Coast Guard Club Newsletter
September 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.
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. The book has become more
interesting with these added pictures. If you don’t have a picture, send a QSL
card and I will scan and insert it on your page in the call book.
BOOKS: Operating Signals (Q &
Z). JANAP131, ca 1949, & ACP131, March 1997, for sale. Each book is bound
with a plastic spiral binder with a dark green cover & printed on 24 lb
paper. $7 each, & I pay the postage.
Search and
Rescue SitReps
NORTH BEND, OR — The CG rescued 2 people whose vessel capsized while transiting back
to Brookings, OR in rough seas. The men radioed the CG on channel 16, the
hailing & distress frequency, asking what was the best route to transit to
shore. CG Station Chetco River lost comms abruptly with the vessel &
immediately launched a 23-ft rescue boat to the vessel’s estimated position.
The CG then received a call from 911 operator reporting a capsized vessel with
people in the water in a rocky area E of the vessel’s estimated position. The
23-ft rescue crew located the 2 men & pulled them from the water. They were
brought to shore where awaiting EMS took the men to Sutter Coast Hospital in
Crescent City & then treated for hypothermia.
GRAYS HARBOR, WA — A CG Law Enforcement Boarding Team from Station Grays Harbor
assisted in the Westport Police Dept's seizure & arrest of a working
methamphetamine laboratory on a fishing vessel & its crew. Westport Police
requested CG Station Grays Harbor conduct a boarding of the FV NU-C. A CG
team operating from a 47-ft motor lifeboat boarded the FV while the vessel was
operating outside the jetty at Grays Harbor. The CG team found numerous
violations to include discovery of products used for drug distribution, large
amounts of drug paraphernalia, marijuana & methamphetamine. These issues
prompted the vessel's return to port & subsequent police involvement. All 3
crew members of the NU-C were arrested by Westport Police.
TACOMA,
WA — Magistrate, Judge Karen L Strombom
sentenced Ryan M Symonds this week for his role in vandalising & rendering
unusable a CG navigational aid servicing maritime traffic on the Columbia River.
The range marker he destroyed was designed to keep vessels operating safely near
the centre of the river near the town of St Helens, WA, where the Lewis River
branches off the Columbia. For the case, the CG pointed out that the Symonds’s
actions not only incurred a cost for replacement parts & man-hours, but also
put the Columbia River’s busy navigation system in peril. Symonds pled guilty
to a misdemeanor charge of Destruction of Government Property & will be
serving 2ØØ community service hours with the CG, serve 5 years probation &
pay full restitution. Had he been charged with a felony, based on the damage
costs, could have received a prison term of 1Ø years & a $25Ø thousand
dollar fine.
NORTH BEND, OR — The CG picked-up 2 boogie boarders after they were pulled out to
sea & unable to swim back to shore. CG Group North Bend received a call from
the Florence Police Dept &
immediately launched a 23-ft rescue boat & a 47-ft motor lifeboat from
Station Siuslaw River, & an HH-65 helicopter from Air Station North Bend.
The 2 men were picked-up by the 23-ft rescue boat 1 NM N of the Siuslaw River
just offshore of the Driftwoods Shores Motel, were treated for mild hypothermia
& released to their parents.
LOS ANGELES - A pleasure cruise turned into a disaster for 7 people when their
sailing vessel struck the breakwall at Queens Gate. An exhausted Coast
Guardsman, CWO William Stacey, returning from a 5-hour tanker ship inspection
& on board a civillian water taxi jumped into the water & assisted the 4
adults & 3 children to a safe area on the breakwall. The people on the
sailboat weren’t aware of the danger they were in, said Stacey. The mast was
swinging all around & the stern was banging hard against the rocks. CG &
Long Beach rescue units soon arrived on scene & transported the people to
Long Beach Marina. The sailboat was towed to the Marina Ship Yard in Long Beach.
NEW ORLEANS – CG law enforcement personnel seized more than 11,ØØØ pounds of
illegally caught fish & terminated the voyage of a FV 11Ø NM S of Mobile,
AL. The STINGRAY crew attempted to hail the fishing vessel Red
Fin, but when radio call-outs were unsuccessful, the Cutter sent a law
enforcement boarding team to investigate. The master requested to be allowed to
haul back his long line gear. During the 2Ø NM, the boarding team witnessed Red
Fin’s crew bring aboard 35 to 4Ø large yellow fin tuna. The boarding team
then terminated the Red
Fin’s voyage & towed them back to Venice, where a
National Marine Fisheries Service agent met them to take custody of the catch,
which was then sold to Sharkos Fish House in Venice. The evidence package for
this seizure has been forwarded to NMFS, who will determine if a formal Notice
of Violation will be issued. This seizure illustrates the important
multi-mission aspect of the CG: While our crews are constantly on patrol
protecting the homeland, we are also enforcing fishing & safety violations
on our waters. The STINGRAY is an 87-ft patrol boat from Mobile, Ala.
