Many years ago, I delivered a custom Robert Perry sailboat from Jacksonville, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia with famous painter Peter Egeli, his gracious wife and their sailing friend. My crew sailed mostly in Chesapeake Bay and we turned inland at Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor, when seasickness overwhelmed them and motored the rest of the way up the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The Egelis dropped me off at Town Point Park on the Elizabeth River and I took a cab to the Norfolk Airport. I taught the Egelis a lot about their new sailboat on the voyage and waved like Captain Ron at the fledgling crew as they finished the final leg of our adventure on their own.
I returned to Norfolk with Karen for a closer look at the city I only breezed through. Our Airbnb condo faced east down City Hall Avenue and I was treated to this beautiful sunrise our first morning in the “Mermaid City.”
Naval Station Norfolk is the World’s largest. It supports 75 ships and 134 aircraft with 14 piers and 11 hangers. We started our walking tour with the USS Wisconsin, berthed two-blocks from our condominium.
The Battleship Wisconsin was built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and launched December 7, 1943. She’s fitted with 14.5-inch thick bulkhead armor, IS 887-feet long, 108-feet wide and has a top speed of 38-mph.
Wisconsin has nine 16-inch guns that can fire 2,700-pound armor-piercing shells 20 miles. In 1986, she was fitted with Tomahawk and Harpoon missile launchers. Her teak decks prevented metal containers of gunpowder from sparking when scraped against it during loading.
Orchestrating the loading of primers and shells took place inside the cramped quarters of the forward gun turret from this comfy, brass seat. Gunners never knew at what or where the guns were fired. Their job was to load an let ’em rip on command from the Captain.
Sitting in the “Captain’s Chair” was empowering. Even though the ship was decommissioned in 1991, the naval officer that led our tour said, “No Navy sailor would consider for even a second sitting in the “Old Man’s” seat.
Passageways inside a battleship were tight and terrifying when “General Quarters” was called and the rush to Battle Stations filled them with excited sailors.
To really appreciate the size of the World’s Largest Naval Base, I recommend Victory Rover Tours that leave from Town Point Park a block from the USS Wisconsin.
Naval Station Norfolk covers 4-miles of waterfront space and 11-miles of piers and wharfs. The United States deadliest and newest floating war machines come here for supplies and repairs.
Facilities for wet and dry-dock repairs include slips for submarines. A Submariner once told me that, “Surface ships are just targets.”
There’s even room for US aircraft carriers, which are the largest in the world.
Naval Station Norfolk’s Air Operations averages one-flight every six minutes. More than 150,000 passengers and 264,000 tons of mail and cargo depart from there every year.
It no surprise that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA) has a Marine Center in Norfolk.
A short walk along the waterfront led us to the Pagoda & Oriental Garden. The Pagoda was a gift to Norfolk from Taiwan in 1983. Norfolk made mermaids the city’s symbol in 1999. There are over 300 of the ten-feet-long mermaids scattered throughout the city, each uniquely decorated to complement its surroundings.
The North Ghent Historic District emerged in 1890. The area retained its old world charm, while adding cool restaurant’s, bars and boutiques. Ghent is considered one of Virginia’s best places to live and home to many young urban professionals.
We parked the rental car and walked while visiting downtown Norfolk. It was full of historic places to see and great dining. There’s lots more to Norfolk that will just have to wait. I took away an overwhelming impression of the city’s nautical heritage. “GO NAVY!”