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Read this: You have been directed to an out dated post. For the 2010 Fleet Week post go to: Best Places to Watch Fleet Week Watch 2010 Air Show and Parade of Ships
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The 2008 post:
Here are the details, links and tips you need to enjoy the 2008 San Francisco Fleet Week featuring the United States Navy Blue Angels, the finest military air performance team on the planet.
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About the photo: The U. S. Navy Blue Angels performing over San Francisco Bay
WELCOME to all active duty military personnel and their families, to all veterans - WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Afghanistan War, Iraq War - welcome to you all! This is your week!
(Note: The United States Navy Blue Angels will perform Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM. Read details below)
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Urgent Late Breaking Weather Alert: High gusty wind is forecast for San Francisco Bay tomorrow, Saturday, October 11th. Coast Guard and Navy commanders have ordered a 24-hour postponement of the full parade of ships from Saturday morning to Sunday morning due to choppy conditions and strong winds on the Bay. There will be two mini parades . . .
The warships have no problem with the conditions, of course, but Fleet Week always brings out hundreds of small craft, sailboarders, kayakers and even a rowboat or two. The postponement was ordered for the safety of the small craft that are expected to fill the Bay near the parade of ships.
USCGC Bertholf, which is based here at San Francisco, and the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, the world's last fully seaworthy WWII Liberty Ship (see Resource links at end of this post), which also makes its homeport at Fisherman's Wharf along with USS Pampainto (which will not participate in the parade) will enter San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge between 11 AM and 11:30 AM Saturday morning. The USS Bonhomme Richard and the USS Pinkney (see links under Resources at the end of this posts for info on these two warships) will enter San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge between 11 AM and 11:30 AM Sunday morning.
The weather conditions are not expected to have an impact on the Air Show and the weather and wind will definitely have zero impact on the F/A-18 Hornets flown by the Blue Angels. The Blue Angels will be there on time. Their Hornets have 32,000 pounds of thrust. They can punch through a Cat-5 hurricane without even pushing it.
Otherwise, for everyone standing along the shore, the weekend will be bright, sunny and chilly at times with some strong, sharp gusts 20-30 MPH. If you are from the Valley or if you're visiting us from San Diego, you will probably find the day to be downright cold at times. For folks from the City, it will be a great day - just a little cool, but no fog! The temperature along the waterfront will be somewhere between 60 and 65. The afternoons, on days like this, can settle down and warm up a bit. We may have temperatures hovering around 70 degress (or maybe even a few degrees higher in some spots where there is no breeze) on the Marina Green and along the Auquatic Park - Fisherman's Wharf area. Plan to dress accordingly - and don't forget those comfortable shoes and sunscreen. And for goodness sake - don't forget the camera or video!
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When:
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Fleet Week 2008 begins on Thursday, October 9th and concludes on Tuesday, October 14th.
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Where:
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While a number of events and dinners are planned throughout San Francisco, most of the public events, including the air show, will be centered around Aquatic Park, which is immediately west of the Hyde Street Pier and Fisherman's Wharf. A second large area where you will find displays, booths and beverages is located on Marina Green. Links below will provide the details and maps as well as parking garage locations and public transit information. Also, a little further into this story you will find suggestions for the best places to watch the Air Show and also the best spot to see the parade of naval ships enter San Francisco Bay.
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Schedule:
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Here is a basic list of events that are open to or visible to the general public:
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Thursday, October 9th:
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(1300-1500 HRS) Blue Angels survey flights over the City of San Francisco. If you work downtown (as I do) don't be surprised by the woooooOOOSHHH - BLAMMM of the Blue Angels' Boeing-Northrup F/A-18 Hornet's twin 16,000-pound-of-thrust jet engines. They will definitely get your attention.
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Friday, October 10th:
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(1300-1500 HRS) The roar gets louder, closer and faster. This is practice day from 1 PM to 3 PM ... and then ...
(1500-1600 HRS) The U. S. Navy Blue Angels . . . at 3 PM sharp Fat Albert Airlines, the Blue Angels' nickname for their Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules, will fly in over the City and introduce the 2008 Blue Angels Show . Then there is brief silence - maybe 2 or 3 minutes. After a heavy, silent pause, from the four compass points come the United States Navy Blue Angels screaming in over San Francisco Bay in fighter aircraft capable of near Mach-2 speeds. It's the grandest entrance you will ever witness.
