BRP Ramon Alcaraz departs for Hawaii

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 6): BRP Ramon Alcaraz departs for Hawaii

The BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), the country's Hamilton-class cutter in service, has left San Diego, California Saturday morning (Philippine time) for its port call in Hawaii.

"She left her San Diego anchorage around 6:30 a.m. (Philippine time) for her Hawaii voyage," Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic said.

The Filipino frigate docked at San Diego, California for re-fueling and re-provisioning last June 28.

Hawaii is the second port call of the frigate as it cruises back to the Philippines.

The distance between San Diego, California to Hawaii is around 2,400 miles.

She is expected to be in the country by first week of August for the commissioning in September.

BRP Ramon Alcaraz successfully concluded her Panama Canal crossing last June 18, becoming the first Filipino warship to cross the historic waterway.

The Philippine frigate departed Charleston, South Carolina last June 10 and made a brief stopover at Mayport, Florida to successfully test fire her 76-mm Oto Melara automatic cannon and speed trials attained at 25 knots without any difficulty.

The ship's top speed is placed between 29 to 31 knots.

On July 2, Concepcion D. Alcaraz, the widow of Filipino naval hero Commodore Ramon Alcaraz, visited the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, the namesake ship of her husband, during its port call in San Diego, California.

During her visit, Mrs. Alcaraz signed copies of the book "Mrs. Alcaraz, A Biography" and "Commodore Alcaraz; First Victim of President Marcos."

She was accompanied by granddaughter Hailey Marshall and daughters Ramona and Efigenia in their short tour of the Filipino frigate.

Commodore Alcaraz gained distinction in World War II by shooting down three Japanese Zero fighters who tried to attack his ship, the Abra (Q-112) during the first months of the war.

Consul General Maria Hellen De La Vega and the Filipino-American community in California also visited the BRP Alcaraz last July 1.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=541609