JUST THINKING ABOUT....

 54 years ago, I was a seaman apprentice newly assigned to an old Coast Guard Cutter. At 19 years old, I was on the Deck Force still learning the ropes.in 1967, we were charged with search and rescue and keeping a watchful eye on Russian ships right off our coast. This was the CGC TAMAROA, an old, old

 sea going tug that somehow managed to get us

 home after every patrol. The above photo was taken from the flying bridge in heavy seas.

Below is me relaxing on solid ground followed by a photo of the wheel house where I spent many hours steering the TAMROA through some sporty weather. Next is a photo I took of us towing the Mackinac down to be decommissioned.

Then a side view of the old girl in moderate seas. The last photo was when she was sunk as a reef off Cape May. There were a lot of heavy hearts that day.

She was an old cutter but she served her nation from 1943 to 1994. We crew members would bitch and moan about rotten weather, rescuing crazy fishermen, tailing the Russians and going after drug smugglers (we had 10 marijuana leaves painted on the bridge representing our drug busts). 

We had no air conditioning in 67-68. We squished 70 odd people in two tiny berthing areas, but when we left her or the CG, we always managed to remember the good times. Believe me serving your country on an Ocean Going Tug like this made you grow up fast!

I will always remember the lessons learned and the pride we felt when we sailed the seas with our national flag fluttering in the breeze.