For a modern nuke boat (the only ones left) think highway speeds. There's nothing on the ocean that can keep up including all the escort cruiser/destroyers.
^ This.
I was on an escort DDE behind the Enterprise when the Norks grabbed the Pueblo. We could do 33 knots give or take a few depending on the seas. That works out to pretty close on 38 MPH. We left the gulf where we could see Haiphong Harbor's lights after 2200 hours and by 0600 when I rolled out it was cold outside and the Enterprise was nowhere in sight and could not be found on surface search radar which would pick that beast up near 100 miles out.
Figure 8 hours to open ~100 miles on us and she had at least 12 MPH on us. Since when I hit the rack we were in normal plane guard station and launch/land ops it was that much advantage at a minimum.
At that time Enterprise always traveled with us, the O'Bannon and the nuke cruiser and four fast attack nuke boats underneath her. The O'Bannon had 3-4 knots on us and the cruiser a couple on the O'Bannon. The only thing that could keep up with her was the fast attack nuke boats. When we cranked up to 33 knots the DDE pounded and shook to where you thought it was coming apart. Not a fun ride.
I have seen the Enterprise launch F4s in no wind conditions. Anyone who's seen an F4 come off the catapult in normal launch winds learns to hold their breath until the bird comes back up to the level of the carrier deck. Back then, they hit the water way too often. Enterprise could turn into the wind and spit A5s and those funny looking things with the hook thingy on top of tip of the nose (E6s?) off the deck like a swarm of bees and not bother with the cats when necessary.
