Thursday, 4:30 PM
USS John F. Kennedy scheduled to leave Wednesday -- Really
By Amanda I. Bergeron, Globe correspondent
Maybe "Big John" is afraid of mothballs and doesn't want to leave.
The departure of the USS John F. Kennedy has been delayed for the second time in two days, once again prolonging the ship's final stop in Boston before it is decommissioned after nearly 40 years of service.
Today, officials decided that 57 mile-an-hour winds made it too dangerous for the 1,052-foot-long aircraft carrier to head out to sea, said Lieutenant Paul Brawley, a Navy spokesman. The ship, which needs the aid of a high tide, is tentatively scheduled to leave early Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday, Brawley said a mechanical malfunction forced the JFK to stay in port an extra day while a barge filled the ship with 1 million gallons of fuel. The carrier was originally scheduled to pull away from the North Jetty in South Boston's Marine Industrial Park on Monday morning.
More than 51,000 people toured the ship on Saturday and Sunday as the JFK made its final stop in the home state of its namesake. The JFK, which was used in combat missions on the Mideast and the Persian Gulf, will not be open to the public today or before it leaves on Wednesday, Brawley said.
The JFK will be decommissioned in Mayport, Fla., before heading to a Philadelphia shipyard, where it will be stored with other mothballed ships.