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The Blue Angels Air Show will begin at 3 PM and end about an hour later. It's the most stunning demonstration of lightning-fast military air precision you will ever see. Try not to miss it!
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Saturday, October 11th: (UPDATE: The parade of ships has been changed from Saturday to Sunday morning at approximately 11 AM.)
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(1030 HRS) By 11:30 AM, when the ships arrive, I will be standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, the place where I have been watching the parade of naval warships come in through the Golden Gate for decades. It is absolutely the best place to watch the parade. Get there plenty early (I arrive about an hour early - around 10:30 AM) because the parade of ships only lasts about 4o to 50 minutes and locals and visitors alike enjoy watching the naval parade from the bridge. It's a fun place to be, but expect the center of the bridge to be cold, gusty and ocean-brisk.
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It's an amazing place to be: on top of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay during Fleet Week while U. S. Navy, U. S. Coast Guard and Canadian Naval warships slowly enter the Bay in full honor salute formation. On top of the bridge you see them slowly glide beneath you and into the Bay and you get the full panoramic view of the grand Fleet Week show - including the afternoon Blue Angels show. Standing on the bridge and seeing the Blue Angles come screaming t is a thrill far beyond anything else available anywhere - short of being in the cockpit.
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The Warships to Expect
(Update: USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) and USS Pinckney (DDG-91) are confirmed for Sunday morning arrival between 11 and 11:30 AM.) I can tell you from experience that identifying the ships in advance is not a very precise science. The Navy has and often does change things around at the last minute. Sometimes the Navy needs to deploy certain ships to specific areas and those decisions, obviously, override any Fleet Week considerations. With that caveat in mind, you will find links to some of the ships and related links in the resource section below.
The Air Show and the Canadian Snowbirds
(1230-1445 HRS) The Saturday Air Show will begin about 12:30 PM. The show includes Team Oracle and some of the best and most daring stunt pilots anywhere. This year, I understand, the Canadian Snowbirds are scheduled to perform. The precision acrobatic pilots of the Canadian Air Force, the Snowbirds fly Canadair CT-114 Tutors with J-85 jets with 2,700 pounds of thrust. The Tutor weighs only 7,000 pounds and has proven itself to be a remarkably responsive aircraft for precision air shows. Watch for the bright red and white markings. As with most everything else during Fleet Week weekend, the show is free.
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This year’s lineup will also include two father and son pilots. Team Oracle's, Sean Tucker, one of the country’s finest civilian aerobatic pilots will be performing and he’ll be joined by the “Collaborators” his son, Eric W. D. Tucker and two other outstanding aerobatic pilots. The second father and son team is John Piggott who will be flying a Sukhoi Su-29 known as the “Russian Sukhoi” immediately prior to his son, Capt. Russ Piggott of the U. S. Air Force F-16 Viper West Demo team. Joining the aerobatic show will be Geico’s Tim Weber and Lucas Oil’s Mike Wiskus who will both be making their first appearance at Fleet week.
The U. S. Air Force F-16 Viper West Demo Team
This is a single-ship demo team. The driver is Captain Russ Pigot and the non-com and enlisted team members are headed by MSgt David Sullins and MSgt Jeffrey Anderson. The craft is a standard USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon pumping 27,000 pounds of thrust. Captain Pigott and his team are the cream of the crop and represent the U. S. Air Force throughout the Western half of the nation in air show demonstrations of America's powerful F-16 fighter. See this hot-action video of the Viper West F-16 in action.
Best Places to Watch the Air Show
Most of the fliers in the Air Show perform more or less over Aquatic Park by the Hyde Street Pier. The Blue Angels, however, are seen and heard everywhere from the Hyde Street Pier to Marina Green, Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge. Pier 39 is advertising good views of the Air Show, but Pier 39 is really too far East of the action to be of much real value. Tourists who don't get the word will end up at Pier 39, as they usually do, but since you are reading this post, you already know better!
The tour boat companies also offer tours on the Bay to watch the show, but that is an added expense that really won't get you much added value. The San Francisco National Maritime Park at the Hyde Street Pier is offering viewing spots and entertainment aboard the 19th century sailing ship Balclutha and the SS Jeremiah O'Brien offers a Bay cruise to watch the show.
