I look at it another way. This is a time of turmoil and danger between the tyrant Obama and Trump’s inauguration. I would much rather have those carriers out of areas in which Obama could be tempted to play God and take revenge on this country by getting it into a theater war somewhere.
I’m hoping that someone in the Pentagon saw this as a possibility and did some creative scheduling.
Conventional & asymmetrical warfare requires aircraft carriers. Where are the subs?
I like your explanation better than what I was thinking: that this was a perfect opportunity for sabotage.