To the City of San Francisco the first week of October is known as “Fleet Week,” a weeklong event where The City celebrates its naval heritage and welcomes the U.S. Navy to town.

Fleet Week dates back over twenty years when the Navy’s influence in San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area was much greater than it is today. Even with the most of the major bases in the Bay Area long since closed (Alameda NAS, Mare Island, Concord Naval Weapons Station, Hunters Point, Treasure Island, et. al.) the Bay Area still is proud of its Navy heritage and once a year greets the visiting Navy vessels & crews with enthusiasm.

In a standing room only briefing in the dining hall of the Yerba Buena Island Coast Guard Station, the Mission Commander starts the 7:30 a.m. briefing right on schedule. The presentation includes information on weather, procedures, protocols, and what the patrol crews can expect out on the water.

A major focus of the briefing on Saturday morning is the Parade of Ships that will start passing under the Golden Gate Bridge at 11:00 a.m. The lead ship will be the Ticonderoga Class Aegis Cruiser USS Princeton followed by the USS Nimitz which was expected to launch and recover aircraft while in the Bay. In total 6 Navy ships were expected to pass under San Francisco’s most famous landmark.

This was the second year that I had been given the opportunity to participate in a Fleet Week Patrol with the crew of the Coast Guard Auxiliary boat “Silver Charm.” Skippered by Linda Vetter, and crewed by her husband Terry Blanchard, the Silver Charm is a 33 foot, privately owned, aluminum hulled vessel, custom built for the purpose of working closely with the Coast Guard patrolling the waters of San Francisco Bay.

All the patrol boats were expected to be on station by 10:00 a.m. when the air show box, a one square mile area off of the San Francisco waterfront, was officially closed to all boat traffic. Any civilian vessels entering the air show box would be stopped once they exited the other side and subject to disciplinary actions. The patrol position of the Silver Charm would be on the west end of the air show box facing the Golden Gate Bridge.

Just before 11:00 a.m. the USS Princeton (CG-59) could be seen on its approach outside the Golden Gate. As it passed under the bridge the Princeton fired off a number of volleys, blanks it was assumed, from its deck gun. Trailing the Princeton was the San Francisco fireboat "Gaurdian Fire Boat No 2" pointing its fire nozzles skyward and shooting up a lofty plume of water.

Following the Princeton was the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVAN-68.) The 1,072 foot long ship, with its superstructure barely clearing the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, was an impressive site as it entered San Francisco Bay. Barely noticeable in contrast with the immense size of the Nimitz was the smaller Navy and Coast Guard patrol boats that swarmed around the ship and provided the inner ring of security.

A pressing concern to the Coast Guard Commanders was the safety of the Navy ships once they were in the relatively confined area of San Francisco Bay. Though these great warships could protect themselves out on the open ocean the potential for a “USS Cole” type incident was not inconceivable.

A pair of HH-60’s, with their swivel mounted machine guns displayed, patrolled the area around the Golden Gate 30 minutes before any of the Navy ships arrived. All six of the 87 foot Coast Guard Coastal Patrol Boats, which formed the outer ring of protection, were instructed during the briefing to “uncover your 50’s” in reference to the 4-50 caliber machine guns on each of the 6 vessels.

The inner ring of protection was the domain of the fast moving Navy RIB boats and Coast Guard Safe Boats. The small crafts had sufficient firepower to disable a hostile vessel should it venture to close to the fleet.

As the Nimitz approached Alcatraz Island, which is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, it launched a pair of F/A-18 Hornets from its waist catapults. The planes joined up to make a formation pass before splitting up and each making a touch and go on the deck of the Nimitz before departing the airspace.

Following the Nimitz was the destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76), guided missile destroyers USS Chafee (DDG 90) and USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53), and the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6). The pairing of the USS John Paul Jones and USS Bonhomme Richard was fitting since Bonhomme Richard was the name that Captain John Paul Jones gave to his famous frigate. Trailing the parade of ships was a pair of LCAC landing craft that had been launched from the stern of the Bonhomme Richard.

Once the parade of ships had finished, the patrol line regrouped. As the Red Bull Air Races started along the San Francisco waterfront, the Silver Charm took the opportunity to deliver a few box lunches to other Coast Guard Auxiliary boats on patrol near Alcatraz.

As the Red Bull Air Races concluded the airshow was opened by a pair of F/22 Raptors coming in over the Golden Gate Bridge and making a couple of passes along the waterfront. Their departure was a climb straight up until they could no longer be seen.

The Raptors were followed by Sean Tucker in his Oracle Challenger biplane and the Air Force Heritage Flight, consisting of the Planes of Fame’s F-86 Sabre and an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II. After the Heritage Flight the F-86 departed the airspace and the A-10 did a flight demonstration above the Bay’s water.

As each aerial performer went through their routines the number of boats on the water increased. By the time Fat Albert flew his pre-Blue Angels performance, the Silver Charm’s crew and other patrol boats in their sector had their hands full making sure that the civilian boats stayed clear of the air show box.

With clear skies, and unusually light winds, the Blue Angel delta formation was clearly visible as it made its way north on the west side of Golden Gate Bridge. Soon the show was on and those lucky to be out on the water were treated to awe inspiring, eardrum blasting, and close up views of the underside of an F/A-18 Hornet. As the planes made their way into the air show box from the west their flight path took them right over our position to the delight of the spectators on the boats who responded with shouts and yells of enthusiasm.

For the crew of the Silver Charm the busiest part of the day came after the Blue Angels performance. Even though the team had concluded their performance the air show box, and the water underneath it, was still closed until the Blue Angels had safely landed at San Francisco Airport. Many of the civilian boats were not aware of this rule and immediately tried to cut across the not-yet-open-to-boat-traffic part of the bay. For the next ten minutes all of the patrol boats were busy cutting off would be transgressors.

As the Silver Charm made its way along the San Francisco waterfront back to the Coast Guard Station at Yerba Buena Island all of the Navy ships that had arrived earlier in the day could be seen berthed along the piers. The only exception was the USS Nimitz which was moored in the deep water channel south of Yerba Buena Island. Over the next few days many of the ships would be opened to the public to allow them an opportunity to get close and go onboard these great warships.