Mystery Vessel

S

sjhantzis

New member
This vessel was spotted north bound at Hains Point on the Potomac River in downtown Washington, D.C. on April 20 around noon loosely escorted by a couple coasties. The vessel bore no markings or ensign but was piloted by camo-clad crew. Its most unusual feature was that it was powered by eight large outboards, 250s I believe. Any ideas? This is Washington, D.C., so let the conspiracy theories begin.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... =814967846

(Sorry, I just can't seem to get this image code thing down.)
 
It appears that you have to log into facebook-which I do not belong to.

You need an album and then just click on "add photos", and it opens a window with a "Browse" selection--you just click on the photo in your library and it puts it in the album. Then you click on that photo, hit properties, and copy the address for that photo--and past it after the box " img", then "img*" after the image link.
 
To put the image in your message the picture has to be in your album. Then you go to the picture, right clich and save the image location to your clip board. Then when you are typing your message click on the Image button, paste your picture location and click on the image button again. You can use the preview buttlon to see if all is good before posting.

I see Bob beat me to the punch. You should ask admin for an album, I see you don't have one yet.
 
Here--

30733_398229292846_814967846_3979714_2512791_n.jpg
 
Hi,
Eight outboards 250 x 8= 2000hp, I bet that thing does real good on fuel. Must be one big floating fuel tank. May be some more Homeland Security money. I wonder what that sucker cost? Gotta be able to catch the bad guys. I hope they don't have any ethanol related fuel problems.
D.D.
 
Captured Somalian pirate mothership complete with gun ports?

Strange configuration. Deck house makes it look more like a workboat but the power plant just doesn't fit "workboat". The ports don't give the "replenishment" vibe - more the "Pirate" vibe. Could be a mothership of some kind, but for what?

Somebody here will dig up the answer. Probably Mr. Charles.

Don
 
I'm lookin Don....

It was closely followed by this thing though... Makes me want to drive up to DC and look for it. Just too far for curiosity though. Maybe I'll have someone I know up there go look for it. Nothing on the news (yet)

Submarine--30101.jpg


Charlie
 
Has a lot of hull shape similarities to the riverine command boats (to include the hull window ports), however the superstructure is all wrong and I don't believe those are outboard powered. I have seen hulls in construction moved between boatyards with temporary superstructures and engines, could be that.
 
Captains Cat":4himaafo said:
I'm lookin Don....

Charlie
Click to expand...

I trust you will succeed, Mr. C. I would ask Dusty but it looks like it was built a century after his Navy career.

Nice photoshop, but we preferred Gilly (Dusty calls it Torpedo juice) while at sea. Occasionally a few *"Submarines" while ashore.

For David D, Diesel submarines have 4 engines but they don't necessarily run them all at once. Only time a diesel boat (or a submariner, for that matter) makes a 4 engine run is to set themselves up to torpedo a nice target. I suspect the mystery ship does something similar.

*Mexican Submarine:
Fill a Shot with the Tequila and put the shot upside down inside the Beer Mug (make sure the Tequila stays inside the shot). Fill the Beer Mug with Beer. If you like salt on the edge of the Beer Mug you can add it. Also lemon can be added depending on your state of mind.

Don ETCM(SS) USN (ret) DBF
 
I did not see this particular mystery ship - but I have seen some other unusual ships in the area.

I've added a sub-album to my photos titled "Unusual Sightings."

The first vessel in "Unusual Sightings" is the Navy's Stiletto. I was anchored downriver from DC a couple of weekends ago and it passed by at high speed on its way up to DC. Wish I'd had a video camera with me. It is very large. It is very fast. I estimate it was moving at well above 40kts.

The second vessel is a prototype developed by Northrop and Aluminum Chambered Boats. Through a connection, my boat was used as a platform for a group of photographers Northrop hired to get publicity shots of the boat's demonstration workout with DC as a backdrop. The group took hundreds of pictures, and videos. This is the only DC photo I could find.

I remember this day in 2007 well. In the photo, just off the stern of the JMEC, you can see the Memorial Bridge. Bush 2 was returning to the White House by limo from a ceremony or meeting at the Pentagon that morning. There was a communications snarl between Northrop and the Coast Guard and Secret Service. They had not been notified we would be in the area. As the JMEC and the Lucky Day were moving up to the spot you see, we were intercepted by a couple of CG fast boats, and a larger unmarked fastboat that turned out to belong to the mics-in-their-sleeves people. The JMEC has a turret mounted weapon on the cabin roof (can't see it in this photo) and was very menacing looking. They did do a rather through search of my boat and had a lot of questions.

I had owned the Lucky Day for only about 6 months at the that time, and was very much a rookie at the helm. I had to hold a position off to the Virginia side of the river that got very shallow very fast only a few feet off my stern. There was quite a bit of current. So I got to practice some manuevering I'd not practiced before - backing to hold position in the current without running the prop into some rocks, and keeping the boat from turning so the photographers had a stready orientation to the JMEC. But all went well and my passengers never knew that it was all pretty new to me. In fact, on the way back to our starting point, the recently retired Navy Captain (a former commandant of the Surface Warfare School, no less,) who was honcho-ing the event, told me he was glad they had found a "prudent mariner" for their expedition. His remark definitely put some wind in my sails.

Here is a link to a Northrop video that includes a few more shots from that day along with more info about the JMEC:

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/produ ... llery.html
 
Has a lot of hull shape similarities to the riverine command boats (to include the hull window ports), however the superstructure is all wrong and I don't believe those are outboard powered. I have seen hulls in construction moved between boatyards with temporary superstructures and engines, could be that.
 
And here's more info on the STILETTO. Back around the late 70's I was involved with the Surface Effect Ship program and rode SES 100B up the Potomac from PAX River to DC. We made the trip very quickly at an average speed of more than 80 knots. I had been slated to be Deputy PM for the 3K SES program at the time until Congress cancelled the program in about 1979. That was before GPS and the navigation folks had one heck of a time keeping track of nav markers!

Charlie
 
Don,
I get it now. They just run one engine on the mystery boat so they can go around unnoticed (and to avoid the torpedos) Then they fire up the other seven engines when they want to get the bad guys or when the Marines just want to go fast.
D.D.
 
JMEC!!! this grunt wants one now :twisted:

They just did not have as many fun toys when I was in as they do now. and if they did the recruiter was keeping it a big secret. All you had to do is show me that video and I would signed for 10 years to get the job.
 
Charlie,
I've seen another naval ship tied up in Alexandia that I think is the Littoral Combat ship. I didn't have a camera. It was more conventional looking in that it was a mono hull, perhaps the size of a modern destroyer. All the surfaces had the stealth look - there were't a lot of right angles (if any) on the structure.

I guess you and the other Navy vets saw a lot of modernization during your time in the Navy.
 
Strarcraft Tom -
I truly wish I had more of the photos they shot that day - and video too. We went down river below the bridge and they had the JMEC doing high speed circles in its own length. They could move sideways then spin then reverse at high speed. They also had it bear down on us at high speed and do last minute rapid stops. They called them "bucket stops." It would throw a huge wave from the bow at us each time they did one. They also did high speed passes. It really moved and its agility was amazing.
 
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