National Salute

In light of the fact that I had that international phone call a few days ago, and the mentioning of various things that could have triggered the not to super secret phone tapping program to pick up that call - there is NEW IGUANA MUSIC!

I think the song speaks for me very well. Either that or I am just paranoid. Who knows. But anyway, new Iguana Music. Adam Ant will be back for another round in the future.

OH YEA! It is Fleet Week. What the crap is Fleet Week? It is part of the annual Ft. Lauderdale Air And Sea Show! More than just an air show, this is also a sea show! There are several US Navy vessels already here or on their way. The web site says that there will be a Los Angeles Class Nuclear Fast Attack Submarine, a fast warship (all purpose ship), a guided missile frigate, and several landing craft.

And there are the planes. American Airlines will fly a 777 over the show, and also a classic restored DC-3. There will also be a few civilian acrobatic flying demonstrations.

The US Marines will land on Ft Lauderdale Beach in a simulated amphibious attack. With the hovercraft and everything.

Military air teams include the USAF Thunder Birds, the US Navy Blue Angels, a US Army Cobra Helicopter team, a US Coast Guard rescue demo, the US Army and US Navy parachute teams, a US Navy F-18 "Super Hornet" demonstration, a USAFR ParaRescue demo, and flybys by the F-22 "Raptor", USAF Reserve F-16s from the reserve base here, the B-2 "Spirit" stealth bomber, a USAF F-15 "Eagle", a USAF A-10 "Warthog", a USAF B1-B "Lancer" stealth bomber, and the USAF "Heritage" team flying new and classic combat aircraft.

And other stuff.

So I am considering going to the show. But there are issues here. First off, they charge admission to the beach somehow. And there are VERY STRICT "no open container" laws on the beach. And it is illegal to put up any kind of shade device on the beach during the show.
Traffic is a bitch, the roads are closed. So you have to drive to some lot, pay the parking fee, park, then use a shuttle bus to get there.

What a mess.

But then I remembered - this is an air AND sea show! I have a boat. So why not watch the show, for free, from the boat? This will avoid the whole "having to deal with a beach full of idiots" and "the cops will club you if you open a beer" problem. And the boat has built in shade that the cops can not cry about. I will be off the beach, but closer to the air action and navy ships.

But there is a problem. The show exclusion zone goes for about a mile offshore. Ft. Lauderdale lacks any kind of bay - so you are exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. There is no break water of any kind. The water a mile off Ft Lauderdale is like the water 5 miles off Miami.

And the water is deeper. This makes it harder to anchor a boat. I have only 100 feet of anchor line, which is not really enough to get a reliable anchor hold in more than 20 feet of water. I could be trying to anchor up in 30 - 40 feet of water.

And to compound the problem, some of the idiots on the beach will manage to get hold of boats. People that have never used a boat before will be out there. People will be drunk on the water. The public boat ramps will be a total mess.

Inexperienced people who have not bothered to take a basic boating safety class will be out there trying to anchor. They will not have anchor chain attached to the line, they will be using under size anchors, and not be using enough line. So they will be dragging anchor all over the place. Crashing into other boats. And the sheer number of boats that will be there, in addition to the large navy ships and US Coast Guard patrol ships, will kick up the surf.

People that have gone out to see the show from a boat before have told me they would not do it again. And some of these people have 40 footers. So I really have to think about the wisdom of trying to see the air and sea show from the sea. It might just be a horrible idea.

But if I go, I will take pictures!