Coast Guard SAR

[AIREDALE]

vftb.
     There's a site that you can go to if any of you Coasties are interested in getting aore information about Coast Guard Aviation History. It's a fairly long thing but very interesting. This is the era I was involved in. We were transitioning from recip engines to jets.
 Try this:
  http://uscgaviationhistory.aoptero.org/
      There is a piece in there about Lt. Jack Rittichier USCG who flew "Jolly Green Giants" in a joint USCG/USAF search an rescue group. This is the same pilot you referred to in your post. I really urge you guys to ta least take a peek at this site. Lots of unknown things about Coast Guard Aviation.
                                                         AIREDALE
                                                                         

[Crazy Horse]

All SAR is great regardless of service. I know who is called when it is long range.............and that is the USAF. I spent four years working at the 347th Rescue Wing and they were called on a great bit for SAR. Sometimes they were called because the CG was overwhelmed, sometimes because of their range, sometimes I have no idea why.

All I know is that everyone in the SAR, CSAR areana are good at what they do.

[Thor]

Crazy Horse, most of the time that we were tasked with local SAR ops was because the CG was already on missions or their aircraft were down for maintenance. I suppose I just get a little jealous because the CG gets a ton of recognition when it comes to SAR missions, where I've only EVER seen on TV article on Navy SAR. (Of course, it was folks from HC-1 and was more about Combat SAR)

[BuoyJumper]

JUNEAU, Alaska - The Coast Guard Auxiliary rescued 13 people from a life raft after the 38-foot charter vessel Halibut Endeavor capsized near Homer Wednesday. The Coast Guard Cutter Roanoke Island and the Coast Guard Auxiliary were deployed to the scene. The vessel capsized at 4:41 p.m. after all 13 passengers were transferred to a life raft. The Auxiliary arrived on scene at 4:44 p.m. and loaded the crew and passengers, who were then transferred to the Roanoke Island. The Roanoke Island is a 110-foot patrol boat based in Homer, Alaska.  The cause of the vessel Halibut Endeavor taking on water is unknown at this time.

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[BuoyJumper]

(AP) May 14, 2007, Juneau, Alaska:  A cruise ship ran aground off the Alaska coast early Monday, and it was taking on water as its passengers were transferred to nearby ships, Coast Guard officials said. The company that operates the Empress of the North cruise ship said all the passengers have been safely removed by the Coast Guard cutter Liberty and the ship is on its way back to Juneau under its own power.



EMPRESS OF THE NORTH STORY

[JACoastie]

Best SAR? Personally if it was me or my family in need I wouldn't give a damn if it was Popeye the Sailor or Gilligan and the Skipper who got to me as long as they got there "in time".

[Thor]

JAC, I never suggested that Coast Guard SAR was better than the Navy SAR folks. I will agree with you, though. It's just that from what I see on the TV, the Coasties get a hell of a lot of more "air time", while the Navy folks go virtually unrecognized.

[BuoyJumper]

JAC, I never suggested that Coast Guard SAR was better than the Navy SAR folks. I will agree with you, though. It's just that from what I see on the TV, the Coasties get a hell of a lot of more "air time", while the Navy folks go virtually unrecognized.

Thor, I have really taken the time to look all over the net to try and find video or photos of Navy SAR and I know the Navy helps the CG out quite often especially when it is something long-range out to sea type SAR.  But seriously the Dept of the Navy has been very lax in informing the public about Navy SAR Ops.  Too bad because you guys do it just as well as us.  The only thing I have found is a training video.  If you or any of the Navy guys and gals know where I can find photos or video of Navy SAR let me know as I would love to post them here.   

[Thor]

JAC, I never suggested that Coast Guard SAR was better than the Navy SAR folks. I will agree with you, though. It's just that from what I see on the TV, the Coasties get a hell of a lot of more "air time", while the Navy folks go virtually unrecognized.

Thor, I have really taken the time to look all over the net to try and find video or photos of Navy SAR and I know the Navy helps the CG out quite often expecially when it is something long-range out to sea type SAR.  But seriously the Dept of the Navy has been very lax in informing the public about Navy SAR Ops.  Too bad because you guys do it just as well as us.  The only thing I have found is a training video.  If you or any of the Navy guys and gals know where I can find photos or video of Navy SAR let me know as I would love to post them here.   

Buoy, you could be right that the Navy PAO is dropping the ball. The only Navy SAR thing I've seen on TV was on either the History Channel or the Discovery channel. It was about Navy Combat SAR and had several of my former officers in it.

[JACoastie]

Didn't "The Perfect Storm" have the USN doing the long range SAR?

[Thor]

I'm not sure. Perhaps one of their ships. One of the helicopter scenes were Air Force, Army or some Natl Guard.

[LTGunner]

Didn't "The Perfect Storm" have the USN doing the long range SAR?

