Hello and welcome back to the ESCANABA. This is the third time in a year that we will be working with Fred’s Place to document our trip. Thanks to Fred for that. We are leaving the cold wet spring weather of Boston and heading down south looking for some warmer weather. After having nearly two full months inport, the ship’s maintenance is complete, stores are loaded and much of the crew excited about getting underway again. The summer is a big rotation period for the Coast Guard, making this the final patrol for many crewmembers including the Captain, CDR Michael Sabellico.

Within hours of leaving Boston and securing from Special Sea Detail, much of the crew was back on the job manning their positions while BM3 Powell steered the ship through the Cape Cod Canal. The canal is always a beautiful transit and this trip was no exception. Finally, with the sun going down we left the canal and headed straight to Mayport, FL. After spending the last two patrols up north doing daily fisheries boardings the pace of a transit south seemed relaxing. In order to fill the time and get the crew used to being underway again we conducted numerous drills. During these drills we practiced dealing with scenarios ranging from a fire in the engine room to having a man fall overboard and abandoning the ship.

We reached Mayport on Thursday; however the stop in Mayport was not time off for the crew. In order to prepare for the upcoming patrol we spent three full days doing drills and exercises. A southern patrol will provide different missions and opportunities for the ESCANABA. While operating in the Caribbean we will have the opportunity to do more drug and migrant interdiction. Additionally, working with the helo will make us more effective and increase our chances of catching drug runners.

On Sunday morning, Easter, the crew had time off to attend church services and was treated to a huge Easter brunch by the cooks on board. While Easter away from home will never be the same as being with family, you can all be sure that we ate very well.

As a final note I would like to take recognize BM2 Milliken for getting qualified as an underway OOD. BM2 Milliken arrived on board as a seaman apprentice and has excelled during his past three years onboard. His qualification as an underway OOD is an enormous accomplishment. In order to put his achievement into perspective, CDR Sabellico told the crew at quarters on Friday that this “is the first time in my 20 year career that I have ever seen a BM2 become underway qualified on a 210, 270 or 378.” Congratulations BM2 Milliken.

First of all, I like to thank Fred for allowing us to document our patrol on Fred’s Place. Our families, friends, and prior shipmates really enjoy following along with us on Fred’s Place as we conduct our patrol. It’s a great way to stay in touch and keep everyone informed about all the hard work we do and how much we miss our loved ones back on the beach. Secondly, I want to say what a great job ENS Jake Paarlberg has done as our Fred’s Place correspondent over the last few patrols and with this initial submission for this trip. He is a very good writer and quite the photographer.

This will be my last patrol aboard ESCANABA as I plan on retiring in July after serving for 20 years. I have to admit that it is somewhat bittersweet but all in all I’m excited about my pending transition to civilian life. That being said, I’m hoping for lots of success this trip. We are just finishing up our training with our embarked helicopter at Naval Station Mayport in Florida and will be heading for even warmer weather in the Caribbean soon. You’re all welcome to follow our patrol and become virtual shipmates in ESCANABA for the next 6 weeks.

I’ll close for now as I wish you all a very happy Easter and I’ll look forward to writing more next week. Until then, Fair winds and Following seas!

/s/ CDR Mike Sabellico

Shout Outs



Katie, Shawn and Kevin
Last trip….yippeeee. Stay warm. ILU
~Dad

My Minot Beach Gang
Can’t wait to get back to enjoy the Sunday afternoon ritual on the beach!
~The Commander

Kerri,
I love you, miss you, and cannot wait to see you next month.
~Jared

Hi to my lovely Dawn, Nicole, Beanie, Emmy, Joyce, and Muki the Mutt.
I miss you all. Love,
~Chris

I miss you, love you and I’ll see you in PR.
~Dayron

Mom, Dad, & Ciara,
I need you to know how much I appreciate everything you are doing for me. Kiss my baby for me. Love,
~Paul

Miss you guys and love you. See you at Joe’s Graduation.
~Walt

To my dearest Nicki-6,
You should probably take Jax out, she needs it. I also wanted to say that I miss and I can't wait to see you. Hope all is well up in B-Ham and that’s it. Keep it real homie. PBJ
~Robbie II

Mom, Dad, Keith and Pam,
Just wanted to say I love you guys and I’ll see you when I come home. Love,
~SN Jones

Belly,
I love you, miss you and the girls, see you soon. Take care of Ailanai and Leila.
~Elvis

Jennie,
I love you and can’t wait to see you on the pier when I get home. Love,
~Jeremy

Tina and Joey,
I miss you and I can’t wait to see you guys when I get back. Give the Pib a kiss from dad.
~Joe

Lisa,
The luckiest day was when I met you. The best day was when I kissed you. The happiest day was when you said yes. And the greatest day of all will be when I say “I do”. I love you more than words can suffice. I’ll be home before you know it.Love Always,
~Eddie

Hey Mom and Dad,
See you in a couple months!
~Tom

Photos

CDR Sabellico reads an award to Mrs. Michelle Welch, the ship's ombudsman, just prior to getting underway

A crewmember takes a moment for one last chat with his family before leaving Boston

BM2 Milliken says goodbye to his daughter

BM2 Milliken takes a last few minutes with his daughter, while BM3 Powell says farewell to BM2 Milliken's mother

FSC Kijowski and SN Yancy load stores while in Mayport

ENS Koski, FN Adams, MK2 Morris and MK3 Perkins hangout in the Engineers workshop

The crew assembled on the messdeck during all hands training

BM3 Sohn mans the helm during a special sea detail

LTJG Gabinelle laughs as LTJG Rue looks on

OS3 Chase and OS3 Guralnick act as bearing takers while pulling into Mayport, FL

CDR Sabellico and Lt Hennessy on the bridge wing during the Mayport mooring

SN Hicks looks out over the horizon during an early morning watch

MK2 Morris assists a new crewmember in putting on his survival suit

New crewmembers race to don survival suits while the rest of the crew cheers them on

New crewmembers race to don survival suits while the rest of the crew cheers them on

OS2 Egbert and OS3 Newland relax on the flight deck

OS3 Finch acts as a rescue swimmer during a man overboard drill

LCDR Gale watches as LTJG Gabinelle and LTJG Rue conn the ship in a man overboard drill.

The bridge team as ESCANABA leaves the pier to start the patrol

BM3 Powell, BM3 Lopez and BM2 Burke (from left to right) pose just prior to leaving Boston

DC2 Morgan carries shore ties as the crew makes preparations to get underway

The ship's Operations Officer, LT Hennessy, looks out over the bridge wing prior to a drill