Coast Guard Club Newsletter

January 2ØØ3

SPECIAL NOTICE: If anyone is interested in taking over the Coast Guard Club, please notify me & I will provide needed details, plus all the files.

WHO RECEIVES THIS NEWSLETTER? Members who have an upcoming birthday, each potential Coast Guard Club recruit, & any Coastie I write to. This Newsletter is posted on the Web at HTTP://HOME1.GTE.NET/KE7A/INDEX.HTM, WWW.JACKSJOINT.COM & at WWW.FREDSPLACE.ORG. If you can receive e-mail files & would like a copy of this Newsletter each month, please contact me.

E-MAIL: My address is <CGC@TRIAD.RR.COM> & <AD4PT@ARRL.NET>. Members of the Coast Guard Club who have e-mail service, please let me know & I will add you to Appendix E of the call book. Additionally, Dick Anderson, <KE7A@GTE.NET> & I need to know when you cancel, or change providers or addresses. Please take a look at Dick’s Coast Guard Club page at HTTP://HOME1.GTE.NET/KE7A/INDEX.HTM to ensure your address is listed correctly. You may also go to WWW.QRZ.COM & look up KE7A to link up, or Search “USCG amateur radio operators net on the web”.

CGC MEMBERS, LET US SEE YOU. You may add your picture(s) to the club’s call book by sending it (them) as an email attachment (JPEG format, please) or by mail to me. A few of the guys have sent pictures of when they were in the Guard & a current picture. The book has become more interesting with these added pictures.

NEW 83-FOOTER WEB SITE: http//:uscg83footers.org/

STATISTICS (fy-Ø2): DRUGS SEIZED: Cocaine, 22,254 lbs, Marijuana Products, 5,475 lbs, LIVES SAVED, 3,629, MIGRANTS INTERDICTED: 1,5Ø9.

Search and Rescue SitReps

CG rescue crews suspended their search for the pilot of a floatplane overdue from a hunting trip to Admiralty Island. Lawrence Howell, of Petersburg, departed Petersburg en route Admiralty Island for a day of hunting in a cream & blue Cessna 18Ø floatplane. His friend reported him overdue when he failed to return. The plane is equipped with an emergency locating transmitter (ELT) & flares. The CG never received notice of an activated ELT in the area. CG air & sea assets along with Civil Air Patrol planes & several Good Samaritan planes conducted numerous searches for 6 days. The searchers scoured Admiralty Island, Frederick Sound, Stephens Passage & adjacent bays, islands, inlets & inland lakes. Rescuers flew a total of 37 searches, amounting to more than 111 hours on scene. None of the searches produced any sign of the pilot or plane. Searchers also made periodic radio calls & continually monitored emergency radio frequencies with no response.

A water taxi passenger, a kayaker, a restaurateur & an Army General have little in common on the surface. But these very different people belong to a select group of lifesavers, & the CG is requesting the public's help in adding to their number. Water taxi passenger Francis O'Brien of Tarrytown, NY, dove beneath the turbulent waters of the Hudson River to rescue another passenger after the boat they were on capsized. Kayaker John P. Caspar III paddled to the scene of an overturned boat to pluck a boater from the water. Restaurateur Jack Newick dove underneath an overturned sailboat in frigid, swift-running waters & pulled 2 people from a bread box-sized air pocket. And, Army General George S. Patton, Jr., navigated a 12 ft boat through rough seas during a vacation to rescue 3 young boys from certain death. The CG is in the business of saving lives, but these 4 were not obligated to risk their lives to save others at sea. The CG honours heroes like them with a Gold or Silver Lifesaving Medal or other public service awards. The Gold & Silver Lifesaving Medals are the most prestigious awards the CG gives out for rescues at sea. But in many cases, heroic rescuers avoid the spotlight during these emotional events. The CG has presented 2,766 Gold or Silver Lifesaving Medals since 1876.

