cable clips.  The wildcat break is set and the engaging gear for the winch is locked in gear.  The chain is firmly attached to the ship.

Question:  How close to Florida will the ship be when it passes off Fort Pierce?

Answer:  Captain Ogaard says more than 48 Miles.

Submitted by Bob Wernet onboard the Sea Victory.

 

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