McInerney (FFG 8) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 62 text:

ehile VV hile in Antofagasta the seas became extremely rough, and Mclnerney had to get under a to ride out the seas at anchor. The Harbor Master would not let us run the RHIB and crew members that tried to return at liberty expiration were in for a surprise. What a feeling to find someone had boat jacked oim ship! . ' Ml the crew ashore were put up in hotels and the next morning were picked up and brought out to the ship at anchor. Once the weather cleared and we began to raise the anchor to go pierside again, we got another surprise! An anchor that appeared to be around 100 years old had become fouled in our anchor chain! After trying everything we could think of. the anchor broke. When we lowered it back into the water, the old anchor fell fi-om our anchor chain. Can you imagine the odds of getting an antique anchor caught in your chain?! Once it freed itself we were able to finish our port visit without any further nicident. Coquimbo Coquimbo was a small town i in the middle of nowhere. It was ; desert-like and brown. The people were nice and the small tow n atmosphere was enjoyed by the crew. There was a festival going on when we got there and we were in ited to be a part of

Page 61 text:

Manta, Ecuador Wc spent most of our liberty time in Panama or Manta during the first half of our deployment. While in Panama we were able to get liberty in a place that was accustomed to Americans. From laundry sei vices to casinos. Panama had it all! MWR tri ed to help make Manta more fun through tours like the para-gliding tour you see photos of here. The best thing in Manta was the shopping. The ship ' s crew also adopted a school and held two COMREL projects there. The ship ' s band was interviewed on one of Manta ' s radio stations, and played at an amphitheater at the University of Manta, while our soccer team played theirs. Behind The 8-BaH also played at a club during our last visit to close out our deployment. After visiting Manta so many times we were ready for UNITIS. While it was Manta, it was liberty, and ...,4iifl| 1 K 57

Page 63 text:

' ei g ii aip.iKiisd was ;irgiiably the hcsl iibcrly port we isileil Jiii iml ' Ih ' ldIik ' ilepluviiiont. The people were friendly, the food was good and the skiing was great! Witli this being the last port visited during UNITAS, we were involved in many military functions, including the photo abo e where the CO and CMC were the centerpiece. RP We were one of the first U.S. warships to visit Galapagos in some time. We were only there for two days and could only go ashore for a few hours during daylight. To protect the wildlife the ship had to pull anchor and leave the area to dump tanks, then we would return to anchor. While ashore we were able to see animals that live nowhere else in the world like the Galapagos Tortoise. Blue-footed Boobies and Marine Iguana pictured here. ■X i ,: »rf M i : ' . J liEii ¥SB ffi@Mf«l n ' i k ' £ d-. -jr - - K ' i Jm .,