Maintaining America’s waterways, all in a day’s work

by Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher D. McLaughlin, D5 Public Affairs

It’s early morning and the air is hot and steamy as the sun burns brightly, high in the cloudless sky. The 24 crewmen aboard the 175-foot Coast Guard buoy tender know today’s going to be a hot one on the river. An array of sunscreen products lay together on a nook outside the buoy deck near a cooler of ice and cold beverages. Sailors wearing hardhats, tinted safety glasses, life jackets and gloves begin milling about, preparing the deck for the day’s work. One worker turns on a radio blasting rock ‘n’ roll music through the silence of the morning. It’s almost time to haul the first of the behemoth steel buoys from the clutches of the river.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter William Tate sails between New Jersey and Pennsylvania along the Delaware River, not far from their home port of Philadelphia. Crewmen gather in a circle on the buoy deck and are given a rundown of the day’s work and a safety reminder. Safety is paramount for this type of work, for hauling an 8,000 pound buoy attached to a crane hook aboard the deck of a ship is a serious matter.

“It’s probably one of the most dangerous things we do in the Coast Guard,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Milton Casey, a crewmember aboard the Coast Guard Cutter William Tate. “We do a lot of risk assessment. The qualification process to work on deck is long and tough.”

The ship slows with a grumbling hum as it nears a buoy. The deck force, tools in hand, line up along the safety chain, the only thing between them and the river, and prepare to attach a rope to the buoy. The command, “prepare to set the buoy,” is given and the crew inches closer to the edge. A rope with a hook on it is thrown onto the buoy while another crewmember attaches another rope. Both lines are drawn in, and the buoy is fastened to the side of the ship. A steel cable from the crane is then hooked to it. A hand signal is given and the crane begins to lift it from the water. The crew clears the deck giving the crane operator an open space to lay the metal monster down, and to prevent anyone from being injured if the unthinkable happens.

“Working buoys is exciting because you got to be on your toes at all times,” said Casey.

Meanwhile, the crew is in the thick of the most dangerous part of the evolution. The buoy is aboard and isn’t secured to the deck of the ship. Only the crane operator has control of the buoy.
“Unlike the buoy deck where it’s fast paced, I don’t want to rush anything,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Alther, a crane operator aboard the Coast Guard Cutter William Tate.

Once the buoy is set on the deck, the crew works to secure it with heavy chains, locked safely in place the crew gets working on it. They scrape algae and muck off of its sides while others climb onto the top to make sure the light, solar panels and batteries are functioning properly.

This is one of four buoys the crew will work on today. The deck force is primarily made up of male crewmembers, but a few women are a part of this team as well.

“It’s hard when you first get here, but now I’m one of the guys,” said Seaman Apprentice Kristen Carrington, a crewmember aboard the cutter. “We have to put in three times the amount of strength because it’s hard lifting stuff. But you get the muscle and you get it quick.”

After the buoy is cleaned and maintained the whole evolution is repeated backwards. The buoy is set free from the hold of the deck and lifted by the crane over the side where it’s lowered gingerly into the river. The buoy’s anchor chain is released from its grip and slides back into the depths of the water. Once the buoy is cut loose, the ship’s engines thrust on to the next one. The buoy drifts by the side of the ship as it’s left to do its job of guiding mariners to safe harbor.

The Coast Guard Cutter William Tate is one of many 175-foot coastal buoy tenders responsible for keeping the nation’s waterways safe and viable. Buoys are guideposts that keep sailors and recreational boaters on safe pathways, and those who tend them do one of the toughest jobs in the Coast Guard. The continuous efforts of the crew of the William Tate to maintain buoys in the Delaware Bay and River are a testament to the time-honored decision made by this nation 156 years ago to maintain aids to navigation.

Chatham Light Turns 200

Cape Cod - The Cape Cod Chronicle has an interesting article about the history of Cape Chatham Light, which turns 200 years old this year.

On Saturday, June 21, there will be a public open house between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., with guided tours of the lighthouse. In case of rain, the open house will take place Sunday at the same time.

