By Daniel Katzive
New York’s annual Fleet Week kicked off Wednesday morning with the traditional parade of military ships sailing north up the Hudson River. As usual, Upper West Siders watching from the end of Pier i in Riverside Park South got a front row seat as the larger vessels made their wide turns into berths at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at West 48th Street while the small ships continued up river as far as the George Washington Bridge, before heading to their weekend docks in the cruise terminal or on Staten Island. This year’s opening of Pier 97 in Hudson River Park to the south, at the end of 57th Street, provided an alternate place to watch the action, a bit closer to the cruise terminal.
The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan is the featured flattop this year. The ship can launch helicopters and planes capable of vertical takeoff from its deck. It also has a large bay in the stern for launching landing craft, along with space for nearly 2,000 Marines. The Bataan returned from an eight-month deployment in March and was operating in combat conditions in the Red Sea as recently as January. At 843 feet in length, Bataan is 20 feet longer than the World War II era aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, permanently docked nearby at Pier 86, though it’s considerably smaller than the Navy’s modern nuclear- powered aircraft carriers, which do not visit New York City.
As in the past, Fleet Week also includes participation of a NATO ally. This year, the German navy is visiting with a frigate and replenishment ship in town.
Smaller U.S. Navy vessels include the USS Marinette, a littoral combat ship designed to operate close to shore, and the U.S. Naval Academy’s four-yard patrol boats used to train cadets in navigation and seamanship. The Charleston-based Coast Guard Cutter Calhoun rounds out the list of visitors.
A small crowd gathered on the pavilion at the end of the newly opened Pier 97, including a group of students from the High School of Environmental Studies on West 56th Street. Their principal, Heather DeFlorio, said the students had been inspired to come out after one of the first female members of the Navy’s famous Blue Angels precision flying squadron visited the school. While they did not get a jet flyover Wednesday, a pair of Marine helicopters did circle low over the pier to whoops of appreciation from the students.
The crowd also included visitors from out of town, like Sharon Wu of New Jersey, decked out in a Navy baseball cap and t-shirt. Wu said she wanted to see the parade because her brother is completing his first year at the U.S. Naval Academy, though he was not on the ships that arrived this week.
The USS Bataan is now docked at Pier 88 in the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, while the German ships are tied up nearby on Pier 90. Tours of each are available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Naval Academy boats and the locally based Coast Guard icebreaker Sturgeon Bay are at Pier 86, by the Intrepid. Others are on Staten Island, including the USS Marinette, the Coast Guard cutter Calhoun, and the locally-based Coast Guard buoy tender Katherine Walker. Tours are available, but check the Fleet Week New York website for days and times – and for other activities and events, including a Coast Guard search and rescue demonstration on Memorial Day Monday, at Pier 86 at 2:30 p.m.
The Upper West Side will also host its usual Memorial Day commemoration at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Riverside Park at West 89th Street at 10 a.m.on Monday.
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Enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend but remember it’s not just the Summer BBQ kick off.
God bless those that sacrificed so much for our freedom.