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| At lunch on Stearns Wharf waiting for our tour. |
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| The AVP Beach Volleyball Tour was on West Beach, so we caught a few games. |
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| There were many pelicans in the marina greeting the 1/2 day fishing boats. |
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| On board the launch, on our way to the Halsey. |
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| USS Halsey DDG-97 |
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| On the foc'sle with the bridge and the mast array behind them. |
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| Posing with the ship's bell. |
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| Many Tomohawk cruise missles live under these hatches. |
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| Nik poses with the M-240 gun on the port side. |
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| Brodie at the helm. |
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| Brodie poses with the 50-cal gun on the bridge wing. |
We had an awesome time visiting the USS Halsey on Saturday in Santa Barbara. We even had some excitement as we were boarding. Our launch, a converted tug boat, took us out of the harbor breakwater and into 3-5 foot seas. To board the Halsey, we tied-up to a barge that itself was tied to the Halsey. In the rising seas all 3 boats were rising and falling, but not at the same time. Just a few moments after we had crossed the short gangway from the launch to the barge the bowline snapped free and the bow of the launch started to drift away, twisting the gangway. It was quickly pulled back onto the barge before it could drop into the sea between the vessels, but it took some minutes to get the launch tied up again to deboard the remaining passengers.
The gangway from the barge to the Halsey was a stairway that rose about 40 feet to the Cruiser's deck, but the rolling motion of the two vessels caused the gangway to travel 6 or 8 feet back and forth along the deck of the barge. Nik was very nervous about jumping on at the right time.
But after braving these hazards we successfully reached the deck of the Halsey and had a wonderful 1-hour tour before heading back to the beach with a group of sailors headed for a night of fun in Santa Barbara.
