USS Gerald R. Ford to set sail Tuesday after long-awaited first deployment was postponed for Navy’s newest carrier
The USS Gerald R. Ford is slated to deploy Tuesday, one day after its original scheduled deployment was postponed due to gusty winds and dangerous seas in the forecast.
The Navy’s most technologically advanced warship will push off from the pier at Naval Station Norfolk around 12:30 p.m. — weather permitting. While Tuesday’s forecast does not predict the same amount of rain and wind that battered the region Sunday and Monday, National Weather Service Wakefield projected Tuesday will see gusty winds through 6 p.m.
Due to the weather, the warship and the 4,000 sailors aboard will not have a traditional sendoff.
“There is no planned sendoff for families or the public,” said Lara Bollinger, public affairs officer for the U.S. 2nd Fleet.
The Ford was originally scheduled to deploy Monday. But that schedule was scrapped as the weather service’s Monday forecast worsened. Coastal areas were projected to experience 55-60 mph gusts persisting into Monday, while the seas, meteorologists said, could have waves as high as 15 feet.
While a gale warning is in effect through 6 p.m. Tuesday for the Chesapeake Bay and the coast of Virginia, projected gusts and wave height are significantly lower than the warship would have faced if it deployed Monday.
During Tuesday’s deployment, the Ford could experience gusts up to 40 mph and waves up to 9 feet as it navigates the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic waters off the coast of Virginia.
Caitlyn Burchett, 727-267-6059, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
