US Coast Guard Cutter SPAR conducts outreach with residents of Old Harbor, Alaska

Santa gives a present to a student in Old Harbor, Alaska, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. The Coast Guard Cutter SPAR delivers Santa and his elves to Old Harbor annually and prior to the SPAR the now decommissioned Coast Guard Cutter Firebush delivered Santa to Old Harbor. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg.

KODIAK, Alaska — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR brought Santa Clause, presents and a career fair to residents and students of Old Harbor, Alaska Dec. 4.

As part of the annual Santa to the Villages event, crewmembers aboard the SPAR, along with Santa Clause and his elves, carried clothing, books and other presents through the village of Old Harbor where they were greeted by children and parents in the Old Harbor High School gymnasium.

“Bringing Santa to the Village of Old Harbor is a great way to continue the tradition of Coast Guard cutters, and previously Revenue Service cutters, visiting and delivering supplies to Alaskan villages,” said Lt. Gordon Hood, executive officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR. “There's nothing like an early visit from the Santa himself to bring holiday cheer.”

During the gift-giving event, the children of Old Harbor were called up by age,  and one-by-one they sat on Santa’s lap to receive a wrapped present. Then they chose one book and a set of hand-knitted scarves, hats and mittens with the elves.

“Every year, the crew of the SPAR brings a sense of unity to the community of Old Harbor, as well as the Christmas spirit for the children and families,” said Jim Cedeo, the Old Harbor public safety officer. “When the SPAR comes through, it really is a big cornerstone of our holiday season.”

The crew of the SPAR also hosted a career fair aboard the cutter for middle school and high school students. The crew established different stations aboard the cutter where students learned about the Coast Guard’s roles, missions and careers along with vocational opportunities outside of the village. The vocations discussed included becoming a welder, an electrician, a mechanic and a nursing assistant.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR marches with Santa, elves and presents through the village of Old Harbor, Alaska, Tuesday, Dec. 04, 2012.   U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg.

“We do all of these jobs and more aboard the ship and we're able to offer insight about vocations that are available both in the Coast Guard and in the civilian workforce,” said Hood.

“The kids are still talking about what they saw aboard the ship,” said Cedeo. “It is good that they can see something else outside of the village, something that they can see as a future career field. It really is a wonderful thing, and it gives them hope.”

The crew of the SPAR crew has been involved in the Santa to the Villages trips since 2003.

Unified Command Completes Tank Vessel Lift on Staten Island.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response Unified Command lift and transport the tank vessel John B. Caddell, Tuesday, from Front Street in Staten Island, removing the pollution threat from the environment.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Sara Romero.

Donjon Marine’s Chesapeake 1000 lifted the Caddell off the shoreline into the water to be checked for seaworthiness and then prepared for transport to the awaiting marine facility.  The tanker was transported to a beach slip operated by Donjon Marine.

The tank vessel John B. Caddell is a 184-foot tanker ship that washed up on Staten Island as a result of high winds and floodwaters from Hurricane Sandy. The Caddell posed both an environmental and navigational threat to the New York waterways.

The Coast Guard worked with New York City Sheriff’s Department, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers and Donjon Marine to remove the tanker and eliminate the pollution threat.

“This was a large and complex undertaking where safety was our top concern.  We collaborated with our port partners to get the vessel safely moved from the grounded location to an awaiting maritime facility in order to remove the pollution threat from the environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Tedd Hutley, Deputy Incident Commander for the Hurricane Sandy Pollution Response Unified Command, “Everyone was fully engaged to complete the mission safely.”

The Unified Command worked with the New York Police Department to coordinate street closures to maintain public safety.

Tall Ship USCGC Eagle

BALTIMORE - The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, America's Tall Ship, passes the Domino Sugar plant as it departs the Baltimore Harbor, June 17, 2012, to continue its participation in OpSail 2012. Eagle is an 1,800-ton steel hull, three-masted sailing ship with more than 21,000 square-feet of sail and more than five miles of rigging. The 295-foot Eagle is the only active commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. military service and is homeported at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew S. Masaschi.

Coast Guard, The Florida Aquarium release rehabilitated sea turtle back into the wild

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Coast Guard crewmembers from Station St. Petersburg and members of The Florida Aquarium released a rehabilitated Loggerhead sea turtle back into the wild, Monday.

The crewmembers rescued the injured Loggerhead sea turtle from the path of oncoming traffic in the middle of Egmont Channel, June 27, 2012.

The turtle, now named 'Larry the Loggerhead' by the boatcrew, was safely transferred to The Florida Aquarium in Tampa where she was rehabilitated and deemed healthy to be released.

To read more about the initial rescue, click here.

Mackinaw arrives in Chicago with 1,300 Christmas trees.

