San Francisco Fleet Week kicked off at Ocean Beach Wednesday with a display of hovercraft and helicopters, plus an emphasis on the military's capabilities to help out in domestic emergencies such as the Bay Area’s next big earthquake.

Onlookers and uniformed military personnel alike crowed the promenade on the seawall across from Golden Gate Park and the Beach Chalet to watch a hovercraft launched from the aircraft carrier USS Makin Island land on Ocean Beach. As the hovercraft approached the sand with a deafening roar from the huge fans that propelled it, a great spray of seawater leaped up, creating a rainbow in the bright autumn sun.