TIME WELL SPENT: FATHER, SON SHARE FOUR MEMORABLE DAYS ABOARD THE ESTOCIN

David Hahs once relied on telephone calls and e-mails to keep in touch with his son aboard a U.S. Navy ship at sea.

Spending four days with his son aboard the ship told Hahs more than any call or letter ever could.

At the invitation of his youngest son, Clayton, Hahs boarded the Estocin for its journey from Florida to Virginia. Clayton and other crew members had been at sea since mid-December and were making their return home.

As children pay tribute today on Father's Day, David Hahs may think back to his Tiger cruise and the time he spent with his son, who is a lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy.

An older son, Brandon, operates an insurance and financial planning office with Hahs.

"It was just a few days but it was a taste of the things that happen on an active ship," Hahs said.

Hahs spent 22 years as a naval reserve commander, working mostly in public affairs. For two weeks each year during his career he would join an active base or installation. "I wasn't a shipboard navy person," he said. Short of a cruise from Okinawa to Po Hang, Korea, he spent little time aboard a vessel.

So when the invitation came to join Clayton at sea, he agreed.

The Tiger cruise program allows relatives and friends of a ship's crew to go aboard for a few days at sea. Hahs joined the ship for the short trip from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Norfolk, Va. The ship was returning from South America.

At dinner the night before the ship was to leave, Hahs said he got insight into the mind of a sailor about to embark on an extended stay.

Clayton Hahs left his wife, Miste, and 6-month-old son Samuel 10 days before Christmas to begin the cruise. He returned Mother's Day weekend.

"It was the worst experience of my life," Clayton told his father. "It was almost physically debilitating, virtually impossible to put one foot in front of the other as I walked down the pier leaving Miste and Samuel."

Since leaving Norfolk in December, the Estocin went to Cuba, Aruba, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela and Barbados, and participated in training exercises with the navies of France, Colombia and Chile.

During his time on board, Hahs saw the crew in training and in exercise demonstrations. Hahs also saw firefighting, gun-firing, torpedo launches, global positioning and missile guiding.

The ship's primary role while at sea was drug enforcement.

Most of the guests were brothers, fathers and friends of the crew. And it was rare if all 24 of them were together at once. "We lived the life of our host," Hahs said.

Hahs said he likes the idea that the Navy provides an opportunity for civilian taxpayers to see what the country's defense would look like in action.

"It was worthwhile to help us feel confident that they are doing a good job and the dollars we pay in support are well invested."