Photo By David Todd | Seaman Benjamin Strack secures an American flag to the stern of the boat as it is...... read more read more
Subscribe
NORFOLK, Va. — Beautiful tall ships, military vessels, tugs and more packed the Downtown Norfolk Harbor, June 10, for the 2011 Harborfest Parade of Sail.
Onlookers waited in anticipation to catch a glimpse of fleet history in the making on the Elizabeth River as the vessels danced on the open water toward Town Point Park.
Leading the way for this year’s parade was the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Beluga (WPB-87325) with its crew of 11, homeported onboard Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. Though the day was full of excitement and fun, the Beluga was there to make sure that safety remained paramount.
“My main goal is to act in the patrol commander capacity and ensure the safety of all vessels in the Parade of Sail, as well as ensure the safety of the vessels that are participating as a spectator for the Parade of Sail,” said Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Timaree Sparks. “For the Coast Guard this is a huge event. From start to finish our role for this is huge.”
For Beluga’s newest crew members, Seaman Benjamin Strack and Seaman Apprentice Brooke Lunsford-Jones, the Parade of Sail served as both a morale booster and a way to demonstrate the hard work they do as a crew everyday. It was also their first time experiencing Harborfest.
“It’s pretty exciting to me,” said Strack. “We’re putting what we have on display. Everyone from the whole area can come see what we do everyday.”
With such a small crew manning the boat, each crew member had specific duties to ensure everyone stayed safe on and off the water.
“There being so few of us, we have to work well together,” said Lunsford-Jones. “We all have to help each other out as much as we can, especially in stressful situations, and because we are all close together, we all have specific things we are suppose to do – but we also help each other.”
For the crew, training and safety is more than a motto, it’s a mantra.
“It’s a key factor in everything we do,” said Strack. “Just this morning, I was cleaning up and I put on a life jacket because I was going over the side. You’ve got to be safe in everything you do – it’s vital – especially on this boat ... we’re underway and a life vest can save your life.”
Machinery Technician 2nd Class Bernie Blyth, an avid recreational boaters, offered safety advice for other boaters.
“Make sure you’ve got all the proper gear, make sure that everything is not expired – and the most important things – always have the proper fire extinguishers and make sure that you have enough life jackets aboard,” said Blyth.
The boat was available for public tours while it was moored at this year’s Harborfest.
“It’s a sense of pride being in the Coast Guard and able to have the boat available for the public to come aboard and check it out and see what it is that we do,” said Blyth. “… so they can get a better appreciation or understanding.”
As the Parade of Sail came to a close, the crew was extremely pleased with the outcome of the day.
“It all went off without incident and nobody got hurt,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Micah Pressman. “I think the people here got a good show. Everybody followed the rules and did what they were supposed to do. The crew did great and they really enjoyed it and we hope to do it again next year.”
“Today went very well,” Sparks agreed. “It went a little bit better than I expected. I expected a lot more marine traffic. Safety was obviously paramount today for everybody, for the commercial traffic and the recreational traffic and the spectators.”
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2011 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 72203 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Coast Guard cutter makes boater safety paramount during 2011 Parade of Sail, by David Todd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
