I have to say this discussion is both hilarious and offensive.
Especially when a certain someone posts that the US Coast Guard would
have been "on leave or sitting around shining our shoes" had this case
not have happened. For your information sir, while Search and Rescue
will always be our main mission we have about 16 other priority
missions the US taxpayers require us to perform 365 days of the year.
I am a crewmember on the cutter TAHOMA and I was involved in the SAR
case Grail Pilgrin. We were on a Living Marine Resources Patrol
(LMRE) which is a law enforcement mission spanning from Maine to New
York out 200NM. In addition to the LMRE patrol we were also a
response cutter that performs counterterrorism missions when called
upon. This patrol (other military agencies call it deployments) was
to span well into the new year, so let me assure you that while you
were spending the holidays with your family, we were protecting your
homeland.

In reference to the S/V Grail Pilgrin, I have no doubt that if we
would not have gone out and rescued the sailor in distress, there was
a very high probability his family would have been mourning at a
funeral instead of celebrating the holidays. I am not going to detail
the case because for most of you I don't think you deserve it, and the
rest of you might not believe me. I will though highlight the main
points from this case:

While on a routine patrol (deployment) we were diverted to evacuate
the sailor onboard the S/V Grail Pilgrin. We were 240NM west of the S/
V Grail Pilgrin when the call came in. We made best speed to his
position where we discovered winds out of the East holding steady at
45Kts gusting up to 60kts. The wind waves were reaching 5ft in height
and we recorded swells reaching 18FT in height. To give you an idea
of how bad it was out there our 270' ship at one time took a 32 degree
roll to starboard. Most ships today are designed to withstand a roll
of up to 45 degrees before structural damage starts to occur so if we
took a 32 degree roll you can only imagine the pitch and rolls
happening on the 29ft sailboat. Now I cannot say why the sailor
decided to sail alone from Halifax to Bermuda and it is not my
position to judge why, but the man I met was a very experienced
sailor, probably more experienced than most of you posting on this
account. When we arrived and spoke to the sailor via radio we could
tell he was suffering from severe exhaustion and his symptoms
described the first stage of shock and dehydration. The S/V Grail
Pilgrin bow sail and come loose and was floating in the water, the sea
anchor was deployed, and his rigging had been torn from the mast in
addition to the engine being out of commission. In other words, he
could not motor or sail, which leads me to say I know of no one who
could have taken that S/V in that condition anywhere expect straight
down to the bottom of the ocean. We as Coastguardsmen are trained to
perform rescues in the most severe weather and we had to wait a few
hours until the seas calmed enough for us to launch our smallboat to
affect the rescue.

That is all I am going to say on the subject, take it or leave it that
is what happened. Next time you want to criticize my service or the
missions we perform come find me and say it in my face. I will stick
you on a small boat in 15ft seas for 36 hours and ask you how you feel
when we come save you.

Respectfully,
A United States Coast Guard Cutterman currently serving aboard CGC
TAHOMA

Tahoma crewman, thank you for setting it straight. Believe me, most of
us are grateful for your efforts.

wrote
I have to say this discussion is both hilarious and offensive.

Welcome to rec.boats.cruising. (Second guessing, self-righteousness, and
armchair quarterbacking are our specialties.)

That is all I am going to say on the subject

That's what you said in your previous message...
Seriously, your efforts are appreciated.
Merry Christmas.

I am curious .. what model, manufacture, of 29' sailboat was Mr Collin
sailing? Did he have a
bottle of Champagne tied around his neck? I always think of French sailors
with a bottle around
their neck, wearing those little bathing suits.

================================================== ========
I have to say this discussion is both hilarious and offensive.
Especially when a certain someone posts that the US Coast Guard would
have been "on leave or sitting around shining our shoes" had this case
not have happened. For your information sir, while Search and Rescue
will always be our main mission we have about 16 other priority
missions the US taxpayers require us to perform 365 days of the year.
I am a crewmember on the cutter TAHOMA and I was involved in the SAR
case Grail Pilgrin. We were on a Living Marine Resources Patrol
(LMRE) which is a law enforcement mission spanning from Maine to New
York out 200NM. In addition to the LMRE patrol we were also a
response cutter that performs counterterrorism missions when called
upon. This patrol (other military agencies call it deployments) was
to span well into the new year, so let me assure you that while you
were spending the holidays with your family, we were protecting your
homeland.

