Skip to content

Fleet Week is Back!

One of the Bay’s truly special spectacles is back this weekend when the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Week celebration comes to town. While that means there’ll be cool stuff like air shows by the Blue Angels, and war ship parades and tours, it also means that the Coast Guard has set aside some space for all this to take place. Unfortunately, they didn’t actually release that info until after Wednesday’s ‘Lectronic Latitude, which is why you’re getting it so late.

The restricted zone for the Parade of Ships. Do yourself a favor and give the big boys a wide berth.

© 2011 USCG

The Coast Guard has established a "safety and security zone" 500 yards ahead, 200 yards astern, and 200 yards on either side of the parade of ships between 10 a.m. and noon tomorrow. This is in addition to the 500-yard security zone that will be enforced around each Navy vessel at all times during the the remainder of their stay on the Bay. The penalty for violating the security zones is steep — try $8,000! So, make sure to be alert, and don’t argue with anyone with a 50-caliber machine gun mounted to their boat. There’s also an additional restricted area between the Cityfront and Alcatraz, reserved — but hopefully not needed — as a ditch zone for the Blue Angels through the rest of the weekend. Consult the Fleet Week link above for the air show’s full schedule.

The ‘ditch zone’ for this weekend’s Blue Angels Air Show.

© 2011 USCG

If you’ve never been out on the water during Fleet Week, be prepared to see a whole lot of boats. Remember to have your registration and a sufficient number of PFDs aboard, don’t overload your boat, save the beer and wine for when you’ve returned to the dock, and enjoy the show. There’ll likely be plenty of boardings by the Coast Guard security patrols this weekend, so make sure to leave anything you don’t want confiscated — or that might result in the confiscation of your boat — at home.

Leave a Comment




Abby, Jessica, Brad, Dale, Ivi and Herb proved they aren’t fair weather sailors by taking a jaunt to Ayala Cove, where they report they were the only boat.
Although it was a gray day on the Sound — maybe a little less gray than this black & white photo — spirits were high aboard Weatherly, as Ken Pimentel drove her into the lead during race two.
According to various hurricane forecasting services, Tropical Storms Jova and Irwin were expected to develop into hurricanes, then make beelines for Banderas Bay / Puerto Vallarta, making landfall on late Monday night and Thursday respectively.