USS Kitty Hawk
As a kid I’d always been a fan of aircraft carriers – and maybe Top Gun back in 1986 had something to do with it 
Back in 2005 Cape Town, South Africa could’ve seen the USS Harry S Truman, one of the world’s biggest naval vessels, but it aborted its stopover because it was unable to get permission to berth – despite repeated requests – from South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator!!
So now in Australia when I found the river cruise advert in the Brisbane News to see one in real life – the Kitty Hawk – I grabbed it!
I was obviously not the only BrisVegas resident wanting to come within a cooee of “Kitty”. Brisbane Cruises had been almost fully booked out when I phoned in a reservation on the old classic timber Lady Brisbane river cruiser.
Boarding for the cruise was at the berth next to the CityCat’s passenger terminal at Brett’s Wharf. Opposite the CityCat terminal is the Byron Shipyard that makes the City Cat.
The vessel had just turned towards the east to travel out under the Gateway Bridge when the captain did the usual “G’day mates, I got to tell you all about the safety procedures on this Lady…the life vests have holes in ‘em – that’s for your head.”
Having such a knowledgeable captain put everyone at ease as the boat rocked from side to side
It wasn’t long before we crossed under the Gateway Bridge. This bridge links the Pacific Motorway to the south with the Bruce Highway to the north.
Captain Kim Kelly would guide the Lady Brisbane within a 100 meters of the carrier – security ;-( the closest that the general public is allowed! I should join politics because then you’re not part of the general public and you get to board the vessel e.g. Queensland’s Premier Beattie!
Maybe it was to say thanks to the Yankee men and women from the carrier that were expected to spend more than $10 million as they restock the ship with supplies and explore Brisbane and the Gold Coast?
The warship was berthed at Pinkenba on 19th July where it would stay until the following Monday. Luckily for the Brisbane residents, the whole harbor layout is completely different to Sydney – there’s very little access!
When the Kitty Hawk visited Sydney on the 5th July, the RTA imposed 31 special event clear-ways in the Sydney CBD, Potts Point, Woolloomooloo, Darlinghurst, Edgecliff, Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Mosman and remained in force the duration of the carrier’s five-day visit. This was done to ease the traffic congestion caused by the arrival of the American aircraft carrier.
For the council towies, it was a feeding frenzie with 85 vehicles towed. Even though the ship left Sydney on the 10th July at 3pm, the clear-ways stayed in force till 8pm?
The Kitty Hawk (CV-63) carrier was built in the 1960s, together with the Constellation (CV-64), America (CVA-66) and John F Kennedy (CVA-67). The “CV” is a hull classification. If you see a “CVN” tag then the vessel is nuclear powered.
The Constellation and John F Kennedy carriers are in a naval storage yard whilst the America was sunk in 2005 as part of a targeting exercise! How difficult could it be to sink an unarmed aircraft carrier?
The Kitty Hawk is the oldest active conventionally-powered carrier left in the US Navy and is scheduled to be decommissioned in June 2008 after 47 years’ service.
If you stop the pumps, how long will it take the rusted carrier to sink?
Impressed? No. Sure the vessel is 320 meters long, got a couple guns and can carry up to 90 aircraft, but I was expecting something really big and scary – maybe even awesome!
The scariest thing about the aircraft carrier was the masked security personnel enforcing the harbor exclusion zone!
The Russians have the Antonov AN-225 heavy lift aircraft that I saw in Cape Town, South Africa. When you see it you ask yourself – “How can it fly! It’s just too big!” How can a Bugatti Veyron stay suck to the ground at 400km/h – wow!
How could any one or country ever been scared of the Kitty Hawk! Maybe it’s the name that just doesn’t cut it?
I would also have liked to have been closer to the carrier because then the images on this page would be much better – most taken we blurred! It’s real hard to take a photo when the boat is rocking and the target it far away. And besides the carrier is to be decommissioned – so why all the security for this rust bucket? Why couldn’t the Lady Brisbane just stop there and let us Aussies take some photos?
Hopefully some US naval commander will read this posting and send me something that’s made in this century, is really big, scary and awesome – how about the CVN-77 or better mate?