This last offering from the O'Brien is the best of the paid viewing options. The O'Brien is the last fully seaworthy WWII Liberty Ship and she is a floating National Historical Memorial. You will find the link in the resource section below. Unfortunately, the SS Jeremiah O'Brien usually sells out fast - but there is always next year, right?
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A variety of family-oriented special events will be staged along the waterfront. The Marina Green will have an entertainment area featuring a number of exhibits including one from Saab, the Swedish aerospace defense contractor, military jet aircraft manufacturer and automobile manufacturer. Aquatic Park is the best viewing for the Air Show, but it is a little distant from Marina Green where the exhibits are located. The Blue Angels can easily be seen from any of these places.
Recruiting and Military Displays
(1000-1600 HRS) You will also find information booths and equipment displays from the U. S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. Some years they have been on Marina Green and other times at Aquatic Park. Check them both or call US Navy Recruiting Station San Francisco at for the exact location. All the branches of service will be located in the same area and the Navy is the lead branch (of course) for Fleet Week. Recruiting and military displays will be available from 10 am through 4 PM Friday, Saturday and Sunday. All said, I think Marina Green is your best bet to find the displays and recruiters.
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The entire event will be live on AM KSFO 560 on both Saturday and Sunday.
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(1500-1600 HRS) The U. S. Navy Blue Angels . . . The Air Show will end about 2:45 PM or so. They skies will be empty. Everything will seem quiet and back to normal - until - the searing scream of the Blue Angels blasts across the City as they launch into their Saturday show at 3 PM. About an hour later the Blue Angels, accompanied by Fat Albert Airlines, their Lockheed-Martin C-130T Hercules, will pass slowly in salute review and then vanish into the afternoon sky. The Blue Angels show will be over.
If you would like to see an awesome video of the Blue Angels in action and up close, just turn-up the sound and push the play button:
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Sunday, October 12th:
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(1000-1600 HRS) Sunday is now the rescheduled day for the parade of warships, so the ship tours will be delayed until the ships have docked, been secured and made ready for civilian visitors.
This is your chance to board active-duty U. S. Navy warships as well as U. S. Coast Guard cutters. Hopefully USCGC Bertholf, the nation's newest and most sophisticated cutter, will be included and available for public tour. You will find links below that will give you all the details and provide up-to-the-minute info. The ship tours conclude at 4 PM.
Note: Sunday tours will be delayed due to the rescheduled parade of ships. You will likely be unable to go aboard any ship until mid afternoon.
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(1230-1600 HRS) The Air Show performs at 12:30 PM, just as it did on Saturday, and is followed, again, by the final closing performance of the Blue Angels at 3 PM.
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Monday, October 13th and Tuesday, October 14th:
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(1000-1600 HRS) Ship tours continue from 10 AM to 4 PM both days. .
Resources:
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Saturday Parade and Tours of Ships
About The Navy League of the Unites States, San Francisco Council
The men and women who serve in America’s sea services need the support of their fellow citizens more than ever. Our sailors need the backing of a strong voice to advocate for the resources they need to serve their country. The Navy League is that voice on issues of maritime strength and security, and our local council is actively engaged.
The Council is supporting service members in our community by providing “Sailor of the Quarter and Sailor of the Year” awards to two local commands; namely the Submarine USS SAN FRANCISCO (SSN-711), and US Coast Guard Station Golden Gate. We also support the NROTC unit located at UC Berkley each year with by presenting a sword for the Brigade Commander and an award for the top Merchant Marine Academy graduate of California Maritime Academy, located in Vallejo, California.
We support instilling the values of patriotism, responsibility, disciple, and leadership in America’s youth through the Local Division of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps. We are actively and politically supporting the continuation of the high school ROTC units in San Francisco.
Outside of San Francisco, the perception is that San Francisco is unfriendly to all military. But, San Francisco has always been known as a ”Navy” town! In-spite of some local government publicized “unique” policies, our annual Fleet Week event in October, is attended by hundreds of thousands of people each and every year.
Our San Francisco Navy League is working to set the record straight. Just this year the Commanding Officer and Command Master Chief (Chief of the Boat) of USS SAN FRANCICSO, met with Mayor Newsom who conveyed his support to the Navy. This was a great first step for support of sailors in San Francisco. Join us in this endeavor to once again have San Francisco considered by all to be a “Navy” town.
Navy League, SF Council
Navy League National Website
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