For the third time in the past six years, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation nosed into the Port of Mazatlan for a four-day visit en route to its home base in San Diego. Well -- it didn’t exactly nose into port. The port isn’t deep enough for such a huge ship to enter. The gigantic warship had to anchor outside, off Stone Island, where one of the crewmen said they had a sweeping view of “miles and miles of uncrowded white beaches and palm trees.” It must have been an inviting sight indeed to the crew, heading home after six months of sea duty. They all took turns going ashore on leave during the ship’s visit. The same crewman said that Mazatlan has a good reputation and they all look forward to coming here. Guests who had been invited aboard by Capt. James D. Kelly for a Saturday evening reception gathered on the dock at La Puntilla to await the tenders that were ferrying people out to the ship and back. From the water she is an imposing sight at 17 stories high and 88,000 tons of displacement. When on military duty, she carries more than 5,000 crew and 71 aircraft. The last time the Constellation came to Mazatlan, the captain’s reception took place on the flight deck which at 4.5 acres of space (3 1/2 football fields long) was more than ample for the purpose. On this occasion, though, windy conditions made it more advisable to throw the party one deck below, in the immense hangar bay. Municipal officials, businesspeople and prominent members of the local American community mingled with the Constellation’s officers including some of those crack Navy pilots. These are the

peoplewith the nerve and the skills necessary to take off and land on a deck that, while huge, must seem like a postage stamp from the air. One highlight of the evening took place with only a few of the guests being aware of it. In a quiet corner, Capt.immense hangar bay. Municipal officials, businesspeople and prominent members of the local American community mingled with the Constellation’s officers including some of those crack Navy pilots. These are the peoplewith the nerve and the skills necessary to take off and land on a deck that, while huge, must seem like a postage stamp from the air. One highlight of the evening took place with only a few of the guests being aware of it. In a quiet corner, Capt.Kelly presided over the reenlistment of a sailor named Oscar Castro, an American citizen from Southern California whose parents originally came from Mazatlan. While they were not able to attend, about a dozen of Castro’s local relatives, including his mother’s sister, were aboard to see the captain swear him in for another four-year hitch. “He’s one of the good guys, believe me,” whispered one sailor to another just outside the circle watching the ceremony. The tender returning from the ship to La Puntilla carried quite a few young sailors in civvies along with party guests on their way home. Merchants who usually vend their souvenirs at the dock where the passenger ships come in had lost no time setting up their instant marketplace in the new location. Two weeks before Christmas, business was undoubtedly brisk.