The CG rescued 2 jet skiers who were reported missing on the N side of Little Topsail Island, NC. Apparently, 3 jet skiers had gone out jet skiing for the day, so they might take advantage of the warmer weather & sunshine. While riding, 1 of the jet skiers, Robert Lee, got separated from the others & went back to the boat dock where they had launched their jet skis. He didn’t see his 2 friends, so he went back out to look for them. Meanwhile, Barry Tucker & Sid Clark were headed up Rich Inlet when they decided that Tucker would go back out into the 3-to-5 ft seas to look for Lee, while Clark went back to the boat dock & called the CG. Station Wrightsville Beach immediately launched a 47 ft rescue boat to begin searching after receiving Clark’s distress call. A CG rescue helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth was also on scene to aid in the search. After searching a 3 mile stretch of water, the crew of the 47 ft rescue boat headed back to their station to get a boat capable of travelling through the shallow waters of Intracoastal Waterway, so they could beach their boat & begin a foot search of Little Topsail Island. Tucker found Lee on the north side of Little Topsail Island, but his engine failed. Shortly after Tucker’s jet ski fouled so did Lee’s. The 2 men were forced to wade to land & wait for help. Soon after Station Wrightsville Beach started to head back to Little Top Sail Island, the CG helicopter spotted 1 of the men’s jet skis. The pilots landed the helicopter on the beach & one of the airmen got out to investigate. They found nothing & took off. It was only then that they saw the 2 men farther down the beach. The men were hoisted on to the helicopter & taken to Wilmington Airport where Clark met them. The men are reported to be in good medical condition. This is a perfect example of why the CG recommends that boaters wear the proper safety equipment. Tucker & Lee were wearing lifejackets, wetsuits & helmets, & that probably saved their lives.

The CG pulled 3 men from the chilly waters 4 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Kenny Leach took Devall Shorter & Arvn Moore, on a ride they will probably never forget. The 3 men departed Owls Creek Boat Ramp & made it as far as 42nd street before their 19 ft pleasure craft began to take on water. The men called 911, & the Virginia Beach Police Department responded with 1 of its boats. While the Virginia Beach PD were on the way to rescue the men, the boat capsized sending all 3 into the 4Ø degree water. Luckily, there was a CG helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City that was in the area conducting a search for a different vessel taking on water. The Virginia Beach PD radioed to the helicopter for assistance & the aircrew immediately diverted to the scene. Also in the area, the CGC BELUGA diverted to the scene. The helicopter & Cutter arrived within minutes. The helicopter crew hoisted Leach up to their aircraft & took him to Oceana Naval Base for treatment of mild hypothermia. Shorter & Moore were taken aboard the BELUGA; the men showed no signs of hypothermia.

The CG transfers the 1st of up to 7 ships to the Nigerian Navy in a ceremony at the CG base on Terminal Island. Nigeria sent 42 sailors to assume command of the18Ø ft buoy tender, SEDGE, that will be renamed the Nigerian Naval Ship (NNS) Kyanwa once officially transferred. Among the guests of honour were Nigeria’s minister of state for defence (Navy) the Honourable Chris A. Agbobu; the mayor of Homer, Alaska, the Honourable Jack Cushing, & the CG’s commander of maintenance & logistics, RADM Thomas Gilmour. The ships are being transferred to assist Nigeria’s Navy. "Essentially, the vessels will be used in a multipurpose role. They will be used for maritime law enforcement, training & search & rescue," said CDR George Alily of Nigeria’s Navy. The CG transfers a 2d ship, the Cutter COWSLIP based in Astoria, OR, in late January. After the 2d transfer the 2 ships sail to Nigeria. "The SEDGE & the COWSLIP are being transferred as a pair to provide mutual support during the Atlantic crossing," said Gibson Willis of CG International Affairs.

Portsmouth based LEGARE crewmembers helped stabilize & control the bleeding of a crewmember onboard a sailing vessel 3ØØ miles E of Jacksonville, FL, before a CG rescue helicopter medevaced her today. Juliet Episilda, 32, a crewmember on board the 7Ø foot sailing vessel, Voyager, suffered a deep laceration to her right hand, which caused substantial blood loss, loss of feeling in her fingers & possible tendon damage. The crew of the Voyager placed a mayday call & the CGC LEGARE proceeded to the Voyager. Once the LEGARE & crew were on scene, crewmembers boarded the Voyager & helped stabilize & control the bleeding to Episilda’s hand. A CG flight surgeon was briefed & recommended that Episilda be medically evacuated & receive further medical attention ashore. The helicopter from Air Station Clearwater, FL, responded & airlifted Episilda to Halifax Medical Centre in Daytona Beach. The CGC LEGARE is a 27Ø ft medium endurance Cutter homeported in Portsmouth, VA.

