COAST
GUARD CLUB NEWSLETTER
March
2ØØ1
WHO
RECEIVES THIS NEWSLETTER?
Members who have an upcoming birthday, each potential Coast Guard Club
recruit, & any Coastie I write to. Dick Anderson, KE7A, also posts a copy of
this Newsletter on his Web page at http://home1.gte.net/ke7a/index.htm.
If you can receive e-mail files, are a member of the Coast Guard Club,
& would like a copy of this Newsletter each month, please advise.
E-MAIL:
My address is ad4pt@juno.com & ad4pt@arrl.net. If you 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 obtain or cancel e-mail, change providers or
addresses & would appreciate it if you would please keep us updated.
NEW
BUOY TENDERS: [Info.
provided by Al Mans, KG9BI.] The SPAR
was
commissioned & launched at Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, WI on 12
August. SPAR
is
a 255-ft. Cutter with a crew of 37; the old 18Ø-foot tenders had a crew of
about 45.
SPAR is
loaded with electronics equipment, much more horsepower, & the buoy deck
crane that is opposite the 18Øs. The first Commanding Officer will be a female
who will take the Cutter to Kodiak, AL, its homeport.
DECOMMISSIONING:
[From George E Vincent, WA5GEV]. POINT
ESTERO
will be decommissioned soon & transferred to the Colombian Navy. The 82-ft.
WPB was commissioned in December 1963 at the CG Yard. Meanwhile, the crew will
be familiarising
themselves with the operations of the replacement Cutter, the 87-ft. RAZORBILL
of the Predator class, which are built to accommodate mixed crews.
‘COPTER
CREW EARNS MEDAL:
[From George E Vincent, WA5GEV] The citations speak of ‘extraordinary
achievement,’ ‘exceptional fortitude’ & ‘devotion to duty’. 5 July
about 1Ø2Ø pm Ocean Crusader, an oilrig, sent a Mayday message that they were
on fire. Although no one despatched them, HH-65 Dolphin helicopter, with LT Troy
Beshears, pilot, PO1 MIKE Bouchard, LCDR Brian Moore, & PO1 John Green. 51
people needed evacuation, but the helicopter could only carry 4 at a time, which
were taken to another platform about 1Ø miles away. A supply boat in the area
offered to help; a process of lowering the evacuees to the boat using a crane
& gondola was used. Having flown 12 men to safety, the helicopter crew had
to leave the scene to refuel at a nearby platform. A second helicopter arrived
from Mobile to assist. Eventually the rig erupted in flames with Green still on
it, but Moore flew to the rig with the rotors washing away the smoke, Green dove
into the helicopter. Beshears & Moore considered recommending Green for the
Distinguished Flying Cross. ‘It’s rarely given in peacetime & in
peacetime it’s given for very extraordinary circumstances’; the DFC ranks
between the Silver Star & the Bronze Star.
SAVED
FROM THE SEA! Forty-five
miles out at sea & battered by waves from Hurricane Gordon, two men who live
in the High Point, NC, area clung to their capsized boat for 36 hours. ‘The
Coast Guard told us they were out of flying time & that was their last
pass,’ one of the men was quoted. The rescue is even more remarkable due to
the fact they did not tell anyone before setting out from their Oak Isl&
(NC) hotel room to fish. The men were on the water barely 3 hours when the bilge
pump broke down & the vessel filled with water, which they abandoned in 3Ø
to 4Ø foot seas. One man didn’t know how to swim & donned the only life jacket on
board
just before the boat sank. A woman who works at the Oak Island Inn noticed their
beds had not been slept in & notified her suspicion to the Coast Guard. Two
boats were sent out from Oak Island & Wrightsville Beach & two
helicopters from Air Station Elizabeth City & Savannah. Rescuers with night
vision goggles spotted a flare near Frying Pan Shoal Light off Cape Fear &
hoisted the men in from 15-ft. seas. The crew are being recommended for the
Coast Guard Commendation Medal.
