Monday, December 7, was a day I had been anticipating for quite a while. I knew that the Navy ship my son serves on was going to sea for the first time and having followed its construction from flat steel to christening, I was pumped to see her go down the river.

Yes. I followed all the news of the build. It was over budget and behind schedule. It also was the first one ever built. Everything about the ship was untested.

Then there’s a national news article that questions its seaworthiness because one person compares the design to that of a Civil War ship.

I have a phone that takes pictures and accesses the Internet and I’m going to give validity to 150-year-old technology? I don’t believe it was coincidence that the Zumwalt went down to the sea for the first time on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. The Navy is steeped in tradition.

Before daylight Monday, two of my friends and I headed out. After breakfast at Moody’s it was off to Bath.

If you have a family member in the Navy, you become sensitive to not sharing information about where a ship is going to be. While I never said anything publicly, it was apparent when we arrived that the word was out. The yard is an important part of Bath and those folks know that ships leave at high tide, so the dog park just south of the yard was filling up fast. By the time the Zumwalt left the pier, cars were parked up and down Washington Street and the pier was full of people.

As soon as she was past us, we headed for Fiddler’s Reach, a narrow portion of the river with a turn. As fast as the Zumwalt was going I wondered if we would get there before she passed through, but as it turned out we got there just in time for a quick picture before she continued out of sight down the river.

I knew we had plenty of time to get to Fort Popham and there was no question where all the traffic was headed that morning. When we arrived at the Fort, the place was packed!

People had been camped out since early morning with grills and tables. The smell of breakfast sandwiches filled the air. Translation: Bacon. It was kind of a strange sensation. Hundreds of people standing around waiting with nothing going on. The atmosphere was friendly and there was a certain excitement, but nothing to see. All eyes were looking up the river and when the Zumwalt appeared, everyone jockeyed for a prime vantage point.

When the Zumwalt left BIW, it was quite impressive, but when she went by Fort Popham, it was beyond impressive.

This huge ship slid through the water without making a sound. Well, they did blow the ship’s horn to the delight of us on the shore, but there was absolutely no propulsion sound from the ship and almost no wake.

In just a few minutes, she disappeared from sight into the Atlantic. Jesse shared how impressive it was on the ship to see all the people lining the river on both sides. He said that every place that had river access had people. He also shared that the ship performed very well on her first day.

Imagine that? The United States Navy decides to build a futuristic ship, something that has never been done before, and they decide that Bath, Maine, is the place to make that happen. And Bath, Maine delivered.

My admiration for the shipbuilders at BIW and the work they do is no secret. From flat steel to a state of the art war ship with unbelievable capabilities, it all happened just down the road in Bath.

These pictures cannot capture this ship’s presence in person. And it was built in Maine.

When he leaves the Zumwalt next spring, for the first time in his career Jesse will report to ship that was not built in Bath. I suspect he will be examining every detail of the construction of his future vessel. The sign over the entrance to the shipyard says it all. “Through These Gates Pass The Best Shipbuilders In The World.”

Bill Packard lives in Union and is the founder of BPackard.com.  He is a speaker, author, small business coach and consultant.