The CG’s newest Cutter has arrived at its homeport at Pier Papa on the old Navy base in Charleston, SC. The CGC OAK, a 225 ft buoy tender, is the 11th ship of the Juniper Class & was christened on January 26, 2ØØ2 in Marinette, WI. The OAK & its crew left Marinette Nov. 2 & travelled through the St. Lawrence River & down the Atlantic seaboard. The OAK & crew will join sister Cutters, now operating in both the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans, which form a new fleet of technically advanced & highly capable buoy tenders. LCDR James M. Cash assumed command of the newly built Cutter OAK on October 17, 2ØØ2. He & his 5 officers & 42 member crew’s primary mission is to maintain the largest buoys in the CG inventory. The OAK is also designed to conduct search & rescue, pollution response, icebreaking, homeland security, national defence & law enforcement operation through the Southeast U.S., Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Puerto Rico & the U.S. Virgin Islands. Cash reported to this position after serving as the 30^th & final CO of the CGC MADRONA, also homeported in Charleston. He & his crew decommissioned the MADRONA from service & then transferred the World War II era ship to the government of El Salvador for continued service in their navy.

FRIENDS OF LONG ISLAND WIRELESS HISTORY are preparing an exhibit for the Long Island Maritime Museum & would be interested in hearing from anyone who served on a land DF or Huff-Duff station, or aboard a ship using Huff-Duff. Contact Van R Field, W2OQI, at <WRECK_AND_RESCUE@JUNO.COM>. T-1Ø1-B built for the USCG. Van would like a diagram of the equipment to display shipboard radio gear from the 3Øs & 4Øs for a local Long Island maritime museum. E-mail Van at the above address if you have any information.

COAST GUARD CLUB CALL BOOK (Sold to CGC members only.) is bound in a 1-1/2” spiral binder & will include a Certificate of Membership in the Coast Guard Club suitable for framing. If you want a copy, send a cheque for $15.ØØ, which includes postage, payable to Don Gardner.

COAST GUARD STORIES: Check out www.jacksjoint.com/, which has interesting CG short stories I selected short stories from this site for my version of Coast Guard Stories, Vol. I & II. I will print the volume(s) for you on my printer, put it in a spiral binder & send you a copy postage paid for $15.ØØ each. These volumes are on file at USCG Hq. in care of Dr Browning, the CG Historian. Dr Browning advised they are kept in a place of honour in the Public Affairs Office. I have begun Volume III & need stories from Coasties to complete it. If you have something interesting to write regarding an incident or memory of your time in the ‘Guard’, please send it to me by e-mail, diskette, or a paper copy. Don’t worry about spelling or punctuation.

CG NETS: The CG Radio Amateur SSB Net is on the air each Saturday from 12-13ØØ ET on 143ØØ (14313 alternate). At 13ØØ ET the Net shifts to 14327 & continues, usually for about 3Ø minutes. Dick Anderson, KE7A, in the Dallas-Ft Worth area, is the NCS. A CW Net with Fred Goodwin, K7LF, as NCS, is on 14Ø52/7Ø52 & runs simultaneously.

REUNIONS

CGC CASCO: Any former crewmembers who would like to be placed on a mailing list of shipmates & activities that includes a reunion every several years, contact: Gordon C Kelly, P O BOX 141, Lyon, WI 53148.

LIGHTSHIP SAILORS ASSN: Reunion 2-4 October 2ØØ3 at Lewes, DE. Any questions contact Lou Toobert, 111 Sonant Drive, Newark, DE 19713, Fone 3Ø2 738 9Ø2Ø, e-mail: jtruffles@aol.com

255 FOOT CUTTERS: 4-8 May 2ØØ3 Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. Contact Doak Walker fone: 9Ø7 789 2579, FAX 9Ø7 789 278Ø, e-mail: <DOAK17@GCI.NET>, web HTTP://255WPG.11NET.COM, snail mail: P O Box 33523, Juneau, AK 998Ø3. Registration forms will be mailed in June 2ØØ2.

MEMBERSHIP: There are 529 members in our club as of 28 December. DE AD4PT 73 & Semper Paratus.