TAWAS, MI — CG Air Station Detroit medevaced a 33-year-old male from the 68Ø-ft
laker Adam E Cornelius. Yusaf Omar fell & broke his ribs while on board the cargo
ship. He requested to be medevaced when he began having trouble breathing &
his pulse increased. Air Station Detroit was diverted from other tasking. After
the helicopter arrived on scene, a rescue swimmer was lowered & Omar was
hoisted. He was then transferred to Bay City Medical Centre where he was listed
in stable condition.
NEW ORLEANS – CG rescue crews from New Orleans & Mobile are searching for a
man who fell from his boat near the Fort Morgan, AL ferry entrance when the boat
he was riding in hit a submerged barge. A CG crewmember from Station Dauphin
Island, AL, reported that another person that fell from the boat was taken to
South Baldwin Hospital with minor head injuries & a third boater had no
injuries. According to a local fisherman who witnessed the accident, the small
fiberglass boat was traveling at a high rate of speed when it struck the barge.
Two rescue boat crews from the station, a helicopter crew from Air Station New
Orleans, & local emergency personnel are searching for the missing man.
KODIAK, AL — A helicopter crew assisted the crew of a vessel that was taking on
water after it ran aground in Alitak Bay, about 6Ø miles SE of Kodiak. The crew
of the 86-ft fishing tender Chichagof made a radio distress call
reporting the accident. The CG communications centre at Kodiak issued an urgent
marine assistance broadcast (UMIB) asking mariners in the area to assist. Two
Good Samaritan FVs responded. An HH-6Ø with 2 dewatering pumps on board,
departed Kodiak. Low-lying, thick fog hampered the crew locating the Chichagof when they arrived in Alitak Bay but was able to locate the stricken
vessel within minutes. The crew lowered the pumps to the vessel & remained
on scene until the crew successfully had the pumps running. The tender Ermine was alongside the Chichagof assisting the 3-person crew. The Chichagof was on the beach & not in danger of sinking when the helicopter
crew departed scene. The helicopter crew reported a small, but noticeable sheen
in the water. Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak is investigating the accident.
NORTH BEND, OR — A young
male caller broadcast multiple transmissions on VHF-Channel 16 for a period of 3
hours. After the initial broadcast, Group/Air Station North Bend issued an UMIB
to all boaters to potentially assist in locating the mayday transmitter. The
call was eventually deemed a hoax by the CG & strongly advised the caller to
stop broadcasting. False alarm cases put the boating public in danger by
depleting valuable CG search and rescue resources for real distress cases. It
puts CG air & boat crews needlessly in harm's way when searching for the
"distressed" caller. Further, false hoax cases waste taxpayer dollars.
For instance, an HH-65A helicopter has an operating cost of more than $5,173 an
hour. Knowingly & wilfully transmitting a false distress call is a felony
offence under 14 USC, Sect. 88, & punishable up to 6 years imprisonment, up
to $25Ø,ØØØ fine & liable for all costs.
GOODBYE RM SPARKS: On 1 July
CAMSPAC retired the historic ‘sparks’ from the rating badge as the CG
restructures its work force, replacing that specialty with 2 others: Operations
Specialist & the Information Technology Specialist, neither of which will
carry the symbolic sparks in its insignia.
COAST GUARD CLUB CALL BOOK 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.
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.
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.
CG CW OPERATORS: 29 October-2 November 2ØØ3 at
Honeysuckle Inn, Branson, MO. Contact Paula Lee 1-8ØØ 942 3553 for
reservations, email marlee@iland.net for
details.
CGC KUKUI: 9-14 October 2ØØ3 at Alexandria, VA.
Contact CAPT Jim Donahue, retired, 3Ø8Ø N Oakland ST, Arlington, VA 222Ø7,
Fone 7Ø3 522 217Ø.
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
CGC ROCKAWAY: 2-5 October 2ØØ3 Cape May, NJ. Contact Rockaway311@earthlink.net
or tomwoloski@aol.com.
MEMBERSHIP: There are 534 members in
our club as of 25 August. DE AD4PT 73 & Semper Paratus.