CHICAGO — The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, serving as this year’s Christmas Ship, arrives at Navy Pier carrying 1,300 Christmas from northern Michigan for deserving families in the Chicago area, Nov. 30, 2012.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the original Christmas Ship, the Rouse Simmons, off of Two Rivers, Wis., during a winter storm.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Alan Haraf






CHICAGO — Petty Officer 1st Class Steve Brown (left) and Petty Officer 2nd Class Zach Emery, of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, arrange one of the 1,300 Christmas trees brought to Chicago for distribution to deserving families, Nov. 30, 2012.

The Mackinaw is serving as this year’s Christmas Ship on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Rouse Simmons, the original Christmas Ship, off of Two Rivers, Wis.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Alan Haraf

CHICAGO — Seaman Miles Beck (left) and Petty Officer 2nd Class Zack Emery of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, arrange one of the 1,300 Christmas trees brought to Chicago for distribution to deserving families, Nov. 30, 2012.

The Mackinaw is serving as this year’s Christmas Ship on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Rouse Simmons, the original Christmas Ship, off of Two Rivers, Wis.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Alan Haraf

CHICAGO — A mountain of Christmas trees, for distribution to deserving families in the Chicago area, takes shape on the deck on the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, Nov. 30, 2012.

The Mackinaw is serving as this year’s Christmas Ship on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Rouse Simmons, the original Christmas Ship, off of Two Rivers, Wis.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Petty Officer Alan Haraf

Coast Guard Recognizes Good Samaritans For Heroic Actions

From left to right: Capt. Joe Vojvodich, Commander, Sector Long Island Sound, John Bologna, Martin Safer, and Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Lathrop, Officer-in-Charge, Station Jones Beach, stand for a photo, displaying the Certificate of Merit Public Service Award. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Sarah Janaro.

JONES BEACH, N.Y. – Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound and Coast Guard Station Jones Beach recognized Martin Safer and John Bologna for their performance in rescuing five persons from the Atlantic Ocean.

Safer and Bologna were boating in a 21-foot pleasure craft two miles south of Atlantic Beach, N.Y., on Sept. 22, 2012, when they saw a nearby vessel capsize, launching its passengers into the water.  Safer and Bologna proceeded to the location and immediately rescued five people from the water.  Upon retrieving the fifth individual, they were informed that a sixth person was trapped under the hull.  They called emergency services and shortly after, the New York Police Department divers were on scene to rescue the sixth person.

“It takes a community of mariners, not just the Coast Guard and other local first responders, to ensure that we have confidence in our waterways.  I cannot emphasize enough my appreciation of capable, willing Good Samarians like Mr. Safer and Mr. Bologna for their contributions to the well-being of our maritime communities and public at large,” said Capt. Joe Vojvodich, Commander, Sector Long Island Sound. 

The two men were presented the Certificate of Merit Public Service Award at Station Jones Beach by Captain Vojvodich and Master Chief Petty Officer Terry Lathrop, officer in charge of Station Jones Beach, N.Y.

“Without the selfless acts, ingenuity, and the ability to overcome obstacles displayed by Mr. Safer and Mr. Bologna, the persons struggling to stay afloat in the treacherous ocean waters would have easily succumbed to exhaustion and drowned,” said Lathrop.

The Certificate of Merit Public Service Award is granted to private individuals that displayed initiative in advancing one or more of the Coast Guard’s missions or made a significant effort that resulted in the completion of an endeavor that is significantly beneficial to one or more of the Coast Guard’s missions or statutory responsibilities as to require a tangible expression of appreciation.

Cutter Mackinaw returning to Chicago during historic 100th anniversary of sinking of Rouse Simmons

CHICAGO – The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, serving as this year’s Christmas Ship and loaded with 1,300 Christmas trees, is scheduled to return to Chicago Friday at 8 a.m., for a two-day event depicting what was an annual Chicago tradition in the early 1900s.    

The re-enactment by the Mackinaw and Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee continues a treasured piece of Chicago’s maritime tradition.

The schooner Rouse Simmons was the original Christmas Ship that came to Chicago from Michigan for more than 30 years with fresh evergreens and wreaths for the holiday season during the early 1900s. On Nov. 23, 1912, while transiting from Michigan, the Rouse Simmons was lost in a storm and sank with a crew of 16 between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, Wis.

The 1,300 Christmas trees, purchased byChicago’s Christmas Ship Committee, will be offloaded on Saturday morning by members of the Coast Guard and local youth volunteers including the Sea Cadets, Venture Crews, Sea Explorer Scouts and the Young Marines, following a brief, public ceremony beginning at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will take place at the west end of Navy Pier near the Captain at the Helm Statue. The first three trees will be presented to three deserving families. The remaining trees will then be loaded onto trucks for distribution to more than 1,000 deserving families throughout Chicago, designated by Ada S. McKinley Community Services.

The ceremony will also include a Coast Guard color guard; a Coast Guard rifle squad; a wreath laying at the Captain at the Helm Statue by Capt. Dave Truitt and the president of Chicago Shipmasters; a wreath drop and fly-over by a Coast Guard helicopter; and music by the Taft High School Choir.

During its transit to Chicago this year, the crew of the Mackinaw will drop a wreath into the waters near the resting place of the Rouse Simmons, which was located in 1971.

