Ahoy, mates
Fleet Week to fill Fort Lauderdale with sailors on R&R.
Heightened military readiness has scaled back this year’s Fleet Week participation, which means fewer ships for people to see and visit.
As maller flotilla of Navy and Coast Guard vessels will sail into Port Everglades between 7 and 10:30 a.m. Monday for a week of public tours, crew receptions, community outreach projects and a military band concert.
The Navy’s Amphibious Transport Dock USS New York and U.S. Coast Guard cutters Forward and Margaret Norvell are still offering tours to those who preregistered by April 13. The destroyer USS Nitze, two cruisers— USS San Jacinto and USS Monterey— and a nuclear submarine have been reassigned. Anyone who preregistered to tour those ships will not be able to tour any others as a substitute for logistical and security reasons.
“We definitely don’t want people showing up and then being turned away,” said Suzanne Speight, Navy spokeswoman. “[That] would be terrible.”
Broward Navy Days organizers were informed April 12 of “the global security situation and associated fiscal constraints” that prompted the cancellations.
Thosewith tickets to tour the Navy ship and two cutters should allow plenty of time to clear Broward Sheriff’s Office security checkpoints at Port Everglades.
Tours are scheduled between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Times are approximate, are assigned only for ticketing purposes, and are not guaranteed. Expect each tour to last about one hour.
Ships are inaccessible to wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility devices. Visitors must be able to walk without assistance and in some cases climb ladders.
Festivities planned for more than 500 visiting sailors include a welcoming party, FleetWeek Golf Classic, a visit to Miami Dolphins camp and a Miami Marlins game, fishing tournament and regatta, Navy band concert and breakfasts, luncheons and dinners honoring the military.
As Fleet Week winds down, the Fort Lauderdale Air Show gears up May 6 and 7.
It will feature military aircraft demonstrations by an F-18 Super Hornet, F-16 Viper, USMC MV-22 Osprey, and the Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds, among others.
The ships are scheduled to depart by11 a.m. Sunday.