Nick's Hale Koa

Hale Koa* means “House of the Warrior” in Hawaiian. Welcome to my home on Tumblr! Over a life so far well-lived, my journey has inspired a lot of interests. Among them: the sea, ships, travel, the United States Navy, luxury cruising, history, architecture, nature, culture, society, photography. I randomly explore those subjects here in pithy prose and poignant pictures. I hope some of these posts spark your interest!                    Since I'm a hopeless romantic about ships and the sea, you'll see many sea stories from my U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer ship-driving days. And, when I travel, real-time stories and photos from my further adventures on land and sea.         ++ Thank you for visiting my blog! ++                                    (*Hale Koa is pronounced "HA-lay CO-uh")

[nicholassabalos]

           The End

       This brings Nick’s Hale Koa (1.0) to a close....for now.

                                    *          *          *          *

Family caregiving and hospice responsibilities will take my full attention for the foreseeable future.

I’ll return afterwards with a somewhat different approach to this blog....posting photo essays of my travels (especially on great ships going all over the world)....when it’s safe for all of us to venture out into the world by land, air and sea once again....and I can return to a “less responsible” life, as well.

Can’t wait to post very cool pictures from some fabulous cruise ship going someplace amazing....in Nick’s Hale Koa 2.0. And maybe sometimes wax poetic along the way, if I may, about my love of ships and the sea....

In the meantime....wishing everyone Fair Winds and Following Seas....

                                                                Nick

[nicholassabalos]

To all the Nicks....

                                                Saint Nicholas                                                     Name Day                                                  December 6th

The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches (taken together, representing a quarter of humanity) celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas".

In Greece, the name and its derivatives are especially popular in maritime regions, as Saint Nicholas is considered the protector saint of seafarers....for more than a millennia.

No wonder I have salt water in my veins! My ancestors came from seafaring towns in central and southern Greece....dating back centuries. I’m drawn to the sea....

“Nicholas” in Greek means, literally, victory of the people.

The name became popular 1,700 years ago through Saint Nicholas, Greek Christian Bishop of Myra in Lycia (today’s southern Turkey). Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor....with the name and the legacy evolving many centuries later, to become the Dutch/German (my Mom’s heritage, by the way) inspiration for Santa Claus -- a derivation of “Saint Nicholas.”

For all my brethren named “Nicholas,” December 6 is a day to celebrate, on par with your birthday. It’s a day to reflect on all the good things you bring to family, friends and community. It’s a time to stand tall and proud: you’re a “Nicholas”! And, around the Holiday Season each year, you might even earn the affectionate moniker “Saint Nick”!

(My Dad, also ”Nicholas”, and I celebrated the day as far back as I can remember. It was our private bond. And it’s always been a deep honor to carry his name!)

                                             *          *          *          *

My Dad penned this poem early one December 6th morning, as he was sipping on his pre-dawn coffee in front of his computer. He gave it to me when I went over to my parents house for dinner that evening 17 years ago (to celebrate our shared Name Day)....(he passed away quite suddenly just a nine months later)....and the poem remains a priceless gift and treasure -- loving inspiration from Father to Son -- that will remain with me always. I think about it almost every day....and gain strength from it....as if it were a compass for this life-long mariner....

[nicholassabalos]

Live Free, or Die....

ATLANTIC OCEAN -- A pod of common dolphins blast along, 30 miles off the coast of Wales, United Kingdom.

After seeing these dolphins fly out the water at high speed, one might assume they were on the hunt for food (fish and squid). In reality, though, this pod, when filmed, was in a mating frenzy....but still at the PG-13 stage....

So free....so alive....

                                         _____________________

>>Video: Bertie Gregory

[nicholassabalos]

Longing for the long ships....

One of Holland America Line’s beautiful cruise ships pierside....showing her immense size on the outside....but a definitely warm, intimate, luxurious and welcoming vibe on the inside.

This is Oosterdam (comes from the Dutch word “oost,” meaning “east”) in Willemstad, Curacao. The ship is 951 feet (290 meters) long and displaces over 110,000 tons....a floating machine the same size as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

(That’s Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess in front of her. She’s, coincidentally, exactly the same size as Oosterdam.)

                                         *          *          *          *

In a few years I’ll be able to spend most of the rest of my life aboard these kind of ships....rarely coming ashore any more....sailing blissfully around the world....exploring.....at-home at-sea....the motion of the sea rocking me to sleep most nights....until my time to join the fish for eternity....

                                         _____________________

>>Photos: Chris Koonstra

[nicholassabalos]

Levitation act....

PACIFIC OCEAN (November 20, 2020) -- A CMV-22B Osprey from the “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 (based at Naval Air Station North Island, California) lands on the flight deck of United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).

Hanging there in the air above the carrier deck gives the impression the flight deck crew (left) is levitating the aircraft.