JAC,

In the book The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, a Air National Guard H-60 out of Suffolk Air Base in Westhampton Beach, Long Island met up with a C-130 tanker. They flew in tandem 250 miles off the Jersey shore to rescue a Japanese sailor aboard his sailboat.  The onboard PJs were going to attempt a rescue. The distance required in-air refueling; multiple attempts were made to refuel in the midst of the storm with no joy.  It was dark, high winds and the pilot was using night vision goggles.  Then the C-130 had to shut down one of his four engines due to an oil pressure reading.  Then there’s a problem with the preferred left refueling drogue and the H-60 pilot has to shift to the less than desirable right side, again with no joy.  After an exhaustive attempt to refuel, the pilot decides to ditch.  That’s when the story really gets good and the USCGC TAMAROA comes in to save the day.  The H-60 pilot heroically got his crew off, got it away from the jump point and went down with the aircraft.  He did what he could to take care of his crew and co-pilot first before ditching.

I read the book first, and then saw the move.  As usual, the book had more detail and was a GREAT read. 

[Crazy Horse]

LT you are correct. It was an HH-60 Pavehawk in the book and movie from the USAF....(guard, reserve) The USAF provides alot of long range SAR.

[BuoyJumper]

Sending out an SOS ... USCG SAR VIDEO (Click Here)

[BuoyJumper]

Exciting Rescue today back in my old stomping grounds, Point Pleasant, N.J.


POINT PLEASANT BEACH — The crew of the Captain Joe was in rough seas, about 30 miles off the coast of
Point Pleasant Beach, when ten foot waves came up over the bow of the boat and flooded the engine room, authorities said.


Hear the voice transmissions between the Cpt Joe and CGSTA Atlantic City

The 97-foot commercial fishing boat began taking on water Wednesday night. A crewman made a mayday call to the U.S. Coast Guard, then the four fishermen abandoned the sinking ship, authorities said.

Two helicopter rescue crews launched from the Air Station in Atlantic City and headed toward Ocean County to begin their search in the darkness.

When the Coast Guard reached the area off the coast of Point Pleasant, there was no boat and no debris field -- nothing to indicate the 97-foot vessel was ever there.

But because the fishing boat had been equipped with technical gear that allowed the rescue crews to narrow their search field, they were able to zero in on the four men, who sent up flares from their life raft when they spotted the helicopters.

Then the hands-on rescue work began. The swimmers were lowered into the rough seas. They swam to the raft, pulled the men into the water, and swam back with the survivors in tow, so they could be hoisted into the helicopters.

"Everything worked really well on that rescue,'' said Coast Guard Lt. Jim Kenshalo.

The helicopter crews rescued William Albert, William Albert, Jr., Roy Rogers and Ron Cox, who were treated and released at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. The hometowns of the men were not available.

Around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard received a mayday call from a crewman aboard the Captain Joe, who reported the boat was taking on water and the men were going to abandon ship.

The fishermen put on their immersion suits -- cold-water survival suits -- that help prevent hypothermia. Within ten minutes, they were on the raft in the 40-degree water and the boat was sinking, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class, Christopher McLaughlin, a spokesman for the agency.

The Coast Guard launched two helicopters, with two pilots, a mechanic and a swimmer aboard each.

The fishermen had an "automated identification system transponder" aboard their boat. While that transponder system sunk with the Captain Joe, the signals it gave out before the vessel went down helped the rescue crews find the boat's last position, said McLaughlin.

The fishermen also had an "emergency position indicating radio beacon,'' which is either portable or attached to a life raft, and is used to signal maritime distress, said McLaughlin.

The fishermen turned that on, and it sent more signals to the Coast Guard, so the rescue crews could key in on their location.

"The (fishing) crew had the proper equipment and did everything right,'' said McLaughlin. "That's why we found them so quickly.''

When the rescue crews arrived on scene, they wore night vision goggles as they scanned the waters, searching for the fishermen.

"One of the eeriest things about it, was there was nothing floating,'' Kenshalo said.
"There was no debris. There was no debris field that we could see (Wednesday) night. Those are the things you normally look for.''

The fishermen spotted the helicopters and they sent up flares. The men also wore strobe lights, strapped to their chests with Velcro, to help the crews find them in the dark.

Once they found the men, the helicopters hovered some 50 to 75 yards away from the life raft, while the swimmers dropped down into the 10-foot high waves, Kenshalo said.

The helicopters had to stay a safe distance from the survivors because the rotorwash -- the winds created by the helicopters' rotors -- are so strong that they can flip a life raft over.

But that also meant the rescuers had to swim that 50 to 75 yards to the life raft, then swim back with each of the fishermen in tow.

"They were swimming through pretty big seas, and had a long way to go on each trip,'' Kenshalo said.

By 9:50 p.m., the fishermen were being hoisted into the helicopters -- three into the first, and the fourth fishermen, along with the two Coast Guard swimmers, into the second one piloted by Kenshalo.

The crews ferried the fishermen to the hospital, where they were treated and released.

The Captain Joe, homeported in Point Pleasant, sank about 30 miles off the shore.