In reference to the S/V Grail Pilgrin, I have no doubt that if we
would not have gone out and rescued the sailor in distress, there was
a very high probability his family would have been mourning at a
funeral instead of celebrating the holidays. I am not going to detail
the case because for most of you I don't think you deserve it, and the
rest of you might not believe me. I will though highlight the main
points from this case:

While on a routine patrol (deployment) we were diverted to evacuate
the sailor onboard the S/V Grail Pilgrin. We were 240NM west of the S/
V Grail Pilgrin when the call came in. We made best speed to his
position where we discovered winds out of the East holding steady at
45Kts gusting up to 60kts. The wind waves were reaching 5ft in height
and we recorded swells reaching 18FT in height. To give you an idea
of how bad it was out there our 270' ship at one time took a 32 degree
roll to starboard. Most ships today are designed to withstand a roll
of up to 45 degrees before structural damage starts to occur so if we
took a 32 degree roll you can only imagine the pitch and rolls
happening on the 29ft sailboat. Now I cannot say why the sailor
decided to sail alone from Halifax to Bermuda and it is not my
position to judge why, but the man I met was a very experienced
sailor, probably more experienced than most of you posting on this
account. When we arrived and spoke to the sailor via radio we could
tell he was suffering from severe exhaustion and his symptoms
described the first stage of shock and dehydration. The S/V Grail
Pilgrin bow sail and come loose and was floating in the water, the sea
anchor was deployed, and his rigging had been torn from the mast in
addition to the engine being out of commission. In other words, he
could not motor or sail, which leads me to say I know of no one who
could have taken that S/V in that condition anywhere expect straight
down to the bottom of the ocean. We as Coastguardsmen are trained to
perform rescues in the most severe weather and we had to wait a few
hours until the seas calmed enough for us to launch our smallboat to
affect the rescue.

That is all I am going to say on the subject, take it or leave it that
is what happened. Next time you want to criticize my service or the
missions we perform come find me and say it in my face. I will stick
you on a small boat in 15ft seas for 36 hours and ask you how you feel
when we come save you.

Respectfully,
A United States Coast Guard Cutterman currently serving aboard CGC
TAHOMA

wrote in message
...
I have to say this discussion is both hilarious and offensive.
Especially when a certain someone posts that the US Coast Guard would
have been "on leave or sitting around shining our shoes" had this case
not have happened. For your information sir, while Search and Rescue
will always be our main mission we have about 16 other priority
missions the US taxpayers require us to perform 365 days of the year.
I am a crewmember on the cutter TAHOMA and I was involved in the SAR
case Grail Pilgrin. We were on a Living Marine Resources Patrol
(LMRE) which is a law enforcement mission spanning from Maine to New
York out 200NM. In addition to the LMRE patrol we were also a
response cutter that performs counterterrorism missions when called
upon. This patrol (other military agencies call it deployments) was
to span well into the new year, so let me assure you that while you
were spending the holidays with your family, we were protecting your
homeland.

In reference to the S/V Grail Pilgrin, I have no doubt that if we
would not have gone out and rescued the sailor in distress, there was
a very high probability his family would have been mourning at a
funeral instead of celebrating the holidays. I am not going to detail
the case because for most of you I don't think you deserve it, and the
rest of you might not believe me. I will though highlight the main
points from this case:

While on a routine patrol (deployment) we were diverted to evacuate
the sailor onboard the S/V Grail Pilgrin. We were 240NM west of the S/
V Grail Pilgrin when the call came in. We made best speed to his
position where we discovered winds out of the East holding steady at
45Kts gusting up to 60kts. The wind waves were reaching 5ft in height
and we recorded swells reaching 18FT in height. To give you an idea
of how bad it was out there our 270' ship at one time took a 32 degree
roll to starboard. Most ships today are designed to withstand a roll
of up to 45 degrees before structural damage starts to occur so if we
took a 32 degree roll you can only imagine the pitch and rolls
happening on the 29ft sailboat. Now I cannot say why the sailor
decided to sail alone from Halifax to Bermuda and it is not my
position to judge why, but the man I met was a very experienced
sailor, probably more experienced than most of you posting on this
account. When we arrived and spoke to the sailor via radio we could
tell he was suffering from severe exhaustion and his symptoms
described the first stage of shock and dehydration. The S/V Grail
Pilgrin bow sail and come loose and was floating in the water, the sea
anchor was deployed, and his rigging had been torn from the mast in
addition to the engine being out of commission. In other words, he
could not motor or sail, which leads me to say I know of no one who
could have taken that S/V in that condition anywhere expect straight
down to the bottom of the ocean. We as Coastguardsmen are trained to
perform rescues in the most severe weather and we had to wait a few
hours until the seas calmed enough for us to launch our smallboat to
affect the rescue.