The CMV-22B Osprey is a Navy variant of the United States Marine Corps’ MV-22B and is the replacement for the venerable C-2A Greyhound for the Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) mission. In plain English: it brings the mail, needed spare parts, personnel, ice cream, and anything else a warship at sea might need.

                    Touchdown....and time for a drink....of fuel.

The Osprey is a tiltrotor V/STOL aircraft that can takeoff and land as a helicopter but transit as a turboprop aircraft. This evolution marked the first time a CMV-22B Osprey has landed on an aircraft carrier. They’ll be routine visitors from now onwards to every carrier -- and other big-deck warships -- in the Fleet.

                                   USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) 

                                        __________________

>>Top two photos: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Aaron T. Smith, USN

     Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 insignia

[nicholassabalos]

World Warships….

NORTH ARABIAN SEA (November 17, 2020) -- Warships from the Royal Australian Navy, Indian Navy, United States Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force sail in formation during an allied training exercise.

The training exercise was called Malabar 2020....an annual event since 2002. Here’s more of the group....as we zoom-out from the top photo. (If you look closely, you’ll see the tip of a submarine’s conning tower poking above the water, and leaving a wake, to the far left of the third photo above.)

Over a dozens ships, a submarine, multiple aircraft, and other naval assets from the four allied navies participated in the two-week-long event.

This alliance of Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean powers projects a unified maritime encirclement of China as the Communist regime continues its aggressive, and sometimes hostile, encroachment on vast regions of the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean.

                                        *          *          *          * 

Serving as lead ships for the four participating navies (top photo....from top to bottom) and the insignia for each naval force working together in Malabar 2020:

>>Australia....HMAS Ballarat (FFH 155) -- frigate

             *          *          *          *

>>India....INS Vikramaditya -- aircraft carrier; Indian Navy flagship

            *          *          *          *

>>United States....USS Nimitz (CVN 68) -- nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

            *          *          *          *

>>Japan....JS Murasame (DD 101) -- destroyer

                                         ________________________

>>CLICK on the photos for a closer look at this impressive naval force....

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Keenan Daniels, USN; photos #2 & 3: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Elliot Schaud, USN

[nicholassabalos]

Death Rattler….

ARABIAN SEA (November 19, 2020) -- An F/A-18C Hornet, from the “Death Rattlers” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323, flies over United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).

The supercarrier, her airwing, and her escorting carrier strike group cruisers and destroyers are approaching the end of a long deployment to the other side of the world.

                                            *          *          *          *

E V O L V I N G     S T O R Y....

The Nimitz carrier strike group -- including the “Death Rattlers” -- has interrupted their long journey home....reversed course....and returned to the volatile Persian Gulf (within 100 nm -- 185 km / 115 miles -- of Iran from time to time)....as November morphs into December 2020....likely delaying their (over 7,000 Sailors) return home to Norfolk, VA until after the upcoming year-end Holidays, and current volatile tensions between Iran and Israel calm.

(Note: This is over the alleged-Israeli assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist by remote control near the capital city of Tehran a few days ago. Iran, understandably, could lash out violently, igniting a Middle East war. This is a potentially very dangerous situation.)

                                           ** December 1, 2020 **

                                           USS Nimitz (CVN 68)

                                         ______________________

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Cheyenne Geletka, USN

United States Marine Corps Fighter Squadron (VMFA) 323 insignia

[nicholassabalos]

Nightscape….

          [WARNING: This is not a video game.]

OVER THE MIDDLE EAST (November 1, 2020) -- A United States Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon makes its approach for an aerial refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker somewhere over the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

Looks very much like something out of a high-end video game!

Note the highway interchange just below the fighter jet....not to mention the vast areas of neatly-designed towns, sports facilities and industrial complexes across the nightscape.

Some great planning, expertise and effort here to “program” it all....as if in more ways than one!

United States Central Command area of responsibility is shown in color.

                                             F-16 Fighting Falcon

          A KC-135 Stratotanker refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon

                                           _____________________

>>Top photo: Master Sgt. Joseph Swafford, USAF

[nicholassabalos]

Skylines….

SAN DIEGO, CA (October 13, 2020) – United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) becomes part of the skyline in its homeport.

The warship and it’s crew of nearly 6,000 men and women is preparing for its next overseas deployment in early 2021.

                                 USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)

                                           _____________________

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kyle Hafer, USN

[nicholassabalos]

King of the world….

BLACK SEA (September 24, 2020) -- LT Timothy D. Grant, USN, watches the sun set from the starboard bridge wing aboard United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80).

If you ZOOM-IN on the photo above, you’ll notice the letters “OOD” on the back of his ballcap. That mean he is the Officer of the Deck. He’s in charge of the operation of the ship for the duration of his watch (4-6 hours)....and answers directly to the Commanding Officer (the Captain).

                                        USS Roosevelt (DDG 80)

                                           *          *          *          *

During my years as a warship OOD, the sunrise and sunset bridge watches were my favorites. When operational tempo permitted, it was always a spiritual experience to step out onto the bridge wing, like LT Grant above, and take in the wonders of Mother Nature -- the sea, the sky, the fresh ocean air, the Sun -- for a few moments.

