By now thousands of people have probably noticed
the submarine that’s been appearing just offshore
from Ft Lauderdale – Dania Beach.
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The US NAVY submarine can sometimes even be seen remotely on a web cam! (composite photo)
Dania Beach Pier and Beach WebCam
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The sub is usually seen in the same area, which is just south of Port Everglades inlet, and about a couple miles offshore. It seems to run on a short north – south course, paralleling the coast and always with a police escort.
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US Navy Virginia class submarine off the coast of Ft Lauderdale, Florida.
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The sub itself is a large nuclear powered
Virginia-class fast-attack submarine.
It was designed for anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering operations, among other things. Each sub costs $2.8 billion and is being built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Newport News, Virginia.
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The submarine seems to run on a north-south course, reversing direction repeatedly.
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Sometimes the submarine gets really close to shore, maybe only a mile or so. I’ve tried paddling out towards it previously, but then changed my mind after seeing the police escort boat. 😉
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When the submarine is operating, there is actually an exclusion zone for boaters!
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Rip current hydraulic – a cruise ship so big that it actually drains the water out of Port Everglades inlet!
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Busy Port Everglades activity also includes freighters, private vessels, charter fishing boats, etc.
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Please remember that Port Everglades inlet is a busy SHIPPING LANE and a FULL SPEED boating zone!
DON’T venture inside or cross the inlet unless you know EXACTLY what you’re doing and have a good reason for doing so!
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A large private yacht enters Port Everglades inlet at high speed, framed by the semi-dilapidated inlet jetty.
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After some research, I found out that since the 1990s, US NAVY subs have been conducting undersea mapping, listening and other exercises right in this area. The submarines use special detection devices to determine the acoustical and electromagnetic signatures of nearby ships. It’s a part of the South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility, i.e. the Naval Surface Warfare Center located inside Port Everglades.
Of course, with the currently tense political climate and the Russian-Ukraine war going on, it’s hard not to link this submarine to it. This wouldn’t be the first time that enemy submarines have been sighted off Florida’s coast. Nazi Germany WWII U-boats and Soviet subs during the cold war, for instance. The whole idea of spying with a submarine is to remain undetected, and very recently the Russians did just that – at least for some time! 😮
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Here’s a video of perhaps the same or a similar one heading out of Port Everglades back in 2015!
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I have paddled right up to a couple of US Navy subs back in the 1990s. This was before 9/11 inside Port Everglades.
I mean right next to it because I recall touching the rubber outer cladding!
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US Navy submarine about two miles offshore Dania Beach, Florida.
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! Bless UP
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With that said..
Blessings friends!
🙂
kayakfari ( kayak .. far .. i ) 