Welcome back again to the Escanaba for a re-cap on the third week of our patrol. We are currently steaming around the outermost islands of the Caribbean seeking shelter from the swells generated by a cauldron of nature’s wrath just a few hundred miles away called Hurricane Dean. What follows is still to be determined but as this week has demonstrated the whether and environment can change our plans in a heart beat.

We are still continuing our assigned mission. We had rescued over a hundred Haitian migrants the Friday before last and over the weekend they were still on board awaiting reentry to Haiti. On Monday we anchored in the port of Cap-Haitian Haiti and transferred the migrants to the Haitian Coast Guard for repatriation.

After a tiring couple of days of boardings and migrant operations it was a good to see some fellow coasties. On Tuesday we met up for some meetings with another cutter that would be working with us. While our ships were together, Captain Shaw granted a swim call. In the heat of the midday August sun it was great to go swimming and cool off for an hour. For some it was a chance to show off their own brand of not so graceful dives and cannon balls.

We pulled into Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Cuba for our scheduled port call. We departed for liberty with a word of caution that we may be forced to leave early if then Tropical Storm Dean headed our way. Sure enough we were ordered to leave the following morning but even one day of relaxation was good for morale. That night many took it easy, visited the exchange, had dinner on base and watched a movie on GTMO’s outdoor theatre.

Back at sea, we headed north to avoid the brunt of the storm. The weather remained relatively docile and we’ve still been able to conduct routine small boat and helicopter operations. Friday, GM1 Ambriz, GM2 Winfield, and GM3 McLaughlin held fire arms safety training for the M16, 12 gauge shot-gun, and Sig Sauer pistol.

As Hurricane Dean makes landfall in the southern Caribbean, Escanaba may be directed to deliver humanitarian support or conduct search and rescue for storm ravaged regions. Time will tell, but whatever our mission is it will be met with the same ardent resolve that characterizes our service and this unit. As always thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and thanks to Fred’s place for helping us stay connected with our friends and family back home.

setting up the tent on the Flight Deck

Prepping the Fantail

BM3 Abrahamson and SN Heald pose for a picture in Cap-Haitian

USCGC Dauntless

ET3Hernandez GM3 McLaughlin and SNOS Guralnick take pride in their PIZZA

ET3 Hernandez ET3 Bowen and GM3 McLaughlin man the pizza line

Raising the tent

Cap Haitien

Lowering the OTH with Dauntless in the background

Swim Call

OS3 Newland prepares the pizza dough

This pizza gets SNOS Guralnick's highest rating

Catchin' Up

Welcome back to the ESCANABA for a re-cap on the 4th week of our Caribbean patrol. We’ve been busy during this full week at sea patrolling the warm waters around the Western islands. Like last week we got a chance to test those waters during a brief swim call. While others jumped or attempted modest dives, FN Derr pulled off an impressive one-and-a-half from the flight deck.

The week has been full of double sessions of daily helicopter operations. It usually consists of a take-off in the morning, but in the evenings we practice tie downs with night vision goggles, vertical replenishment, and even refueling while the helicopter is still in the air. Even in the best weather conditions the job can still be demanding. Our tie down teams rush out under blade tips to attach and tighten the chains that will keep the helicopter in place in the rolling seas. According to SNBM Heaton the “adrenaline takes over and you don’t appreciate what your doing till its over”. We conducted flight operations with both main CG helicopter airframes this week, the HH-65 Dolphin, and the HH-60 Jayhawk. When the larger Jayhawk touches it takes up nearly the entire flight deck.

Friday saw ESCANABA’s mighty batteries unleashed on a defenseless smoke emitting buoy. That afternoon, BM3 Baker, BM3 Abrahamson, and SN Heald got behind the port and starboard .50 cal machine guns and practiced warning shots and disabling fire. We also held a general emergency drill and two engineering casualty control drills.

Our port call in Guantanamo Bay will be the highlight of next week. It will be a welcome schedule change after a long stretch at sea. In the meantime morale has been maintained through two flight deck movie nights on Wednesday and Saturday and an outdoor BBQ hosted by ESCANABA’s Junior Officers.

“Hump day” on Tuesday marked midway through the patrol. While a significant portion remains in front of us, the end has come into sight. Even though the Caribbean sun still beats down, many are making plans for how best to enjoy the changing colors and cool climate of Autumn in New England. Thanks to everyone back home and we hope to be back soon.

Photos

Clear blue swim call

Engineering Casualty Control Exercises

MK1 Coe works on the Air Conditioning unit

Refuel without landing

Deckies ready the fueling hose

HH-60 Jayhawk refueling

Enjoying some delicious burgers on the flight deck

ENS Koski, ENS Walsh, and ENS Haddad burn burgers

Burgers satisfy OS3 Newland, OS3 Finch, and FS3 Castor

MK2 Foran rushes to investigate a casualty during a drill