Made me feel, if ever so briefly, like I was “King of the world”! And it also tended to keep me centered....in the enormity of it all out there.

The mighty steel warship humming and throbbing beneath my feet, as if alive, plowing a path through the mighty ocean....under my direction and control....the universe surrounding....headed for someplace really interesting....albeit very far from back home....on the other side of the planet....

....like in the photo up at the top of this post.

                                           _____________________

>>ZOOM-IN on the photo....and enjoy the spiritual moment....

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Austin G. Collins, USN

>>After note: Some of you may be wondering what that dolphin-like shape is next to LT Grant in the top photo. Just a piece of (or combination of) mounted bridge equipment that is best kept covered from the harsh ocean elements when not in use.

But, yeah, it adds an interesting feeling to the scene....

[nicholassabalos]

How does your garden grow….

MEDITERRANEAN SEA (November 7, 2020) -- Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Artyom Kotlyarov, USN, washes the deck of United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) during a fresh water wash down.

Although nothing will grow on that steel deck (except rust), Navy Sailors work hard around the clock to keep American warships clean, rust-free, maintained, and, of course, battle-ready. That’s the norm in most navies around the world.

                                          *          *          *          *

I found during my Naval career at sea....most Sailors took a huge amount of pride in their ship. Even the traditional grousers almost always, deep down, felt an attachment to their ship. And as long as the ship’s leadership could foster and harness that pride...you had a great ship.

A lot like growing a great garden.

USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) and her crew of nearly 300 men and women is currently on a routine patrol to the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

                                          _____________________

>>Top photos: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Will Hardy, USN

[nicholassabalos]

Home for Thanksgiving....

                                      November 26, 2020                                  United States of America

                                    The gathering family                                     throws shadows around us,                                     it is the late afternoon                                     of the family.                                     There is still enough light                                     to see all the way back,                                     but at the windows                                     that light is wasting away.                                     Soon we will be nothing                                     but silhouettes: the sons'                                     as harsh                                     as the fathers'.                                     Soon the daughters                                     will take off their aprons                                     as trees take off their leaves                                     for winter.                                     Let us eat quickly --                                     let us fill ourselves up.                                     The covers of the album are closing                                     behind us.

                                                         -- Linda Pastan (1932 ~ )

[nicholassabalos]

Sun meets sea….

PACIFIC OCEAN (October 29, 2020) -- An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter on its way back home to United States Navy amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8)....

....as the nuclear Sun dips below the horizon.

Yeah....going to sea with any naval force is a tough job, with long hours, far from home. But the rewards are plentiful. This is an example of one of them.

                                       _________________________

>>Top photo: Lance Cpl. Mackenzie Binion, USMC

The ship “behind the camera”....

                                  USS Makin Island (LHD 8)

[nicholassabalos]

Acreage at sea….

ATLANTIC OCEAN (November 9, 2020) -- The vast size of the flight deck aboard the United States Navy’s newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), is evident....

....as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate directs an E-2C Hawkeye into position for an electromagnetic catapult launch.

The flight deck on the new Gerald R. Ford-class carriers covers 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares)....or, 196,000 square feet (18,200 square meters)....or, space for 65 large (3,000 square foot / 279 square meter) suburban homes.

                                   USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

                                       _____________________

>>Top photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan Seelbach, USN

[nicholassabalos]

Pumping gas....

     .....way out to sea....

          .....on the far side of the planet from home....

EAST CHINA SEA (November 7, 2020) -- Cryptologic Technician (Technical) Seaman Jacob Fischer, USN, (top) and Fire Controlman 3rd Class Kyle Soriano, USN, heave a line aboard United States Navy guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) during a replenishment-at-sea (UNREP) with Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10).

A complex evolution like a refueling/resupplying at sea requires an almost all-hands effort beyond just the deck crew. From necessary raw manpower, to stowing supplies below decks, to safety protocols....it takes a huge team effort.

                                         _____________________

>>Top two photos: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryre Arciaga, USN

The two ships involved here:

                              USS Shiloh (CG 67)....needing fuel

              USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10)....the floating gas station

[nicholassabalos]

Seascape….

Summer sunset along coastal Alaska....

     ....the sky lights up in purple, pink and orange hues....

          ....as your ship cuts a crisp track through the placid waters....

               ....and the soul is soothed on a primal level....

                    ....immersed in an almost other-worldly seascape.

[nicholassabalos]

Upon further reflection….

Celebrity Cruises’ brand-new cruise ship Celebrity APEX reflected in a pond of water at her building yard in St. Nazaire, France.

              Celebrity APEX on final sea trials earlier in 2020....

The large and ultra-luxurious cruise ship was supposed to begin service in April 2020....but will likely end up sitting idle for her entire first year of “life”....until the worldwide Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is under control.