Sailors and their ropes, at the west seawall, Willamette River, during Fleet Week, June 7, 2012

The rope goes up, up and hopefully away.
 

The rope falls short.
 

Left to right: The rope comes back again. A rope gets tossed. Another rope connects to the seawall.



Left to right: A rope gets worked. Another rope begins as a loop. A third rope heads for the seawall.

Portland Rose Festival Fleet Week, June 7, 2012, more photos, No. 1

Once the USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) completely cleared both the Broadway Bridge and the Steel Bridge, two tugboats went to work, turning the destroyer around right in the middle of the Willamette River! The tug at the back pushed; the tug at the front pulled,using a blue strap, and in no time at all the 510 foot long ship went from pointing south to pointing west.
 

Not that the tugs stopped there. The goal, to turn the ship completely so that it pointed north, the direction that would it would go on Monday, headed to the mouth of the Willamette River where it meets the Columbia River. That's the route the ship would take back to Astoria so that it could reach the Pacific Ocean and head on home. It's totally amazing to watch, fascinating enough that time literally flies by!
 

I took all of these photos through the openings in a chain link fence erected along the seawall to keep the ships, except at boarding areas, separate from folks walking along in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Portland Rose Festival Fleet Week, June 7, 2012

Both of these photos have been altered at PicMonkey with the HDR special effect.
 

As much as I love parades, my favorite event connected with the Portland Rose Festival is the arrival of the fleet. I took this photo of the Portland Fire Bureau's fireboat as it passed under the Broadway Bridge which is in full open position during a bridge lift. The bridge lift means that not too far north of the fireboat there must be a United States Navy vessel on its way to dock at the west seawall, right in downtown Portland.

Turned out that the guided-missle destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) was the first to arrive.

The destroyer's dimensions: length, 510 feet; beam, 66 feet; and draught, 31 feet. It's surface speed can reach 37 mph. The engines are 4 x General Electric LM2500-30 gasoline turbines developing 100,000 shaft horsepower to 2 x shafts.

Here are two interesting articles about the destroyer which I found on the Internet at Navy dot mil. 

Navy Welcomes William P. Lawrence To The Fleet Story Number: NNS110604-08Release Date: 6/4/2011 9:23:00 PM A A A By Mass Communication Specialist First Class Brian S. Finney MOBILE, Ala. (NNS) --

The Navy welcomed guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) into the fleet during a commissioning ceremony in Mobile, Ala., June 4.

The newest Arleigh Burke-class ship, the 60th of its class, is named in honor of the late Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, a highly-decorated Naval aviator and Vietname prisoner of war.

Lawrence began his naval career as an academic scholar and athlete at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he later returned to occupy the Chair of Naval Leadership after retiring from active duty, Feb. 1, 1986.

His aircraft was shot down over North Vietnam in June 1967 and he was held captive until March 1973. His dedication and perseverance during that period inspired the ship to claim the motto, "Never Give In."

"[Lawrence] and many others were heroes among heroes by leading a resistance of our prisoners in Vietnam," said Adm. James Winnefeld, commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and Commander, United States Northern Command. "Indeed we should recognize those men that are with us today because consistent with our ship's motto, they never gave in."

"I assure you we will be ready," said Cmdr. Tom Williams, commanding officer, USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110). "Whatever challenge may be ahead for this crew, we have set a good course and the only course I will accept is toward excellence."

An audience of more than 3,000 attended the ceremony, held at the Alabama State Docks. The crowd consisted of family and friends of USS William P. Lawrence crew members, a host of U.S. military veterans and many others associated with the Lawrence family.

The ship was christened by three women important to Lawrence, his widow, Diane Wilcox Lawrence, and daughters, Dr. Laurie Macpherson Lawrence and U.S. Navy Capt. (ret.) Wendy B. Lawrence, the ship's sponsor.

The ceremony concluded when the Lawrence family said, bring our ship to life!" The Sailors then manned the rails.

"I look at this as a spring board to much greater things, it's my first command and I couldn't be happier," said Sonar Technician Seaman Apprentice Scott Peterson. "I am very proud to be a part of the most technologically advanced warship in the world."

During the ship's brief stop in Mobile, the crew of William P. Lawrence was heartily welcomed by the local community. The city's minor league baseball team hosted a Navy night, during which Williams threw the first pitch. Crew members also donated many service hours to Habitat for Humanities community relations projects.

"The Sailors on this ship has taken [Lawrence's] spirit and his character to heart and they're the real secret to making this the best ship in the fleet, said Williams. "We're named for a modern naval hero who was known as the Sailor's Admiral, and he really took care of people."

And here's one more: Navy's Newest Destroyer To Arrive In San Diego Story Number: NNS110628-16Release Date: 6/28/2011 9:31:00 PM A A A From Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs SAN DIEGO (NNS) --

Sailors on the Navy's newest destroyer are scheduled to arrive with their ship at Naval Base San Diego, July 1.

The guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), the 60th Arleigh Burke class destroyer, was built in Pascagoula, Miss. and commissioned during a ceremony at the Alabama State Docks in Mobile, Ala. June 4.

After commissioning, the ship departed Mobile and sailed through the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean on its voyage to its homeport of San Diego.

Cmdr. Thomas R. Williams II is the first commanding officer of the 9,200-ton warship's 280-person crew.

