OPSAIL 2012 Norfolk

The CGC Eagle's ship's wheel

So the Norfolk leg of Operation Sail 2012 is officially over. The Fleet has been blessed, the ships have set sail, and the vendors of every sort have packed up and left. I have to say for a military and ship enthusiast, maybe better described as nerd, this was a once in a lifetime experience. I wasn't there for any of the pop music acts that where part of HarborFest, and while the food was good, its only purpose was to keep my strength up to go from ship to ship. My goal was to hit every Naval Vessel there, to tour them, and gain a feel for each one. I have to say this was a very well planned event, there was enough parking at Town Point Park, Fort Norfolk, and West Ghent for you to be able to drive into each location, park and tour the ships. If this didn't work for you, there was always the free buses for the events, and the Norfolk Tide trolley system. And while I will detail each of the military ships by their pier and post pictures I first wanted to share the star of the show.

The star of the event could simply be put as the CGC Eagle. During the Parade of Sail the first vessel in was the Eagle, and while she is a pretty ship, the entrance of the Colombians and Indonesians on their ships, the Gloria and Dewaruci respectively, should have overshadowed her. The Colombian crew in the rigging, with their shirts matching the tree horizontal stripes of their National flag, singing their national anthem as they made port should have trumped the Eagle. The Indonesians garbed in full military dress in their ships rigging, singing a traditional Indonesian song all as one while they moored to the pier should have surpassed the Eagle as well. That was simply not the case, because while the Coast Guard Academy cadets where all in the ships rigging, they where functionally dressed in working uniforms. The didn't sing the National Anthem as they made port, or Semper Paratus, or even the Academy fight song. They simply went about their work and safely moored the cutter. The Eagle speaks for herself, the cut of her hull, the simpleness of her white hull, and the stringiness of her Coast Guard stripe. She is so beautiful because she is OURS. The Naval Academy doesn't maintain a sailing Barque, nor does the Merchant Marine Academy, or even any of the civilian Merchant Marine Academies. The little Coast Guard Academy does, and when she flies the National Ensign off her stern she becomes every Americans'.

The weekend of OPSAIL could be easily classified as one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. While my wife, who is also in the USCG, had to work the whole time because of OPSAIL we where both able to still share some time there. OPSAIL was established in the 1960s under President Kennedy to reinvigorate the American public's appreciation of sailing. The founders of OPSAIL decided that each OPSAIL should coincide with major American historical events, such as the 1964 World's Fair, and the 1976 Bicentennial. This years historical event is the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812, and sounds like as good an excuse as any to hold this event. The vessels start in Norfolk, Virginia and cruise up the Eastern Seaboard to their final destination of the New York City Harbor, after making several port visits along the way. After seeing the ships depart Norfolk, both my wife and I where struck with a feeling of melancholy that can only be cured with the knowledge that the in seven years we will be blessed with the 100th Anniversary of the conclusion of World War I and we can only hope, another Norfolk OPSAIL.