That is all I am going to say on the subject, take it or leave it that
is what happened. Next time you want to criticize my service or the
missions we perform come find me and say it in my face. I will stick
you on a small boat in 15ft seas for 36 hours and ask you how you feel
when we come save you.

Respectfully,
A United States Coast Guard Cutterman currently serving aboard CGC
TAHOMA


As others have said... not often enough... your work is appreciated, and
you're underpaid.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Capt. JG wrote:
wrote in message
...
I have to say this discussion is both hilarious and offensive.
Especially when a certain someone posts that the US Coast Guard would
have been "on leave or sitting around shining our shoes" had this case
not have happened. For your information sir, while Search and Rescue
will always be our main mission we have about 16 other priority
missions the US taxpayers require us to perform 365 days of the year.
I am a crewmember on the cutter TAHOMA and I was involved in the SAR
case Grail Pilgrin. We were on a Living Marine Resources Patrol
(LMRE) which is a law enforcement mission spanning from Maine to New
York out 200NM. In addition to the LMRE patrol we were also a
response cutter that performs counterterrorism missions when called
upon. This patrol (other military agencies call it deployments) was
to span well into the new year, so let me assure you that while you
were spending the holidays with your family, we were protecting your
homeland.

In reference to the S/V Grail Pilgrin, I have no doubt that if we
would not have gone out and rescued the sailor in distress, there was
a very high probability his family would have been mourning at a
funeral instead of celebrating the holidays. I am not going to detail
the case because for most of you I don't think you deserve it, and the
rest of you might not believe me. I will though highlight the main
points from this case:

While on a routine patrol (deployment) we were diverted to evacuate
the sailor onboard the S/V Grail Pilgrin. We were 240NM west of the S/
V Grail Pilgrin when the call came in. We made best speed to his
position where we discovered winds out of the East holding steady at
45Kts gusting up to 60kts. The wind waves were reaching 5ft in height
and we recorded swells reaching 18FT in height. To give you an idea
of how bad it was out there our 270' ship at one time took a 32 degree
roll to starboard. Most ships today are designed to withstand a roll
of up to 45 degrees before structural damage starts to occur so if we
took a 32 degree roll you can only imagine the pitch and rolls
happening on the 29ft sailboat. Now I cannot say why the sailor
decided to sail alone from Halifax to Bermuda and it is not my
position to judge why, but the man I met was a very experienced
sailor, probably more experienced than most of you posting on this
account. When we arrived and spoke to the sailor via radio we could
tell he was suffering from severe exhaustion and his symptoms
described the first stage of shock and dehydration. The S/V Grail
Pilgrin bow sail and come loose and was floating in the water, the sea
anchor was deployed, and his rigging had been torn from the mast in
addition to the engine being out of commission. In other words, he
could not motor or sail, which leads me to say I know of no one who
could have taken that S/V in that condition anywhere expect straight
down to the bottom of the ocean. We as Coastguardsmen are trained to
perform rescues in the most severe weather and we had to wait a few
hours until the seas calmed enough for us to launch our smallboat to
affect the rescue.

That is all I am going to say on the subject, take it or leave it that
is what happened. Next time you want to criticize my service or the
missions we perform come find me and say it in my face. I will stick
you on a small boat in 15ft seas for 36 hours and ask you how you feel
when we come save you.

