George Washington (CVN 73) - Naval Cruise Book

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■ un, sand and sightseeing, opportunities greeted about 5.000 Sailors aboard USS George Washington April 22. 2002 as GW s boatswain's mates dropped anchor off the coast of the beautiful 32-square mile island paradise of St. Thomas. After spending four weeks at sea conducting pre-deployment exercises. Sailors found plenty to do thanks to eleven tours and entertainment packages drawn up by GW’s Morale. Welfare and Recreation division. From snorkeling and deep sea fishing trips to a land safari on the nearby island of St. John, there were tours to accommodate everyone. This is one of the best tours MWR had to offer because it was extremely affordable and interesting said AlMD’s ABF 1 (AW) Craig Ashford. I enjoyed our tour guide because he took the lime to relate to his guests. Ashford and his shipmates learned a little history and some island legends while soaking up the rays and visiting Bluebeard's Castle. Magen’s Bay and Paradise Point. M WR's Fun Boss said 1.173 Sailors purchased tickets - selling out most tours - and had good feedback” about them. People have stopped me in the [passageways] and said |the tours] were really go xl and they were taken care of very well (by their guides]. For some, spending three hours of their liberty back on the ocean was a great opportunity because this time they could jump in and investigate a new world most had only seen in pictures. Clustered in groups of about 20. more than 200 Sailors donned facemasks. snorkels and flippers and plunged into places like Turtle Cove's 82-degree water to see a colorful collection of coral, fish, eels, sea urchins and endangered sea turtles — all a mere 15 feet beneath the surface. St. Thomas seemed to have a little something for Sailors glad to relax in the tropical paradise before the upcoming joint task force exercise.