With 5 ships, NYC Fleet Week is smallest ever

[unhappycamper]

With 5 ships, NYC Fleet Week is smallest ever
By Richard Pyle - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 20, 2008 6:55:25 EDT

NEW YORK — The annual Navy invasion known as Fleet Week opens here on Wednesday with a flotilla of five American warships and three Canadian entries to add an international flavor to the 21st-annual observance.

Some 3,000 sailors and Marines will disembark from the ships during the eight-day event that includes public tours and a variety of aerial and simulated combat technique demonstrations by Marine Corps units.

A decade ago, as many as a dozen ships from several nations took part in Fleet Week, but the size of the assemblage has diminished in recent years. The last time it included a full-size aircraft carrier was in 2005, when the John F. Kennedy made its final appearance before being retired.

New York City policy bars nuclear-powered craft from the harbor, effectively denying port calls by the Navy’s newer fleet carriers.

The Canadians restore a cachet absent in 2007, when the destroyer Winston S. Churchill, named for Britain’s World War II prime minister, provided the nearest thing to a foreign flavor.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_newyork_fleetweek_051908/

[Possumpoint]

1. Day Is Coming

When displays like this will be passé. The price of oil and its availability dictate that we change customs. Nuclear ships will be the only ones showing up.

Another custom being considered for change in my area is the use of all the Fire Engines for parades. At $4.59 a gallon fuel is just too expensive to waste in this manor. We must change our mindset to accommodate the new reality.