USS Kitty Hawk To Lead Seattle Seafair Fleet -- Five Other Ships Will Arrive Wednesday

Led by the 1,065-foot aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, the 1995 Seattle Seafair fleet will arrive in Seattle Wednesday for a five-day stay.

The Kitty Hawk will arrive tomorrow at Naval Station Everett and in Seattle at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday

The five other ships in the fleet will arrive at the Elliott Bay waterfront between 12:30 and 2 p.m. Wednesday. They include the Spruance-class destroyers USS David R. Ray and USS Oldendorf, the guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens, the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Chase, and the Surveyor, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration surveying ship.

Kitty Hawk visiting hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. The other ships will be open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. each day. In addition, two Navy patrol boats - the Squall and the Zephyr - will arrive at Pier 69 for weekend tours.

The Kitty Hawk is one of 12 active aircraft carriers in the Navy. Since its commission in 1961, the carrier has been deployed to support U.S. forces in Vietnam, helped operations in the north Arabian Sea during the Iranian hostage crisis, rescued Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea and was involved in recent U.S. military efforts in Somalia and Iraq. It will be docked at Pier 30.

The two Navy destroyers also will be docked at Pier 30. The Cowpens will be at Pier 46, the Chase at Pier 48 and the Surveyor at Pier 70.

In addition, the public is invited to host visiting sailors.

In the past, hosts have invited crew members for home-cooked meals, sporting events, parties, sightseeing tours and picnics.

Those interested in hosting a sailor can call (206) 292-2411/2412 today through Saturday.