Posted on 03/11/2011 4:21:01 PM PST by GATOR NAVY
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington say the gentle rocking that signaled the beginning of the earthquake felt so familiar, they barely took note. As it intensified over the next few minutes, they knew something extraordinary was happening.
“It actually felt like we were under way and answering bells,” said Chief Petty Officer Bill Mason, of Damascus, Pa.
Mason checked the water line in the harbor shortly after the major quake — the water had dropped 6 feet, he said.
The George Washington is 1,092 feet long and includes 60,000 tons of structural steel — but the quake was so strong that it moved the ship away from its pier, sailors said.
“It’s like a city moving around,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Devin Proctor, who was aboard at the time.
Proctor, from Tooele, Utah, lives along the Wasatch fault line and said he is used to earthquakes, “but I’ve never felt one like that.”
Petty Officer 3rd Class John Williams was also on deck when the quake struck.
“The ship started shaking and I didn’t know what was going on,” said Williams, of Memphis, Tenn. “That was my first earthquake, so I didn’t really know what it was supposed to feel like … after a while, I knew it must have been big.”
At 6:30 p.m., loudspeakers at Yokosuka Naval Base directed non-residents to go to the Fleet Recreation center or the Fleet Theater.
At that moment, there’s no place I’d rather be during a quake. Although it would be scary ride during that Tsunami. I assume even a carrier would get thrown around like a toy.
Having anchored there a couple of times, I remember watching videos of the Phuket tsunami wondering what would have happened to a ship in the bay. I don’t think it would have been good.
When I was a kid, we went to Lake Erie from time to time. At the wharfs, I found that I could move a large ship that was moored simply by standing on the rope which was about as wide as a balance beam. After standing on the rope for awhile, I would have it on the concrete and see where the ship had moved just a little bit towards the wharf.
Current-day Ion Propulsion Systems (they do exist) apply the force equivalent to the “weight” of one sheet of paper. And yet they can move a spacecraft to thousands of miles per hour.
Interesting....thanks for the example.
Spent many great months in Yokosuka back in the 60’s. I was on a tender.
As a matter-of-fact, Piedmont Pier in Yoko was name after our ship.
I knew Piedmont Pier but I never thought about where the name came from.
Depends on the ship.
The ships we sailed on might have just ended up 3 miles inland look for a tow truck! lol
Is Tom Po Po’s still there?
Deck was 90ft above the waterline and the top of the mast was 190ft.
40,000 tons.
She had but 28ft of draft.
The wave that hit Japan today was 33ft. That wave would have carried that enormous ship a long way inland.
I couldn’t tell you the name of any place of I went to in Phuket because at that time I was a pretty heavy drinker to say the least. Some places were obvious sailor bars with ship’s plaques, ball caps, etc. and some weren’t. Last time I was there was in 1999.
No...
Did they get underway to take the wave at sea? or did they ride it out in the harbor?
Usually, it’s better to take those things at sea.
They took it pier side. No quick sortie out of Yokosuka.
Is the water at the pier deep enough to prevent setting on bottom as the water went out before the wave?
Apparently. I didn’t hear that they bottomed out. I guess would depend on the level of the tide to begin with when the surge came and of course the height of the surge itself.
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