Helos taking off

Ten minutes to the scheduled time to pull away and the ship's two MH-60 helicopters from squadron HSC-26 are cranked up and ready to take off. The flight deck crew, in helmets and yellow and green vests, are standing by. There is a small flotilla of Coast Guard and police patrol boats floating in a perimeter around the ship.

None of this ever happened during the build up to yesterday's departure, which was canceled due to high winds.