USS Virginia Precomissioning Cruise

(Sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Henry in Virginia Beach)

I was fortunate through my job at WVEC and my willingness to volunteer for just about any cool assignment that comes around, to take a two day cruise aboard the USS Virginia(SSN-774) a week before she would be commissioned and sent to her homeport in Groton, Connecticut. As a former Boatswain's Mate of the Amphibious Fleet, I never thought I would have the chance to take a ride aboard a submarine, muchless a brand new one, so this was a great experience for me personally. Sharing this availability with the competitor stations, local newspapers, and military news, it made already tight quarters even tighter. All in all, however it was a great experience, but I could have handled spending a little more time aboard this fascinating and powerful new addition to the fleet.

The picture above is from the bridge of the Virginia at sunrise and the one with me on the bridge in my safety harness was from the first day of the trip. I have a few shots on here to check out and will add more when I have the opportunity. They are all captured from the video I shot during my trip.

Enjoy and full speed ahead...

(click here to watch the WVEC story)
7.3 Mb - (.wmv video)