Active Duty Coasties I'm Confused .. Harry Claiborne Gets New Radar?

[BuoyJumper]

Photo Release
Date: September 15, 2008
CG District 8

Cutter Harry Claiborne Gets New Radar.

 
GALVESTON, TX. - A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City transports a radar that was delivered for the Coast Guard Cutter Harry Claiborne Sept. 18, 2008.  The Cutter Claiborne had been limited in its ability to set buoys offshore before receiving the new radar.  (U.S. Coast Guard photos/ Petty Officer Patrick D. Kelley)

 
The crew of Coast Guard Sector Field Office Galveston transports a radar that was delivered via helicopter for the Coast Guard Cutter Harry Claiborne Sept. 18, 2008.  The Cutter Claiborne had been limited in its ability to set buoys offshore before receiving the new radar.



I came across these photos of AIRSTA Elizabeth City delivering a radar unit for the cutter Harry Claiborne in the CG Visual Image Library this morning.  Here is what I don't get and please excuse my ignorance.  I hope someone on active duty can help me out here: 

The Coast Guard captions on the photo say, "The Cutter Claiborne had been limited in its ability to set buoys offshore before receiving the new radar".  I thought in addition to already having radar the new 175s and 225s primary tool for setting buoys were their state-of-the-art GPS units.  You need to have both radar and GPS?  I thought all you had to do with these GPS units is plug in the co-ordinates and the computer would put the ship right where it needed to be to set the buoy on station. 

NOTE:  This thread will be merged into CG News at a later date.

[mike220]

My guess would be the Claiborne's radar was damaged in Ike and they were getting a replacement.

Who really knows though. 

[EX-CG-GM]

I was curious about the ship's name, so I "Googled" it.  At first I thought it might be named after this guy:

Harry Eugene Claiborne (July 5, 1917 – January 19, 2004) was a United States district court judge who was impeached for tax evasion. He was only the fifth person in U.S. history to be removed from office through impeachment by the U.S. Congress, and the first since Halsted Ritter in 1936.
Harry E. Claiborne was impeached by the United States House of Representatives on July 22, 1986, on two charges of tax evasion and one charge of bringing disrepute to the federal judiciary. He was convicted by the U.S. Senate on October 9, 1986, removing him from office.

But it turns out the was another Harry Claiborne that was a lighthouse keeper-

Harry C. Claiborne (1859-1918) was an American lighthouse keeper. A native of New Orleans, he began his career as assistant keeper of the Southwest Pass Light in Louisiana in 1887; in 1889 he was made head keeper of the Pass a l'Outre Light. In 1895 he was transferred to the Bolivar Point Light near Galveston, Texas. He was on duty when the Galveston Hurricane hit the station on September 8, 1900. 125 people eventually took refuge inside the light tower, including Claiborne's family and that of the assistant keeper; Claiborne oversaw their care until further help was forthcoming. In 1915, he again cared for 50 hurricane refugees who took shelter in the tower.

Claiborne died on duty at the Bolivar Point station in 1918. A USCG Coastal Buoy Tender WLM-561 based in Galveston, Texas is named after him

Whew, had me worried for a second!

[BuoyJumper]

But it turns out the was another Harry Claiborne that was a lighthouse keeper-

Harry C. Claiborne (1859-1918) was an American lighthouse keeper. A native of New Orleans, he began his career as assistant keeper of the Southwest Pass Light in Louisiana in 1887; in 1889 he was made head keeper of the Pass a l'Outre Light. In 1895 he was transferred to the Bolivar Point Light near Galveston, Texas. He was on duty when the Galveston Hurricane hit the station on September 8, 1900. 125 people eventually took refuge inside the light tower, including Claiborne's family and that of the assistant keeper; Claiborne oversaw their care until further help was forthcoming. In 1915, he again cared for 50 hurricane refugees who took shelter in the tower.

Claiborne died on duty at the Bolivar Point station in 1918. A USCG Coastal Buoy Tender WLM-561 based in Galveston, Texas is named after him

Whew, had me worried for a second!

Stan ... glad you figured it out.  Just an FYI .. the new 175 WLMs are called the "Keeper Class" because they are all named in honor of former lighthouse keepers.

[EX-CG-GM]

Stan ... glad you figured it out.  Just an FYI .. the new 175 WLMs are called the "Keeper Class" because they are all named in honor of former lighthouse keepers.

Oh.  I thought it was because they worked well enough that the CG decided to "keep" them.      

OK, the real truth is I didn't know that.   Glad they are named after lighthouse keepers, as opposed to crooked politicians!   

[cuttercoasty]

The HC actually just got the old radar off my ship.  Theirs was damaged, and we were going through a  new radar install.  The ET1 got a call for him to crate our old one up, and it was flown down to the HC last week.

[CGRDCS]

April,

Thanks.  Your post clears up a lot. , except was yours damaged?   I don't receall replacing radars, just to have a new system.  If I may ask, just what was replaced.  The,  antenna, the main box or boxes, of the radar scope/repeaters on the bridge.  ?  It's like swapping out main motors.  With new ships, unless there is a problem, it's not done usually, in my experience

Noisy, little cuss, ain't I.   


Hawk

[BuoyJumper]

Thanks April .. I appreciate the response and it does answer
the question as to why the WLM needed radar flown in.  This
interview with BM3 Lee Gutierrez on how the Harry Claiborne
rode out Ike at anchor provides us some insight on how the
radar may have been damaged by the storm.