Chicago’s boating community has been re-enacting the days of the Rouse Simmons’ landing in Chicago for the past 12 years. Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee is comprised of and supported by all facets of the Chicago’s boating community including: the International Shipmasters’ Association; Chicago Marine Heritage Society; the Navy League of the United States; Chicago yacht clubs; Friends of the Marine Community; Coast Guard Auxiliary; the Chicago Yachting Association and others.  

Chicago’s Christmas Ship Committee will also host educational programs for local area schools aboard the Mackinaw on Friday. More than 300 children from the Chicago area will learn about the role of the Coast Guard, the Christmas Ship tradition, observe a Sea Partners ecology presentation, and experience a ship tour by members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.  Members of the Mackinaw’s crew and volunteers from Chicago’s boating community will decorate the ship for the Christmas Ship event.

The Mackinaw, homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., was commissioned in June 2006 and has a crew of 60. It is one of the Coast Guard’s most technologically advanced multi-missioned cutters.

In addition to search-and-rescue and maritime law enforcement operations, this charitable activity takes place in conjunction with scheduled aids to navigation operations in the southern region of Lake Michigan to remove buoys for winter maintenance and replacement with winter marks to protect them from ice damage. Additionally, regular underway crew training and drills are being conducted in preparation for the ship’s primary winter mission of ice breaking to keep commerce moving through the Great Lakes.

Coast Guard participates in Wisconsin holiday festivities

Two Rivers, Wisconsin – The crew at Coast Guard Station/Aids-to-Navigation Team Two Rivers offloaded Christmas trees at the Roger’s Street Fishing Village and participated in the city’s annual Holiday Parade Saturday.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the original Christmas Ship, the schooner Rouse Simmons, a crew from STANT Two Rivers brought 15 evergreen trees on one of the unit's 26-foot Trailerable-Aids-to-Navigation-Boats as part of a re-enactment.

The schooner Rouse Simmons carried Christmas trees and wreaths from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Chicago for more than 30 years until Nov. 23, 1912, when it sank off the coast of Wisconsin between Kewaunee and Two Rivers.

For two days, the citizens of Two Rivers paid tribute to the sinking of the Christmas Ship. The community presented a musical, re-enacted the transiting of the Rouse Simmons, and honored George Sogge, captain of the Two Rivers Life-Saving Station.

Three rescued from yacht fire off Miami Beach, Fla.

MIAMI — Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews responded to a boat fire a mile off of Miami Beach, Fla., Saturday morning.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue watchstanders at Sector Miami received a call around 10 a.m. from Coast Guard Cutter Sitkinak stating they were in the process of boarding a vessel when the 80-foot motor yacht Bliss caught on fire before the boarding commended.

The Coast Guard responded immediately by issuing an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and launching a boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Miami Beach.

Three people aboard the vessel jumped into the water and were safely rescued by the cutter Sitkinak smallboat crew.

The station boatcrews arrived on scene along with Fire Boat-one from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, verified there were no other people aboard the vessel Bliss and fully extinguished the vessel.

The vessel is partially submerged and commercial salvage is being arranged to resurface the boat and tow it to shore.

There were no reported medical concerns with the three people aboard the vessel Bliss.

The Sitkinak is a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Miami.

Coast Guard crew set to load 1,300 Christmas trees onto Mackinaw for historic transit to Chicago

Cheboygan, Michigan – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw is scheduled to load 1,300 Christmas trees onto the ship at its homeport of Cheboygan, Michigan, on Tuesday in preparation for the 2012 Christmas Ship celebration.

The trees will then be transported aboard Mackinaw to Chicago, where they will be offloaded during a special two-day ceremony and then delivered to needy families.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the wreck of the schooner Rouse Simmons, the original Christmas Ship, which sank between Kewaunee and Two Rivers, Wisconsin, on Nov. 23, 1912 in a storm during its transit to Chicago.

To mark this anniversary, a special collection of 100 trees from an area outside of Two Rivers, where the Rouse Simmons launched, are set to be included.

During the transit to Chicago, the crew of Mackinaw will toss a wreath into Lake Michigan near the resting place of the Rouse Simmons.

"The crew and I are excited to participate in this year’s Christmas Ship activities, especially considering the significance of the 100th anniversary,” said Cmdr. Michael Davanzo, the ship’s commanding officer.

For further information, please contact Ensign Katie Braynard at 231-597-2030.

Developing Story: Coast Guard to conduct investigation into HMS Bounty sinking

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Rear Adm. Steven Ratti, the Coast Guard 5th District commander, ordered a district formal investigation Thursday to determine the cause of the sinking of the Tall Ship Bounty, a three-masted sailing ship, 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday, which resulted in the death of one crewmember, and one crewmember who remains missing.

A district formal investigation consists of a Coast Guard investigating officer who will receive evidence and testimony using formal rules and procedures and is convened when the information to be derived has considerable regional significance, or may indicate vessel class problems or areas of technical importance.