LCS 2: Unusual ship, an unusual christening

[unhappycamper]

Breaking the bubbly
Bottle smashed against striking bar, not bow


LCS 2: Unusual ship, an unusual christening
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 10, 2008 16:21:16 EDT

The Navy has high hopes for its second littoral combat ship, the aluminum trimaran Independence. But for all the warship’s promised capabilities handling submarines, mines or surface threats, the ship may have to overcome another tricky foe — luck.

When the ship was formally given its name on Oct. 4, its sponsor didn’t break the bottle of christening champagne over the Independence’s bow. Instead, Doreen Scott, wife of former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott, cracked the bottle against an upright “striking bar” welded onto the ship’s forecastle between its superstructure and its 57mm gun. The evening after the commissioning ceremony, the bar was removed.

Michelle Bowden, a spokeswoman for shipbuilder Austal USA, said Independence’s needle-narrow bow sat too far away from the dock — about 60 feet — for the official party to stand close enough to break the bottle. The Navy has never had a warship with LCS 2’s distinctive three-hull configuration.

Yes, the champagne bottle broke, which, according to ancient maritime lore, should bring the Independence good luck. Then again, does that count only if the bottle breaks over the bow?

“This particular ceremony would be the equivalent of the minister or priest dunking the baby’s tummy in the christening font, or sprinkling the water there instead of on its head,” said naval expert A.D. Baker III, a former analyst in the Office of Naval Intelligence and editor of “Combat Fleets of the World.”


Rest of article about this $600,000,000 ship at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/10/navy_lcs2_champagne_101008w/%2e