Respectfully,
A United States Coast Guard Cutterman currently serving aboard CGC
TAHOMA



It is easy to have a different view of the CG. In Pt Angeles Wa, a
coast guard boat was tied up to the public pier for ages it seems. There
was a big barby on the fantail, the coasties cars took up all the public
parking and the only assistance they gave small boaters was to call
vessel assist.
They no longer tie up to the public pier because of security but the
boats still seem to never leave the base. Occasionally you will see one
outside the bay to guard a sub coming thru or they will spend the night
a few miles west of the harbor trying to catch drug runners from Canada.
Even then, the customs service are usually the ones to catch them.
Neah Bay Wa is too far out to have vessel assist so the coasties will
tow in disabled boats only if they are in danger and then they will make
life miserable enough so you'll never call them again. They also like to
zip around the bay in their zodiacs generally just out joy riding
I was partially disabled once with xmission problems and I had to
cross the straits from Canada to Neah Bay which meant crossing a busy
shipping lane at low speed.
I called Tofino Canada Coast Guard (they control traffic in the
entrance to the straits) and explained the problem and gave them my GPS
location and speed and direction. They vectored all shipping around me
and kept in touch periodically all the way across. Great people
I'm sure different duty stations have more exacting things to do
then others but sometimes appearances can be deceiving.
Gordon

* *It is easy to have a different view of the CG. In Pt Angeles Wa, a
coast guard boat was tied up to the public pier for ages it seems. There
was a big barby on the fantail, the coasties cars took up all the public
parking and the only assistance they gave small boaters was to call
vessel assist.


Yea, but that big cutter made such a great breakwater for the few
public slips on the other side of her. Plus all the PA visitors got to
see a real boat up close. She really knocked the swell down for me and
kept me sleeping well at night.

We shouldnt be so quick to find fault with the USCG. They just do what
they are told and have the money to do it. Personaly, I think their
new build program sucks. NOt enough surf/life boats and too many 300'
plus cutters. Time to get a new Comander and Chief.
Bob

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:59:51 -0800 (PST), wrote:

Next time you want to criticize my service or the
missions we perform come find me and say it in my face. I will stick
you on a small boat in 15ft seas for 36 hours and ask you how you feel
when we come save you.

Thank you, well said.

Paul Cassel wrote:
Nope, I'm not going to do the worship business here. I'll accept 100%
your account of the incident except for the implied analysis.

So you diverted 480 nm to get to this sailboat. Now what would you have
done using that fuel and time if not for this diversion? Oh, yeah, also
you hung around until the weather calmed.

So we have a diversion of about 500 nm, then a delay while you waited
the weather out. Let me ask you, if the sailboat was in such dire
distress, why could it survive the storm? Why do you say that the family
would have been in mourning if you didn't pull the guy out when the
storm passed? You mean, he and the boat could survive heavy weather but
not calm weather?

More to the point, is your existence in standard patrol or whatever you
were on when you 'diverted' the 500 nm useless? Do you serve no function
at all except to aimlessly cruise around in your cutter just waiting for
some clown to falsely claim being in distress so you can zoon 500 nm to
make some headlines and get good press?

So now tell me, what didn't get done while you were out watching this
sailboat bounce around in demonstrably safe conditions? I say safe
because it DID make it through didn't it? So the safety isn't
speculative, but demonstrated.

Paul,

The USCG is the ONLY military organization with a full time peace time
mission. Except for NOAA.

So if you are going to bash the USCG for piddling away money and effort
then I think you should get your priorities straight. Start with the
Army, then USAF, then USN, then the USMC, and then use your still unused
energies to vent on the USCG.

But to be honest the USCG is not really a military organization, it
should also be compared to other big organizations. So, how does it
compare to lets say, LAPD?, NYPD? NY Transit? The Washington DC XXX
(anything)? Or pick on corporations. Or the bankers who are supposed
to make loans effectively. Those overpaid Bozzos have made huge
personal fortunes while wrecking my personal 401K.

The point is that all big organizations are relatively ineffective and
inefficient. Why? Because that is human nature, as a group we are (by
definition) just average and that aint all that good. On the scale of
things the USCG are pretty darn good, at least they are devoted to
saving lives, not taking them. If we could just get them totally away
from the military that would be better.

And, uh yes, I am ex-USCG. Four years. Vietnam era. I could not stand
the inefficiencies so I got out. Boy was I disappointed.

While I have nothing to contribute on
most of the posting, I do take strong
issue with the suggestion that USCG
priority missions are dictated by, or
even influenced by, "the US taxpayers."

Chuck

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