Yorktown Apollo Recovery (CVS 10) - Naval Cruise Book

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Carnival Time Arriving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during Carnival time made the stop one of the most exciting liberty ports York- town crewmembers have ever encountered. On February 14, Valentine's Day, the 'Fighting Lady' dropped anchor i11Guana- bara Bay, for three days, for the second stop on her 13,800-mile trip around Cape Horn form Long Beach to Norfolk. ' Arriving a day before the annualfour- day Carnival began, 257 Yorktown crew- members took an all-day tour of the city. The tour included a stop at Corcovado Mountain, where the statue of Christ the Redeemer, named 'Christo Redentor' in Portuguese, overlooks the entire city. The statue, weighing 1,260 tons, was built in 1931, and is located on the top of a 2,760 foot mountain. For camera bugs this afforded a beautiful view of the city. a Another picturesque sight is Sugar Loaf Mountain which is 874 feet high VISITORS ARRIVE--Brazilians board ship to tour Fighting Lady'H Page In Riode Janeiro and can only be reached by cable car, similar to those used in Europe to reach ski slopes. From the top of Sugar Loaf one had a sweeping view of Guanabara Bay, second to the largest bay in the world-- San Francisco Bay. The sweltering weather in Rio was quite a contrast to the low temperatures Yorktown crewmembers experienced the previous week, when the 'Fighting Lady' was rounding Cape Horn. Business in Rio virtually comes to a stand still during the Carnival. Brazil- ian people save their money for months to make their costumes for the parades in the Carnival. The heart of the Carnival takes place in Downtown Rio on Avenue Presidente Var- gas, however, from Downtown Rio to its numerous beaches and outline areas, everyone has the Carnival spirit. Various groups formed with bands and multi-colored costumes to march in the parades. Nearly seven-tons of 'Handclasp' ma- and terial--soap, clothes, medicines s orting equi ment- were off loaded in P P ' Rio. It was to be distributed by the U.S. Naval Mission. . Almost 1,000 Brazilian visitors tour- ed the 'Fighting Lady' to see the ship and a replica of the Apollo 8 capsule. Several hundred also toured the ship as personal guests of ship's company. EXPLAINING DISPLAY--Crewmember expIair1s display to visitors. 42

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Yorktown Round Cape Horn ' Q i A RUUNDING CAPE HURN--Three crewmembers get a glimpse of Cape Horn from the Yorktown's fl ight deck. All Yorktown crewmembers be came Moss- backs when the ship sailed around the south- ernmost point of the American Continents at historic Cape Horn at 9:30 pm on February 7 on the second leg of a historic 13, 800 mile journey from Long Beach to Norfolk. Each crewmember received a scroll and wallet card proclaiming membership in the Realm of the South Wind. The Fighting Lady' ' rounded the extreme southern tip of continental land in the world, just 490 miles North of Antartica, to join the Atlantic Fleet- ending 25 years of dedicated service to Pacific waters. Although originally constructed on the East Coast, this was the Erst signing of Cape Horn for the Yorktown. The Fighting Lady by' passed the Horn by transiting through the Panama Canal on its maiden voyage into World War II in 1943. However, a wide an- gle flight deck has been added since then, in- creasing Yorktown's efficiency by allowing simultaneous recoveries and launching of air- craft. But, it also made the anti- submarine carrier too wide to travel back through the Canal. , The Fighting Lady cruised easily through seas considered extremely hazardous in ear- lier days, when sailing ships depended upon unpredictable winds to carry them around the treacherous rocks surrounding the Cape. Actuallya series of small islands, the Cape area is described by most publications as one extremely rugged sea . I Ferdinand Magellan actually missed round- ing the Cape in 15 20, but instead,threaded his way through the narrow straits between Tiera del Fuego and the mainland of Chile. It took him 38 days and one mutiny. Yorktown com- pleted the trip in a mere two days. Later in 1578, Sir Francis Drake cautious- ly worked his way into the straits, only to lose two ships inthe 16-day passage. He was also blown off course past the Southern Cape Horn area , where he discovered that the land of fire , Tierra del Fuego, was a series of islands and not another continent. The Cape received its name from two Dutch navigat ors in 1616, who named it after Hoorn in Holland. Captain James Cook mapped the area in 1768 while bound for Tahiti in his ship the Endeavor . And later in 1862 came the charting expedition of HMS Beagle, carry- ing Charles Darwin as the ship's naturalist. Page 4l -----anemia? 'f' A.. ., - - L-a,a.,,A.....-in .. ,.i....,., W, ,....4. ,.....1.,... J. F f,a1u.n.f,, ,Ma-mom

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f I VISITORS LEAVE--Brazilians PARADE REST--Yorktown Marines stand at parade 'lj2finb i:efZZipSh0'e am' rest as the Fighting Lady enters Rio de J0f12H'0' 9 ' V1'7'1 l 4.4, 44 IPANEMA--View of the beach at Ipanema with the shore Iine of hotels in the background. page 43