USS Georgetown (AGTR 2) - Naval Cruise Book

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Then A Period of Wonder Two days out of Panama as GEORGETOWN steamed toward Guayaquil, Ecuador, our cooks were busy preparing Thanskgiving dinner. And then: ' ' Now hear this; this is the Captain. There has been a change in our operating schedule, and we have been ordered to turn around, re-transit the Canal, steam up and down the coast of Colombia and await further orders. I don ' t know any more about this than any of you do, but we ' ll all know soon. We are presently heading back for the Canal. Happy Thanskgiving to each of you. That is all . . . Speculation and rumors were as plentiful as the turkey and trimmings. So again we transited the Canal on November 23 and 24, this time at night. Our orders were not long in arriving - Proceed at once to Rota, Spain, and then on to Naples, Italy. Having left Norfolk anticipating a sun-soaked South American cruise, no one needed to be reminded of the old saw about the ' ' best laid plans of mice and men ... Crossing the Atlantic GEORGETOWN was plagued by heavy seas and engine trouble which extended crossing time to twenty- four days. Initially a stop had been scheduled for Rota, Spain, to take on pro- visions and fuel. But the mandate for change established in Panama and which was to augur the whole cruise came into play once more. Instead of stopping at Rota as had been planned, we were met by a helicopter from the U.S. Naval Station at Rota as we approached the Straits of Gibraltar on December 16. In a two-hour Helicopter Transfer we took on official administrative Sixth Fleet publications, transferred personnel and dispatched mail, sailing on through the Straits to become members of the Sixth Fleet. As Our Course Was Changed... And Our Plans Revised The Naval helicopter from Rota, Spain, makes its way toward GEORGETOWN for a rendezvous. The helicopter closes in to take on its load.

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We Got All Wet || But We Got Therei In Gatun Lake, a fresh water lake in the middle of the Isthmus of Panama, GEORGETOWN held a fresh water washdown to clean the exterior of the ship of the salt accumulated at sea. Some of us got a little wet. i ri Two daw Ml prepafiijf ' ' . ' ■ojlieai ' ton onierfd fiirllier o presetll! ' ' Speciilaii J ouKoveite ' ' Oii ontes Hsviiisleft tleoMsaralK Crossiij tiK crossiiij w visions ami ft cruise came lielicopterlroi lat Arriving at Rodman on the Pacific coast, GEORGETOWN pulls up pierside. I The famous International Bridge connecting Rodman with Panama City. The Panama Canal was originally begun in 1896 by a French corporation headed by Count Ferdinand de Lesseps. An alien to finance, de Lesseps ' estimates for digging his sea level canal had been too low His investors, horrified at the prospect of losing their large investments, resulted to corrupt means to try and regain their capital. A scandal resulted, a trial ensued in France and the project was abandoned in isyi) even though a lock-type canal had been decided upon by then. In 1903 after much deliberation and investigation, the United States purchased the Canal for $10 000 000 outright and $250,000 annually. After securing treaties with Panama and Colombia, the United States ' took possession of the Canal site and property on May 4, 1904. The American enterprise was almost defeated before it began. The engineers and technicians suffered setback after setback, and bitterly renamed the Canal the Big Ditch. Malaria and yellow fever were rampant: administrative indecision and bickering took its toll in delay, too. Several halts in the excavation were called, usually to reconsider plans for an alternate design or an alternate route. The Medical De- partment of the Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under Colonel William C. Gorgas and Lt. Lolonel George W. Goethals, respectively, utilized the delays and devised methods for controlling and preventing the spread of malaria and yellow fever. Sewerage systems and water supply systems were constructed for Atlantic coast Colon and Pacific coast Panama City. Construction and excavation con- tinued, if not smoothly then certainly more comfortably. Construction was prosecuted vigorously from 1907 to completion of the project in 1914. On January 7, 1914, the self-propelled crane boat, ALEX LA VALLEY, made the first passage through the canal. On August 15,1914,the Canal wasopened tocommerce although it wasnot of ficially opened until July 12,1920. In transiting the Panama Canal a vessel must pass through a fresh water lake and six locks. The locks operate on a flood- and-release principle, initially r aising the ship gradually higher in each of the ascending locks until the maximum elevation is crossed at the Continental Divide. The transit is completed in the descending locks which are operated on the same flood-and-release principle. The difference in sea level between the two oceans is slight, but the crossing of the Continental Divide adds to the difficulty and length of a Canal transit. Due to the strange geography of the Isthmus of Panama, a ship must travel from west to east to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. il iavaJI

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December Found Us in Naples, Italy As a Member of Sixth Fleet Entering the Bay ot Naples, December 21, 1967. On December 21, GEORGETOWN arrived in Naples, steaming past the Isle of Capri just as the sun rose. Another first for GEORGETOWN came in a docking maneuver known as Med Mooring, which entails anchoring as well as tying up. We took on provisions and fuel and 109 ba gs of Christmas mail! Cheered by the many cards, letters and packages from home, the crew was ready for some recreation and sightseeing in Naples. Many did some Christmas shopping; and just as in America, the shops were open later than usual to accom- modate the last minute shoppers. Decorations covered shop windows and streets alike. The usual bustling Christmas crowd was there, too; and copious vendors, hecklers and street urchins selling everything from tapestries to sub-machine guns! GEORGETOWN ' S inport period in Naples lasted five days during which time tours were organized to Naples, Pompeii and Rome. With GEORGETOWN ' S Welfare and Recreation Council providing most of the funds for the tours, we saw the ruins of ancient Pompeii and many of the historical sites and landmarks which have made Rome ' ' The Eternal City. Underway again on December 26, GEORGETOWN incurred minor engine trouble in the Straits of Messina, the area which separates Sicily and Italy. Returning to Naples the same day, we procured parts for necessary rep airs and put our engineers to work. A surprise materiel inspection by Admiral Dacey and his staff of Service Force, Sixth Fleet, netted glowing compliments for GEORGETOWN and an evaluation of ' ' outstanding. Authorized to remain in port for the remainder of the year, GEORGETOWN again organized tours. The tour itineraries were expanded this time to include not only return visits to Rome and Pompeii, but also tours of the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Capri. Our repairs complete, New Year ' s Eve found GEORGE- TOWN again at sea, underway for a period of technical research operations. i CHRISTMAS IN NAPLES. The Castel Sant ' Elmo over- looks ships of the Sixth Fleet in port for the holidays. We Worked To Keep The Big G Ship Shape . . . 0 tie but Q ispreparaU ' oafoi A would-be Michelangelo makes his mark on the GEORGETOWN. II