Traverse City Aircrew Supports Lighthouse Maintenance on the Maine Coast

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Commander Stu Merrill, the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard’s Air Station Traverse City, along with his crew of Lieutenant Joan Snaith, Aviation Maintenance Technician First Class Joe McGuire and Aviation Electrical Technician Second Class Adam Morehouse, assisted members of the Coast Guard’s Aids to Navigation Team out of Portland, Maine to repair and perform preventive maintenance on lighthouses along the Maine Coast. From April 11-16, they serviced eight lighthouses from Monhegan Island south to Isle of Shoals ensuring the aids are ready for the busy summer season.

A short term reduction in the number of HH-60J rescue helicopters out of the Coast Guard’s Air Station on Cape Cod necessitated the request for the assistance from the Traverse City crew to help with the aids to navigation flight support. Merrill and crew were already scheduled to travel via commercial airline from their home base in Traverse City, Mich. to the Coast Guard Air Station in Atlantic City, N. J. to take custody of a replacement HH-65C for their own facility. So flying up the Eastern Seaboard after taking custody of the Atlantic City helicopter to complete the work on the Maine Coast made easy sense.

It isn’t often that an HH-65C from Traverse City, Mich. makes it all the way to the Maine Coast to provide flight support, but it is all part of the larger integrated Coast Guard support network.

Coast Guard is conducting a Waterway Study of Penobscot Bay and Tributaries

PORTLAND, Maine - The Coast Guard is conducting Waterways Analysis Reviews of Penobscot Bay and Tributaries. The Waterways Analysis Review is used to determine the effectiveness of aids to navigation within the waterways.

The following areas are under review: Isle Au Haut Thorofare, Penebscot Bay Approaches, Isle Au Haut Bay, East Penobscot Bay, Fox Island Thorofare, Carvers Harbor (Vinalhaven), South Approach (Vinalhaven), West Approach (Vinalhaven), East Approach (Vinalhaven), The Reach (Vinalhaven), Hurricane Sound, Laireys Narrows, Leadbetter Narrows, Gilkey Harbor, Castine Harbor, Bagaduce River, Penobscot River, Stockton Harbor, Searsport Harbor, Belfast Harbor, West Penobscot Bay, Inner Bay Ledges, Camden Harbor, Rockport Harbor, Rockland Harbor, Owls Head Bay, Muscle Ridge Channel, Two Bush Channel, Wheelers Bay, Tenants Harbor Approach, and Penobscot Bay and Approaches (Chart 13302).

Mariners and other concerned parties are invited to comment on aids to navigation within these waterways. Any comments or recommended changes to aids to navigation should be received no later than May 15, 2008. Send comments to:

Supervisor U.S. Coast Guard Sector Field Office Southwest Harbor
PO Box 5000, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679
ATTN: ATON Officer

Questionnaires can be obtained by mail by calling 207-244-4234

Coast Guard conducting waterway study of Point Judith Harbor of Refuge and pond

RHODE ISLAND - The U.S. Coast Guard is conducting Waterways Analysis and Management System (WAMS) review of Point Judith Harbor of Refuge. The WAMS review is used to determine the effectiveness of aids to navigation within the waterways.

The following areas will be reviewed:
1) Point Judith Harbor of Refuge
2) Point Judith Pond.

The data gathered in the analysis will be used to determine the need for altering or modifying the channel and hazard markings. The last survey for Point Judith Harbor was completed in April 1992.

Mariners, boaters and other concerned parties are invited to comment on these waterways by:

1. Attending a public meeting at Coast Guard Station Point Judith (1470 Ocean Rd., Narragansett, RI 02882) on May 8, 2008 from 6 - 8 p.m., and/or
2. Completing a survey available at http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/portDirectory.do?tabId=1&cotpId=44.

Completed surveys should be emailed, faxed, or mailed to the address below by May 15, 2008.

