Browsing: Coast Guard

Cruising Life
By

Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Receives “Exceptional Bravery” Award for Rescuing Maine Fishermen in 20-foot Seas. See Video

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer will be awarded with the IMO Bravery at sea award for his role in the rescue of four fisherman who abandoned ship in a liferaft during heavy weather off the coast of Maine. A panel of judges decided that the rescue by Petty Officer Michael Kelly merited the 2019 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, the IMO’s highest honor for bravery. The decision was endorsed by the IMO Council at its 122nd session in London being held this week. Kelly is an Aviation Survival Technician Second Class stationed the U.S. Coast Guard Air…

Cruising Life
By

Lost in the Antarctic

By CW4 Michael W. Carr – They were lost. Lost in the open ocean off Antarctica. Two miles to their starboard should be the Ross Ice Shelf, a 200-foot high vertical wall of ice running for hundreds of miles along Antarctica. Instead, there was just open ocean. This situation was definitely not part of their DeepFreeze79 operation. Ensign Bill Davis, the USCG Glacier’s (WAGB-4) Navigation Officer, had just come to the bridge to relieve the mid-watch and assume OOD for the 4-8 watch. Bill was looking forward to an easy and uneventful watch, as they steamed east along the edge…

Cruising Life
By

Take This Boating Safety Quiz from the Coast Guard. Let’s Hope You Pass

How good is your memory? Do you remember all the basics, and the nuances, of the rules of the road from your Power Squadrons or Coast Guard boating courses a few years ago? Now that the spring boating season is here, it never hurts to brush up, to give all those brain cells a refresher course. Here are some questions about basic boating safety from the U.S. Coast Guard. See how you do. (You’ll have to click below for the answers.) 1.You’ve left the dock well before dawn on an offshore trip to fish the canyons. It’s still dark, but…

Cruising Life
By

Dramatic Pictures of Coast Guard Surf Training Off San Francisco

If you think you’ve been in some bad surf, take a look at these pictures. They show two 47-foot Coast Guard lifeboats practicing surf training off Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Taken by Dave Rogers, who usually shoots wildlife, they capture the raw power of the surf and the intensity of the Coast Guard training in absolutely memorable images. Rogers told USA Today that he was driving by the beach when he saw other photographers gathered on the dunes, taking pictures of the surf. He stopped, and started shooting himself. What he saw was memorable, as the boats climbed over…

Cruising Life
By

You See a Flare. Now What? First, Make a Fist – and Other Tips from the Coast Guard

You’re cruising at dusk or at night, and you suddenly see a flare shoot up in the distance. But at night distances can be confusing. How far away is it? How can you help? Here are some tips from the Coast Guard. First, try the “fist method” to figure out the position of the flare from your boat. When you call the Coast Guard, they’ll ask where you are. Then they’ll need to know where the flare is. To determine the height of the flare from the water, hold your arm out straight and make a fist. Hold the bottom…

Cruising Life
By

Coast Guard Dogs Complete Helicopter Training: Great Video

The Coast Guard Auxiliary just reposted this great video from ABC News showing two Coast Guard dogs completing helicopter training in San Francisco Bay. It was taken a while ago, but it’s very cool. How many dogs complete helicopter efficiency training by getting lowered from a Coast Guard helicopter? The dogs, Evy and Ricky, are explosive detection dogs and have been working with the Coast Guard for many years. In this training, they had to jump on board a Pave Hawk helicopter and perform several hoists, working with a Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team. Called “canine Coasties,” they…

Cruising Life
By

Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, 42-years-old, Reaches Antarctica, but with Problems

The aging Cutter Polar Star, the Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker, just reached Antarctica, cutting through ice up to 31 feet deep, but it ran into some problems along the way. The 399-feet long, 42-year-old ship with a crew of 150, completed its mission, leading a support vessel with 400 containers to resupply McMurdo Station, the main U.S. logistics center in Antarctica. But the Polar Star developed a leak from the prop shaft, and it also experienced several electrical problems while in deep ice. The crew had to halt icebreaking operations to send a scuba diver in the water to repair…

Cruising Life
By

Three Fishermen Killed When Boat Pitch-Poles Trying To Cross a Stormy Bar in Oregon

Three commercial fishermen on an old wooden 42-foot crabbing boat were killed when they tried to cross the Yaquina Bay Bar near Newport, Oregon, at night in breaking seas even as a Coast Guard motor lifeboat tried to lead them to safety. In a harrowing account, the Coast Guard said it tried to warn Stephen Biernacki, 50, the skipper of the Mary B II crabbing boat that he was drifting outside the channel, exposing it to 16-foot breakers. The Mary B II was among a group of crab boats that tried to cross the bar about 10 at night to escape a…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
By

Coast Guard Families “Are Freaking Out” in Shutdown. “Bankruptcy Is a Last Option.”

The government shutdown is hitting the Coast Guard hard. In a week when the Coast Guard started its ice-breaking patrols on the Great Lakes, the 41,000 members of the Coast Guard are wondering whether they’ll get their next paycheck, scheduled for Jan. 15. Right now they’re working without pay. And they and their families are not happy. In Washington, the Coast Guard posted a five-page tipsheet on its website called “managing your finances during a furlough.” It suggested tutoring, “turning your hobby into income,” babysitting and holding garage sales. “Bankruptcy is a last option,” it said. The Coast Guard removed…

Cruising Life
By

Fishing Trawler Sinks Off Block Island. Two Missing Despite Massive Search

A 52-foot fishing trawler capsized and sank just after midnight on New Year’s Day in 10-foot seas and 30-knot winds near Block Island, Rhode Island. A nearby fishing boat picked up one crew member but the other two were missing despite a massive search effort by the Coast Guard and local good Samaritan vessels. The Coast Guard suspended the search effort after two days. The first sign of trouble came at 1:30 a.m. when the captain of the Mistress, based in Point Judith, sent a Mayday call to the Coast Guard saying the boat was taking on water. It was…

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 8