ANOTHER EVERGREEN STORY
By Mark Wood
Morale hit it’s nadir when this most notorious of all cutters left Governor’s Island.
The CGC Evergreen (WAGO 295) would be my nomination for madhouse. Evergreen was a 180' buoy tender that was neutered of its boom and painted white for oceanographic operations. We were usually away from our homeport of New London for about nine months out of the year. An average 180' buoy tender had a crew of about 45. The Evergreen sailed with an average crew of 60 including the TAD oceanographers and MST’s. With that many people packed together for a 45 day International Ice Patrol or Bermuda Ops, morale tended to go down hill soon after leaving port.
One
particular trip down to Bermuda to test life rafts, we were anxious to visit
Bermuda in a mid patrol break. Our CO wasn't particularly a people oriented
person and halfway through the patrol, canceled our visit. We did have
"radar liberty" in that we were permitted to visit the bridge and
view Bermuda from the radar screen.
Due
to heavy weather, we incurred heavy damage and had to cut our operations short
and steamed to Governors Island for a month of dockside availability. When we
were about ready to shove off for our homeport after having been absent for two
months, the OOD received a call from the OOD of Support Center Governor’s
Island. Seemed that the Support Center CO wanted the Evergreen to send a work
detail to the stretch of grass known as doggie island to clean up the dog poop
before getting underway. Morale hit a low point then, but even with morale that
low, anyone with the least amount of pride will not let someone else screw with
his own ship!
We
cleaned up the dog poop but sometime after we got underway and while the
Evergreen was steaming down Long Island Sound for a much desired homeport stay,
the CO of Governors Island (or one of his family members) found a paper bag
full of dog poop sitting at his doorstep. (He should be glad that we didn't set
the blasted bag on fire!)
Oh yea, this has been a no $hitter.