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Total Run This Leg:
401.2
Nautical Miles
Total Average Speed: 4.35 Knots
Hours / Days This Leg: 92.3 Hours / 3.84 Days
Distance To Go This Leg: 1,695.3 Nautical Miles
Estimated Time Of Arrival: 3:00 p.m., Saturday, November 6, Cape Henlopen
Sea Buoy, at the mouth of the Delaware River.
Present Course: 335 Degrees North-Northwesterly
Winds: Northerly 20 Knots
Seas & Swells: Combined 10 Feet
Barometric Pressure: 1013 Millibars
Air Temperature: 82 Degrees
Sea Temperature: 82 Degrees
Visibility: 10 Miles
Skies: Broken Overcast
Sea Floor: Ocean depths beneath the USS New Jersey at this point are 805
Meters, or 2,640 Feet. Panama Canal
Transit: October 16 - 21 / Balboa Pier 14 - 15, Miraflores and Pedro Miguel
Locks, the Gaillard Cut, Gamboa, Lake Gatun, and the Gatun Locks, and Cristobal. USS
New Jersey's clearance into the Caribbean Sea / Atlantic Ocean was completed at 11:34
a.m., and her mark for the commencement of the Cristobal, Panama - Philadelphia, PA Third
Leg was passed at 11:42 a.m., Thursday, October 21.
Distance Of Second Leg:
September 21 -
October 15 / Long Beach, CA to Balboa Anchorage, Panama: 2,948.7 Nautical Miles, the
longest leg of New Jersey's homecoming voyage.
Total Average Speed Second Leg: 5.18 Knots
Distance Of First Leg: September 12 - 21 / Bremerton, WA to Long Beach,
CA: 1,193.6 Nautical Miles from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to Long Beach, CA
anchorage.
Total Average Speed First Leg: 5.54 Knots
Position: The USS New Jersey continues to
run through the Northwestern Caribbean Sea toward the Gulf of Mexico to assume a favorable
assist from the Gulf Stream. She is now passing comfortably to the West of Rosalind
Bank, proceeding along a new North-Northwesterly trackline, a pre-designed course change
executed by Captain Ogaard at 7:20 a.m. this morning
Corrections: Last night's reference to the
Sea Victory's Mike Poirier should have identified him as the 2nd Mate; and, Crowley tow
wire specialist, Bryan Ward's first name is not Byron.
New Jersey's Outfitting Long Ago Pays Off Big
From Sunday, September 12 in Bremerton onward, each time
the USS New Jersey left a dock, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, or berthed at a dock, Balboa,
Cristobal (and Philadelphia), or anchored to approach or layover for a Pamana Canal Lock -
Miraflores and Pedro Miguel, her outfitters, riggers, handlers, towboaters and linemen had
to assemble or re-assemble all the tons of chain, shackles, line, connectors and assembly
paraphernalia required to keep her safe under tow, moored or at anchor with Sea Victory.
No small feat.
As mentioned last night, all this preparatory work was
done in Bremerton, under U.S. Navy supervision, weeks and even months before departure.
The execution of each docking, mooring, Canal Lock transit, or dock departure
depended on the rigging done back then.
The Crowley specialists responsible for all this won't
breathe easily until the "Big J" is delivered to her Philadelphia berth next
month, but so far any observer could tell that her successful passage through the six
chambers and three Locks of the Panama Canal have brought secret smiles to the faces of
the team members involved.
Crowley's formal Tow Plan, and its outfitting and rigging
sections, presented to the Navy and the state of New Jersey, refer to many of the elements
required of such a voyage.
Speaking of the Bremerton work, it says: "There is
ample room for a crane barge to work the starboard side of the New Jersey to rig the tow
gear." The outfitter of the ship, American Marine Corporation, worked closely
with Crowley, the Navy, Marine Surveyors, the Salvage Association, and Bremerton Naval
custodians to assure cooperation and timely completion of the arduous, precision work.
Here is an example: "Both 3-3/8 Battleship
anchor chains are in chain lockers. The port 15-ton (30,000 pound) anchor is secured
in the hawse pipe for emergency use."
In another reference, "The starboard anchor has been
removed and is secured on the after deck. All hull protrusions have been removed and
the hull is "smooth-sided" for the transit through the Panama Canal locks as
approved by the Panama Canal Commission representative, Arcelio Hartley, Operations
Manager..
Other detailed references to the labor-intensive,
painstaking, precise, and expert workmanship involved in just getting her ready, not to
mention the 6,370 Nautical Mile Final Voyage - "360 feet of 3-3/8 anchor chain will
be pulled out of the starboard chain locker and be lead through the center tow chock on
the bow. 90 Feet will lead from the wildcat to the bullnose and 270 Feet will be
outboard of the bullnose and stopped off in bights with heavy deck lines secured to the
forecastle deck bitts."
"The bitter end of the chain will be approximately 3
Feet above the water to facilitate the Sea Victory tow connection. The chain is
secured to the 3 centerline padeyes with the ship's three 3/8-inch chain stopper system
and tended around the wildcat with the break set. Several turns of 3/4-inch
preventer wires back up the chain stopper system at the wildcat."
"Normal running lights with solar powered batteries
and tow day shape for the dead ship tow are installed where best seen by traffic.
Anchor lights and day shapes are provided for use during fuel stops (Long Beach and
Balboa). A portable generator for lighting will be installed with sufficient
amperage to illuminate the port side and bow and stern while transiting the Canal."
The report notes that many Battleship compartments below
the waterline will be secured, "flooding alarm sensors with lights" will be
installed in several below deck compartments to ensure buoyancy for the tow. Propeller
shafts were locked, both rudders were locked with a dual locking system and secured
according to specifications.
In addition, the Panama Canal Commission added some
additional requirements for passage. "Because there will be the need to connect
and disconnect from the tow several times during the transit of the vessel, we will
require that some more convenient tow bridle be attached to allow for this by either PCC
tugs or the Sea Victory," wrote the Canal's operations Captain.
He also noted that "some 30 deckhands would be
aboard the New Jersey to handle wires at the locks, and lines at the moorings, requiring
suitable sanitary facilities and some sheltered areas to offer protection from the
elements."
Finally, included in this report are six pages of
detailed preparation questions required to be fulfilled physically aboard the ship before
the U.S. Navy towing manual would be satisfied, and the ship's Final Voyage allowed to
proceed.
Just another few months work at the office for these
guys. Get her ready for the Sea Victory, and then let the seamen do their thing.
They're called the "Battleship Experts," and the USS Missouri and USS New
Jersey custodians appreciate their know-how. It's a pleasure to watch them do their
thing. It's even a privilege.
Submitted by Bob Wernet onboard the Sea Victory.
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