Further to the USS Enterprise/lighthouse confrontation, I witnessed a not too dissimilar incident during my time in the Merchant Navy.
Entering the Bay of Naples, we spotted the carrier USS Nimitz manoeuvering ahead of us. Our Captain (a wonderful Irishman) called her on the VHF to find out what she was doing so we could keep clear. The reply came back: we were not allowed to know what she was doing, as it was classified information!
This was the same Captain who had the following conversation with the owners of his ship after a slight incident:
Owner (disapproving): "Tell me Captain, why did you order three tugs to pull you off that sandbar?"
Captain: "Because I didn't think I'd need four!"
F27 on short finals on a very blustery day gets caught by a strong gust but manages to recover and makes a safe, if rather hard arrival.
Tower: "Oops, that was a bit of a Fokker!"
F27 Pilot: "Yes, it was almost the end of a beautiful Friendship!"
Last edited by Simtech; 21st February 2003 at 03:32.