Barque Eagle revisited

My good friend Captain Eric Jones asked me to visit EAGLE this weekend before she departs Baltimore's Inner Harbor. CG Barque EAGLE is the Coast Guard Academy's training ship and Eric Jones is her current captain. I am a former student of seamanship on EAGLE and now have responsibilities that include overseeing her deployments and mission success.

Everyone who serves aboard ships at sea remembers the ship they trained on. I'm very lucky to have sailed EAGLE as a cadet and now to see her train yet another class of Coast Guard cadets in the time-honored profession.

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BALTIMORE – The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle is currently in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and will be open for public tours.

The Eagle is scheduled to be available from Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010, to Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, from 9 a.m., to 4 p.m.

The Eagle is the largest tall ship and the only active square-rigger in American government service. A three-masted barque, the Eagle’s foremast and mainmast carry square sails while her mizzenmast carries fore and aft sails.

Investigations lead to lessons learned

Captains,

The Coast Guard Office of Investigations and Analysis released "Lessons Learned 01-10" on Feb 18, 2010. The subject is "towing vessel stability" - with reference to the Tug Valor sinking in 2006. The key point is that senior crewmembers must read the stability instructions. Lesson Learned 01-10 says:

There are standard phrases

that are on every stability letter. The ones that applied to this casualty follow:

1) TANKS: No more than one centerline tank or P/S tank pair of potable water, lube oil, dirty oil

and ballast water and two P/S pair of fuel oil tanks may be partially filled at one time.

2) TANKS: Any cross-connections between port and starboard tank pairs shall be kept closed

at all times when underway.

3) LIST: You should make every effort to determine the cause of any list of the vessel before

taking corrective action.

In this instance [Tug Valor] the master allowed other deck officers and engineers to initiate ballast operations to

correct minor lists. He never directed anyone to determine the cause of the lists. The engineers

routinely left fuel tanks cross-connected on the P/S tank pairs that were feeding the day tank per

standard company/industry-wide practice. In this specific incident an additional set of P/S fuel oil tank

pairs were also cross-connected.

Lesson Learned 01-10 asks every tug mariner to beware of partially filled tanks, open cross connections, and unexplained list.

RDML W

St Clair River requires USCG and CCG icebreakers

St Clair River icebreaking continues to keep the Great Lakes icebreakers busy. This mission is a combination of flood control and aid to navigation.

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DETROIT -- The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards are scheduled to conduct ice breaking operations in the St. Clair River, beginning at approximately 10 a.m., Monday Feb. 22, in order to mitigate possible flood activity due to a nine-mile long ice jam there, and address low-water levels on Lake St. Clair.

U.S. Coast Guard cutters involved include the Neah Bay, Mobile Bay and Mackinaw. Also participating will be the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Samuel Risley.

“This year we have seen a large amount of ice in the river system; this ice stacks up and stops the natural flow of water, which may be contributing to lower water levels in Lake St. Clair and higher risk of flooding in communities along the St. Clair River above the jam,” said Cmdr. Joseph Snowden, Ice Officer at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit.

USCGC FORWARD returns from Haiti

Captains,

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Coast Guard Rear Adm. James A. Watson, Director of Operations for the Atlantic Area, speaks to crewmembers of Coast Guard Cutter Forward after they returned to their homeport at Base Support Unit Portsmouth Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

Occasionally I'm able to thank people personally. Today I was privileged to welcome the crew of USCGC FORWARD when she returned to Portsmouth. FORWARD's crew reported feeling the earthquake that devastated Haiti and was the first cutter into Port au Prince.

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Air station Kodiak MH-60 helo medivacs crewman

Captains,

Aerial medivacs, a core competency of Coast Guard rotary wing aviation, is often a lifesaver for seafarers with acute medical conditions. A crewman from the Korean-flagged car carrier Modern Express, en route from Portland OR to Busan South Korea, benefited from the service just this morning. The helo's hoist cam recorded the event for Youtube.

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KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew conducted a medevac of a 38-year-old Filipino man from the 518-foot car carrier Modern Express approximately 58 miles south of Kodiak Thursday morning.

Raine Canua was reported to have been found by his shipmates in his cabin disoriented Wednesday. The shipping company of the vessel contacted the Seventeenth Coast Guard District command center watchstanders about 7:45 p.m. reporting Canua was suffering from symptoms of a possible stroke.

The helicopter crew successfully hoisted Canua about 8:48 a.m. and safely delivered him to awaiting medical personnel who transferred him to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center approximately 9:45 a.m. Weather conditions on scene at the time of the hoist were 43 mph winds and 22 foot seas with light rain.

Counter Drug drills on USCGC DALLAS

Last weekend I was privileged to deploy with the USCGC DALLAS while she conducted airborne use of force drills with an HH65 from HITRON, the Coast Guard's newest air station located in Jacksonville FL. I posted a short video of my experience on Youtube.

Jointly crewed patrols for 2010 Olympics

Captains,

You'll see real international cooperation during the 2010 Olympics. USCG and RCMP working side-by-side patroling Puget Sound to ensure a safe, secure international event.

RDML W

SOUTH PENDER ISLAND, British Columbia - A Royal Canadian Mounted Police 28-foot patrol boat crew prepares to get underway with a Coast Guard 33-foot Special Purpose Craft Law Enforcement boat crew in support of the Olympic Shiprider Program.

The Coast Guard, in partnership with the RCMP Federal Border Integrity Program, launched the Olympic Shiprider pilot program in waters off the Pacific Northwest coast to enhance security operations during the 2010 Winter Games. Marine law enforcement vessels will be jointly crewed by specially trained and designated U.S. and Canadian law enforcement officers authorized to enforce the law on both sides of the international maritime boundary, while respecting the sovereignty of both nations. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Colin White.