When the fog finally burned off on Friday, Santa Cruzans were surprised by what they saw.A massive Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, was anchored five miles southeast of Santa Cruz.One of the largest warships in the world dropped its anchor off Santa Cruz at noon, and remained there for six hours while the Navy conducted exercises.The USS Nimitz is more than 1,000 feet long, has a 252-foot-long flight deck, weighs more than 100,000 tons, and can hold 80 helicopters and jets.Navy Lt. Cmdr. Clint Phillips said the aircraft carrier was anchored five miles offshore so that it would not startle local boaters and impact local boat traffic. Fog lifted enough at 2:30 p.m. along East Cliff Drive at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz to see the warship slowly moving along the horizon. Its dark silhouette dwarfed white sailboats gliding by closer to shore.People hoping to see the USS Nimitz from the Santa Cruz Wharf had to play a longer game of hide and seek, but a lucky group who did spot it exclaimed it looked like a monster.On Thursday, Navy commanders said the ship would be positioned closest to Monterey, but on Friday, they changed their plan to the other side of the bay.The USS Nimitz was named after Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz, who was a five-star Navy admiral during World War II.PHOTOS: Navy warship USS Nimitz