I wish I knew, but suffice to say I was impressed by the Enterprise back in the late 60's. We were doing a downwind run with plans to turn back into the wind when the flyers geared up for their landing qualifications. Like many speed boats, the appearance from the stern was that if they backed off the throttles the trailing wave would have overrun the flight deck. Some serious vibrations going on as well that were not evident at all during normal operations.
Another impressive thing was how that boat could lay over when hanging a serious turn. I was aboard when a deck hand lobbed a 55 gallon drum over the rail during flight operations. Someone on an elevator below saw it drop out of the side of their eye and called in a man overboard. They put that ship on its side and had it turned around and back on spot in a couple minutes. All were accounted for, and we resumed the run. Warnings are issued during those maneuvers (i.e. keel to port), as planes, tractors, and other equipment needs to be ready.
Saddens me that she's being scrapped.
Last edited by 1minute; 07/01/15.
