The Day in Coast Guard History, January 3

Based on the Coast Guard Historian’s timeline, https://www.history.uscg.mil/research/chronology/
With inspiration from Mike Kelso

January 3

1882  The watch at Station No. 13, Second District, Massachusetts, reported at about 4 p.m., the collision of two schooners, two and a half miles east southeast of the station. Launching the surfboat, the crew proceeded to the vessels. The smaller vessel, the British schooner Dart, was boarded first. She was out from Saint John, NB and bound for New York with a cargo of lumber and a crew of four persons. The vessel was badly damaged, having her bowsprit, jib boom, and headgear carried away. The life-saving crew at once set to work. They cleared away the wreck and weighed her anchor, which had been let go in the collision. By this time, the steamer Hercules, of Philadelphia had come alongside and Dart’s master arranged for a tow to Vineyard Haven. The life-saving crew ran the hawser from the schooner to the steamer and sent them on their way. The other schooner, in the meantime, had sailed away.

CDR Frank Erickson, USCG, the first US Naval Aviation helicopter pilot.

1944  CDR Frank Erickson received an official commendation after he piloted a Sikorsky HNS-1 helicopter that carried two cases of blood plasma lashed to the helicopter’s floats from New York City to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, for the treatment of Navy crewmen of the Navy destroyer USS Turner, which had exploded and burned off New York harbor.  Having performed that heroic deed in violent winds and snow that grounded all other aircraft Erickson became the first pilot in the world to fly a helicopter under such conditions.  It was also the first “lifesaving flight” ever performed by a helicopter.

2003  CGC Boutwell departed Alameda in preparation for supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  The cutter began operations in the Arabian Gulf on February 14, 2003.  Prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, her crew conducted maritime interception boardings to enforce U.N. sanctions against Iraq.  At the outbreak of hostilities and throughout the conflict, she operated in the strategically critical and politically sensitive Khawr Abd Allah and Shaat Al Arab Waterways, providing force protection to the massive coalition fleet, securing Iraqi oil terminals, and preventing the movement of weapons, personnel, or equipment by Saddam Hussein’s regime or other guerilla or terrorist forces.

The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) enjoys brief ice liberty on the frozen Bering Sea in below freezing temperatures, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. The 45-year-old heavy icebreaker is underway to project power and support national security objectives throughout Alaskan waters and into the Arctic, including along the Maritime Boundary Line between the United States and Russia. U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham From USCGC Polar Star Facebook

2014  CGC Polar Star received a request from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on January 3, 2014 to assist the Russian-flagged Akademik Shokalskiy and Chinese-flagged Xue Long, reportedly ice-bound in the Antarctic.  The Russian and Chinese governments also requested assistance from the United States.  After resupplying in Sydney, Polar Star was en route to the stranded vessels on January 4th, enduring 50 knot winds, 20 foot seas and 40 degree rolls. The Coast Guard icebreaker left its homeport of Seattle in December 2013 to support Operation Deep Freeze. The ship’s mission was to break a channel through the sea ice of McMurdo Sound to allow the resupply and refueling of the U.S. Antarctic Program’s McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole stations.  Polar Star was released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority from SAR duties on January 7, 2014, following confirmation that both stricken vessels were free from the Antarctic ice due to a favorable change in wind conditions. The Coast Guard Pacific Area command center received confirmation from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority that both ships broke through the heavy ice, rendering assistance from the Polar Star no longer necessary.

Leave a comment