Fleet Week 2012 Begins Today

NOW HEAR THIS:

The USS Makin Island sails under the Golden Gate Bridge at approximately 1330 hours Wednesday — that's 1:30 pm for you landlubbers — beginning seven days of events for Fleet Week 2012.

The Makin Island looks like an aircraft carrier but it carries helicopters. Its mission is to support amphibious landings by Marines.

Its arrival heralds a virtual invasion of Navy ships and planes with many opportunities for public viewing.

Find a schedule of events on the Fleet Week web page. 

Some you won't be able to miss, such as the Blue Angels flyovers on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

Expect the Blue Angels to be as loud if not louder than the Oakland Coliseum concert that prompted 911 calls in Alameda and vicinity last Saturday.

Locally, crew members from Coast Guard Base Alameda and other Bay area commands will participate in community service projects such as visits to veterans' hospitals and a cleanup project at the San Francisco Zoo.

And while it's not being billed as an official part of Fleet Week, the Alameda-based USS Hornet Museum will conduct orientation for new volunteers on Saturday. Advance registration is a must — see the details here.

Ship tours on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday will also draw crowds.

If you plan to take those tours, guests must be at least 8 years old. Patch readers say when they took tours last year security rules prevented them from bringing backpacks aboard. So figure out how to deal with that logistical issue in advance.

Traffic, parking and mass transit are all expected to be packed with many events happening around the Bay.

So plan ahead in order to have fun. And bring sunscreen.

Have you attended Fleet Week in the past? What did you like best or least? Any pictures to share?

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