United States Coast Guard
Sector Southeastern New England
Waterways Division
20 Risho Ave
East Providence, RI 02914
ATTN: LCDR Danzy
Fax: 401.435.2399
Email: Alford.L.Danzy@uscg.mil

Coast Guard Uses Helicopter to Maintain Aids to Navigation - Video

ELFIN COVE, Alaska- Coast Guard Air Station Sitka and aids to navigation technicians from the Coast Guard Cutter Maple placed new batteries into a remote maritime aid to navigation located on a rigid cliff at Point Lavinia, three miles north of Elfin Cove.

The lighted aid to navigation marker is unreachable by boat. Technicians were hoisted down from the Air Station Sitka helicopter at an elevation of more than 300 feet.

The video shows Petty Officers 3rd Class Nathan Bush and Michael Klosterman being hoisted down to the remote cliff by Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Olmstead. The video was shot by Chief Petty Officer Barry Lane.

Coast Issues Update on Sanibel Island Lighthouse Transfer

SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. - The Coast Guard today issued an update on the status of the ownership of the Sanibel Island Light, located at 1 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel Island, in Lee County, Fla.

The site occupies approximately 45 acres of land on the east end of Sanibel Island and was set aside for lighthouse purposes by an executive order dated December 19, 1883. Sanibel Island Light was the first lighthouse erected on Florida’s east coast north of Key West. It was first lit in 1885 and was automated in 1949.

In 1995, the Coast Guard issued an out-grant to the City of Sanibel, granting them use of the property for public recreation, as well as responsibility for preserving and maintaining the grounds and improvements, with the exception of the optic which the Coast Guard continues to maintain.

In October 2000, the Coast Guard determined the land to be excess to its needs and, since the land was reserved from the Public Domain, the Coast Guard relinquished it to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the Department of the Interior responsible for management of Public Domain lands.

In 2004 the BLM accepted an application from the City of Sanibel to take custody of the Sanibel Island Light property, subject to the right of the Coast Guard to maintain the optic. However, before the transfer could take place an environmental clean-up was required, and it was completed last year. The transfer is moving forward, and the BLM anticipates the transfer will occur in the Fall 2008.

“We understand how important the Sanibel Island Light is to the local community and will do all we can to ensure the transfer of this regional icon in a timely manner,” says BLM Field Manager Bruce Dawson.

The Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) in St. Petersburg, Fla., continues to maintain the light’s optic, as it is still a functioning, high-priority aid to navigation in the area. The ANT regularly responds to discrepancies with the Sanibel Island Light, has provided tours of the lighthouse and has assisted the city in other areas associated with the light. The ANT is also looking to replace the storm pane windows that house the lantern atop the light.

“We would like to assure Sanibel Island residents, local mariners and lighthouse enthusiasts that we will continue to maintain the light,” said Capt. Joseph Servidio, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. “The lighthouse has served for more than 120 years as a beacon for safe navigation, and the Coast Guard will continue to see that this piece of Florida history shines brightly.”

Coast Guard to Make Navigational Aid Changes in Mathews County, Va.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Due to continued shoaling in the Queens Creek Channel, which is located in Mathews County off the Piankatank River, the Coast Guard is preparing to change the aids to navigation marking this federal navigation project to warning daybeacons.

Numerous changes in the location and types of aids-to-navigation have assisted in keeping the waterway open for the past several years. A condition survey conducted in November 2007 indicated a least depth of 1.7 feet. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team Milford Haven, based in Hudgins, Va., attempted to relocate aids to mark best water, but can no longer safely mark the channel.

As a result the Coast Guard will remove two buoys and change ten additional lateral aids to navigation to non-lateral warning day beacons in order to warn the waterway users of the shoaling in the waterway. Advance notice of these changes has been published in the Local Notice to Mariners.

Under the United States Code of Federal Regulations (14 USC 2), the Coast Guard shall develop, maintain, establish, and operate, with due regard for the requirements of national defense, aids to maritime navigation for promotion of safety on and over the high seas and waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

In addition, C.F.R. (14 USC 81), states that in order to aid navigation and prevent disasters, collisions, or wrecks, the Coast Guard may establish, maintain, and operate aids to maritime navigation required to serve the needs of the Armed Forces or of the commerce of the United States.