"It is wonderful to celebrate our homecoming on the 4th of July weekend with our families," said Williams. "Our goal as a command for the past year was to make it home by the 4th, and I'm very proud of the Lawrence warriors who worked so hard to make it possible."

The new destroyer honors the late Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, an accomplished leader and the first naval aviator to fly twice the speed of sound. During the Vietnam War, as commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 143, Lawrence was awarded the Silver Star for a strike against a heavily defended target in North Vietnam. He completed his mission, but was captured after his aircraft went down in June 1967 and remained a prisoner of war (POW) until March 1973. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership to fellow POWs.

While a POW, Vice Adm. Lawrence composed a poem entitled "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee," which was subsequently designated as the official poem of the State of Tennessee by the state legislature.

The ship is capable of carrying Tomahawk missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles, as well as a five-inch gun and two SH-60 helicopters.

William P. Lawrence helps provide deterrence, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the sea and humanitarian/disaster response within 3rd Fleet's 50-million square mile area of responsibility in the Eastern Pacific, as well as supporting the Navy's Maritime Strategy when forward deployed.

The Willamette River runs high right now.

I took these photos on June 9 when I lucked out and got to ride with a friend on his boat during the arrival of the fleet, which happens every year during the Rose Festival.


We slowly passed beneath the Steel Bridge.


As the antenna touched first one cross piece, then another, it serenaded us with a rhythmic tlang-a-lang-a-tlang. An eerie sound.


Here's a better view of the cross pieces. Shining bright, the sun changed the color of much of what I photographed, depending upon which way I faced.


We've crossed to the other side of the bridge.


I like this perspective.


We're south of the bridge now, heading downriver. Here you can see the Steel Bridge in the foreground with its upper level for vehicles, MAX, pedestrians and bicyclists. The lower level is for trains. The orange bridge you can just see is the Broadway Bridge, while the barely visible one beyond it is the arch of the Fremont Bridge.

Law enforcement on the Willamette last Thursday, June 5, as the fleet came in

US Coast Guard riding with Multnomah County Sheriff's Office River patrol, headed north, downriver, on the Willamette near the Steel Bridge


US Coast Guard beside the USS Kidd as the tug pushes it closer to the wall.

Here's another Coast Guard boat on watch.

The Coast Guard boat goes beneath a bridge.


Another Multnomah County Sheriff's Office River Patrol boat heads south, upriver, with the Willamette reflecting the sun during what local folks call a "sun break." They've been welcome weather events lately.

The boat heads north on the Willamette River.

Sidewalk Entertainment

Thursday evening after I left the waterfront, the fleet and the fireboat, I walked into Old Town Chinatown to catch a bus home. Thank goodness, or I wouldn't have come upon this entertaining scene outside the Old Town Precinct at NW 3rd and Couch.

The policewoman's horse enjoyed grabbing folded boxes from those stashed in another box at the curb. You can see some of them on the street where they fell. Here's how the entertainment started.


I'm thinking this horse is the class clown who thought that since the lady paid attention to the other horse, it was time to get on stage. The boxes provided the perfect prop.


I love the looks the two horses on the left are giving the class clown, just like long-suffering classmates who've seen all of this time and again.


By the way, the lady never noticed the fun-lovin' horse, but I certainly did and enjoyed every moment.

The Rose Festival Fleet is in.

After work Thursday, I spent several hours watching this huge ship and one other come in, complete with the Portland Fire Bureau's fireboat honoring their arrival.

USS KIDD arrives. The dark strip across the top of the photo is the underneath of the Steel Bridge with both the lower and upper levels lifted. That's one of it's towers to the left. In the background the open bridge is the Broadway. And that slight arch you can see going from the Kidd upward to the left is part of the arch on the Fremont Bridge.


I stood in amazement as the tugs swiveled the Kidd right there in front of me, so that its bow pointed back towards the Steel Bridge, then pushed it up to dock beside the USS Lake Champlain which had come in earlier in the day.








The fire bureau boat continued upriver as the Kidd was turned. I realized that I needed to change from my zoom lens to the regular one and stepped to the other side of the walkway along the east side of the river, right at river level. Already I had put up the hood of my raincoat to keep the brisk, cool wind off my head. As I turned my back to the fire boat to make preparations to change lenses, I heard something coming towards me--the spray from a fireboat cannon! In seconds I was drenched as if I'd stepped into a waterfall, shoes full of water--not from the spray but from the stream of water. Thank goodness I had my hood up and my back to the boat! Thank goodness nothing happened to my camera or lenses! Not only had I been able to see the fire boats shooting water, I'd met that water up close and personal, an utterly unforgettable memory.


USS GARY arrives. You can see the entire Steel Bridge opening in this photo and that the Broadway Bridge has already closed.








You can see evidence of the wind that blew the entire evening in this shot of the Gary's flag. It says, "USS Gary FFG-51. Two guns. Back off varmint!" I took about a dozen shots but couldn't get a better one than this.


Left to right, USS Kidd, USS Lake Champlain, and behind them, right to left, are the USS Preble--you can see a portion of it--and the USS Gary, all you can see of it is the tower, antennas, etc. Those trees along the wall are the cherry trees in this post.


The fleet is in.


Monday is departure day.