SAVED
FROM THE SEA — PART TWO: On
30 September an EPIRB was activated approx. 4Ø miles south of Cape Fear, NC
& a HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from CGAS Savannah was despatched. An HC-13Ø
was also despatched from CGAS Elizabeth City. Through the use of night vision
goggles the helicopter crew located 3 survivors from the FV Still Crazy 1
in a life raft adrift in 2Ø-ft. seas. Exceptionally rough sea conditions &
thunderstorms in the immediate area hindered several attempts by the helicopter
crew to recover the survivors. Low on fuel & with the HC-13Ø on scene the
helicopter departed to refuel & return. The nearby MV Diego Star was
summoned & arrived on scene but was unable to recover the survivors due to
heavy sea conditions; they remained nearby to monitor the situation. At approx.
4.3Øam the helicopter was back on scene. Rescue Swimmer Jason Mathers was
lowered into the 2Ø-ft. seas & assisted each survivor while they were
hoisted to safety by the helicopter. All 3 survivors were delivered to the
Medical University of South Carolina Hospital in stable condition. The men
reported they had been struck by another vessel. (The crew was recently awarded
air medals by the Vice Commandant.)
AIRSTA
KODIAK:
The Coast Guard received a report of the downed Piper Cub from the Kenai Flight
Service Station. A Jayhawk helicopter was immediately launched with two aviation
survival technicians qualified as emergency medical technicians. The crew
located the crash site, removed the man & began performing & maintained
CPR throughout the 50-minute flight to the Spruce Cape helicopter pad in Kodiak.
The man was transferred to an ambulance for further transport to Providence
Kodiak Island Medical Centre but died of his injuries that evening.
CGC
IRONWOOD:
After 57 years of service, eight homeports & more than a half-million
nautical miles past the propeller, the CGC IRONWOOD retired from military
service. The 180-foot "B" Class (also known as Mesquite Class) buoy
tender was decommissioned during a ceremony at the Northern Lights Recreational
Facility at Integrated Support Command Kodiak, Alaska, 6 October 2ØØØ. The IRONWOOD
was commissioned Oct. 11, 1943, primarily to conduct aids to navigation duties
for the Coast Guard. It was stationed in Boston, San Francisco, Monterey,
Calif., Guam, Honolulu, & Homer, Adak & Kodiak, Alaska. The Cutter
served in World War II, the Korean War & Vietnam War, & was the only U.
S. ship left on active duty awarded the Korean Service Medal. It was the second
oldest commissioned Cutter in service behind the CGC STORIS. It also held
the distinction of being the only 180-foot buoy tender built at the Coast Guard
Yard in Baltimore, Md. The IRONWOOD & its crew departed Kodiak Oct. 7
for San Pedro, Calif., where the ship will await the final paperwork before
being sold to the Nigerian navy for tender work in the country's oil fields.
ACADEMY
CADETS: One of the
Academy's commissioned instructors & several cadets helped Station New
London get speedy medical attention to a woman with a broken ankle. Lt. Greg
Hall, a chemistry professor here & several cadets were returning from a
regatta , when they overheard a distress call to the Coast Guard. A 57-year-old
woman aboard a pleasure boat had fallen & broken her ankle. A quick position
fix showed the crew that they were only 1 NM away. After checking with Station
New London, they set sail to the injured woman's boat. Hall, a qualified EMT,
boarded the vessel with Cadet Paul Schurke. Hall gave the woman first aid, but
decided it would be too painful to move her to the Coast Guard small boat, which
arrived shortly afterward. He opted instead to remain with her, her husband
& Schurke aboard their vessel & head for the hospital at Orient Point,
N.Y. The woman was delivered safely to a waiting ambulance.
COAST
GUARD CLUB CALL BOOK: It
is bound in a spiral binder & includes the latest changes. As of today the
book is 1” thick—186 sheets of paper. If you want a copy of the call book,
send a cheque for $15.ØØ payable to Don Gardner.
COAST
GUARD NETS:
The Coast Guard Radio Amateur SSB Net is on the air each Saturday from 12ØØ-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.
NEW
COAST GUARD BOOK:
D R Peterson, our vessel historian, reports his book U.S.
Lighthouse Service Tenders, was released 7 August. This is the first book to
feature all of the lighthouse tenders & auxiliary craft of the USLHS.
