On Thursday October 2, from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Aircraft Carrier Intrepid will make her historic journey home to Pier 86 (at 46th Street and 12th Avenue) on Manhattan’s West Side from Staten Island Homeport where she has undergone nearly two years of bow-to-stern refurbishment.

The public will be able to view the Intrepid’s historic journey home from multiple locations along the West Side waterfront. The best viewing locations will be from Battery Park, along the West Side waterfront and from Pier 86, which will be open to the public on the day of the ship’s arrival.

Intrepid will be led by a United States Coast Guard Cutter, and towed by the same McAllister tugboats that pulled her from her West Side berth in 2006. New York City fireboats will salute her historic journey with red, white and blue water sprays.

Intrepid will pass the Statue of Liberty at approximately 12:15 p.m. and pause at Ground Zero at approximately 12:30 p.m., when military veterans, many of whom served aboard the Intrepid when she was an active-duty ship, will unfurl a 100-foot American Flag in a salute to those lost on 9/11.

Intrepid will arrive at Pier 86 on the West Side at approximately 1:30 p.m.

One of the most distinguished war ships in naval history, the USS Intrepid was first launched in 1943 during World War II, then aided in NASA spacecraft recovery and later served in Vietnam. In 1976, the USS Intrepid was decommissioned and established as a museum ship by Zachary Fisher and the Intrepid Museum Foundation. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum officially opened in New York City in 1982, where it has remained at Pier 86 until October 2006 when the ship was moved to Staten Island to be refurbished.

PLANNING EDITORS NOTE: A tip sheet that includes logistics for the October 2 return of the Intrepid will be forthcoming.