Lincoln Sailors Represent Ship at Norfolk Base Festival

By Seaman Phylicia A. Sorenson, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) participated in the second annual Naval Station Norfolk Fleet Festival, Oct. 20.

Three Lincoln Sailors competed for cash prizes against teams from other Hampton Roads-area commands in a chowder cook-off at the festival.

Culinary Specialist 1st Class Christopher Williams, Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Chad Smith and Yeoman Seaman Darrel Dorsey started setting up their booth in the base softball field parking lot at 7 a.m. to try to get a leg up on the competition.

"When I saw the checklist that the judges would be using for the competition, I thought we had a good chance at winning first place," said Williams. "They are judging things like smell, taste, originality, showmanship and decoration of the booths. We had great chowder to present to the judges, and we had the energy to back it up."

Despite their best efforts, the Lincoln team did not finish among the winners of the cook-off. Nevertheless, their spirits remained high.

"Even though we didn't win, we had a great time today," said Dorsey. "It was a beautiful day, and now we all can go home to enjoy this chowder with our families. On top of it all, we were able to come out and show pride for our ship."

Also participating in the day's festivities, Lincoln's Mustang Association set up a booth to raise money for their own organization. Manning the booth were Lt. Cmdr. Clem Gattano, Lt. Cmdr. Ramil Salvador and Lt. Jeff McCrady.

McCrady said it was important to the mustangs to raise money for the community events that the organization will be involved with in the future. "Plus, it's always fun coming and hanging out on a beautiful day like today," McCrady said.

Abraham Lincoln arrived Aug. 7 in Norfolk following an eight-month change of homeport deployment that brought her to Virginia from Naval Station Everett, Wash., her home since January 1997. Over the next four years, Lincoln will undergo a refueling complex overhaul in Newport News, Va.

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