By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tanner Lange, USS George Washington Public Affairs
USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) navigated the Strait of Magellan, May 9-10, completing the Atlantic Ocean portion of their Partnership of the Americas (POA) 2008 deployment.
The Strait of Magellan, named after the Portugese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, is a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland Chile and is a natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Magellan made passage through the strait in 1520 while searching for a quicker route to the Spice Islands by sailing west.
During the two-day transit, the Sailors of GW's navigation department played a major role by maintaining the ship's course and monitoring water depth through the 570-kilometer passage.
"The past two days have been very important for us, helping GW make a safe and accurate transit through the Strait of Magellan," said Senior Chief Quartermaster (SW/AW) David Tokarski. "There are a lot of challenges that can arise when passing through narrow waters like these and it takes extra effort to make sure all readings are reported and plotted accurately to keep the ship continuing on its designated path."
The Strait of Magellan transit also served as a valuable training tool for qualifying junior quartermasters in different aspects of their rate and has provided some Sailors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"As a quartermaster, I look forward to missions and challenges that enable me to perform my rate at its highest level," said Quartermaster 3rd Class (SW/AW) Brandon Chandler. "This was an extensive detail in the time it takes to travel the Strait. I feel like I have learned a lot and I will never forget this experience."
"It's not just navigation department helping the ship through the Strait," Tokarski said. "All departments work together and have important responsibilities to make the exercise a total team effort. That's why we call it Team GW."
Since it is not prudent to navigate the strait at night, GW anchored late in the day May 9 just off the coast of Punta Arenas, Chile. Punta Arenas is considered the world's southernmost city, with more than 102,000 residents.
As the ship resumed its transit May 10, hundreds of GW and embarked Carrier Air Wing 17 Sailors roamed the flight deck and hangar bay to snap a few photographs of the snow-capped mountains overlooking parts of the strait.
"It was cold, but I was able to get some amazing pictures," said Information Systems Technician Seaman Armando Clanton of Combat Systems Department's CS3 division. "I never thought I'd be in this part of the world or see anything like this."