9.5”x9.5” hardbound, ISBN 1-885457-12-X, price $39.95 + $5.00 shipping. I
bought the book & recommend it. You may order direct from the Eastwind
Publishing, 4302 Baildon Road, Trappe, MD 21673, fone 41Ø 476 4469, e-mail: eastwind@goeaston.net
or web page www.eastwind.com or www.amazon.com.
COAST
GUARD STORIES: Check
Out: Jack’s
Joint, http://www.jacksjoint.com/, which has interesting Coast
Guard short stories & scuttlebutt.
I used selected short stories from this site for my version of Coast
Guard Stories. I will print the stories on my printer, put it in a
spiral binder & send you a copy if you will pay $19.95,
which includes the cost of postage also.
QUA?
If
you have an item of interest to our members, please send it in. Want to swap,
sell, trade gear?
COAST
GUARD PRODUCTS:
Shop at the Academy Exchange, www.shopcoastguard.com/acatalog/
Bering
Sea Patrol/Alaska Veterans Assn. Jack
Spiegel, N7BWG reports that he ‘ . . . just arrived back from an Alaskan
cruise with 25Ø other Coasties & friends onboard the cruise ship Westerdam
of the Holland-America lines. We were greeted by the Commander, 17th
CG District in Juneau with a full honour guard. While sailing out of Ketchikan a
new 47-footer escorted us to sea & put on a great display of its
capabilities for us. While passing the CG Base in Ketchikan they played the
Coast Guard Anthem while the duty section of a 21Ø stood at the rails in a
salute. Many of the passengers onboard the Westerdam were amazed &
asked many questions about our group.
CGC
BIBB:
(from The Chief) The 16th annual reunion of BIBB (W-32-W-9Ø9)
will be held 9-12 May 2ØØ1 at the Holiday Inn, New Orleans West Bank, Gretna,
LA. For more details contact James Kelly, USCGC BIBB Assoc., 4Ø Lisa
Lane, Uncasville, CT Ø6382, fone 86Ø 848 116Ø, e-mail jkelly@uconetct.net.
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 5314.
CGC
CHINCOTEAGUE & ABSECON:
First reunion October 2001 at Norfolk, VA. For info. Contact John R Peters, 1831
Volvo Parkway, Chesapeake, VA, fone 757 479 ØØØØ, e-mail: odupeters@aol.com
or Harry S Huggins, 5411 Greenfield DR, Portsmouth, VA 237Ø3, fone 757 484-37ØØ,
e-mail: muss4poppie@cs.com. (Info from EMCM J R Peters)
83
Footers:
Check out www.geocities.com/wweber1212/. A reunion of 83’ WPB sailors
11 August at Ft Worden, Port Townsend, WA. For additional info, e-mail Wink
Weber at Winkhw@aol.com, or fone 5Ø3 848 3276, FAX 5Ø3 848 Ø848. Wink
needs head count NLT 11 June.
Navy
Patrol Squadron 18 (VPB-18) annual
reunion will be hosted in Mobile, AL 9-12 October by Warren Locklin, N4RUC.
Interested parties may contact him at 334 479 2961.
USCG
LIGHTSHIP SAILORS ASSN: Reunion
4-6 October 2ØØ1 at Port Huron, MI. Contact Jerry Radloff, 1Ø2Ø Woods Lane,
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-1157, fone 1-313 884 3Ø71, e-mail gsradloff@yahoo.com.
de K6IRR
USCG
CW Operators Assn: The
3d annual reunion for the CG CW Operators Assn.
USCGC
RUSH: CWO
John Vogel is planning a reunion for those who served aboard RUSH during
the 197Ø-71 deployment to Vietnam. If you are interested or know anyone who was
aboard during that period please contact him at e-mail address: irvogel@cybertrails.com
[from COMM ONE, November 2ØØØ.]
255
Foot Cutters:
3d reunion of all 13 from 6-1Ø May 2ØØ1 at the Union Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas.
For info write: USCG 255 Reunion Committee, PO Box 33523, Juneau AK 998Ø3, fone
1 9Ø7 789 2579 (note from GMCS R A Morgan, Ret.)
MEMBERSHIP:
As of 28 February there are 467
members in our Club. We are striking for 5ØØ for 2ØØ1!
de AD4PT