Details are sketchy, but a Canadian Navy spokesperson has confirmed the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier — one of the largest vessels of any kind on the seas today — will be visiting the waters around Nanoose Bay this week.
Powered by two nuclear reactors, the Nimitz was first commissioned in 1975 and is named for the late U.S. navy Admiral Chester Nimitz. The aircraft carrier is more than 330 metres long (1,092 feet), weighs more than 100,000 tonnes and can travel at a speed of 31.5 knots (58 km-h). (Source: Wikipedia).
The Canadian Navy spokesperson could not confirm the exact times or location for the carrier's movements, but he did say he expected the vessel would be in the waters around Nanoose Bay's experimental test range some time between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. today (Tuesday). The spokesman also said the Nimitz would not overnight here, but rather travel to nearby U.S. waters and possibly return on Wednesday.
We encourage readers to send us your photos of the Nimitz — we will publish the best of them in the paper or on our Facebook page. Please send us jpeg photos by e-mail that are at least eight inches by 11 inches at 300 dpi.
E-mail your photos to editor@pqbnews.com and please stay safe — it's a huge boat and we're sure everyone can get good photos from a safe spot on land.
— NEWS Staff