• The guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) has been anchored off Santa Barbara for Veterans Day weekend activities before heading back to San Diego then to its deployment in the Persian Gulf.
  • The view of the ship from Stearns Wharf.
  • Long Beach-based Pacific Tugboat Services ferried visitors to the USS Milius from Sea Landing in the Santa Barbara Harbor on Sunday. When one of the two tugboats had to be taken out of commission, tours were backed up by about two hours. The last visitors were ferried back to shore around 6 p.m. Sunday.
  • The USS Milius arrived in Santa Barbara on Thursday and is scheduled to depart Tuesday.
  • Approaching the ship’s temporary floating dock.
  • Boarding the ship involved a climb up the ladder steps from the floating dock.
  • The USS Milius’ mast hosts multiple kinds of radar and, from its top, the string of “friendship lights” that designate Santa Barbara as a friendly port.
  • The bow of the ship boasts a five-inch gun that can be used against enemies on land, sea or air.
  • Ensign Matt Kirby, left, explains the weaponry carried by a USS Milius “rover,” who patrols the deck.
  • As the sun sets over the USS Milius and the South Coast, a “rover” patrols the deck.
  • Ensign Matt Kirby, one of the USS Milius crew tour guides Sunday, describes some of the specifications of the ship’s surface-to-surface missiles.
  • These rigid inflatable boats, or RIBS, are used mostly for search and rescue efforts from the USS Milius.
  • Navigator Alex Smith explains the ship’s power — 100,000 horsepower — and how the bridge uses communication and radar to find a safe route.
  • Crew members keep watch as tour groups visit the flight deck.
  • At sunset, a crew member lowers the ship’s “Don’t Tread on Me” flag from the bow.

Noozhawk executive editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com.