Welcome Aboard The CGC Northland
On Extended Deployment - Week 6
We join the crew of the Cutter Northland underway on a three month deployment in support of the Navy's Sixth Fleet.
ENS Matt Alex will be keeping us updated during this deployment with weekly updates. Thanks, Matt.
All photos are official Coast Guard photos.
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The Coast Guard Cutter Northland, homeported in Portsmouth, Va.
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Catchin' Up
NORTHLAND began week 6 with our departure from Rota, Spain and immediately following, our first straits transit of the patrol. The weather during the transit was hazy but the haze lightened just enough for us to see both Europe and Africa at the same time. The transit through the Straits of Gibraltar was approximately 2.5 hrs long but with an easterly current we quickly moved through, finally entering the Mediterranean Sea. The weather in the Mediterranean was exactly what we expected, calm seas with slight winds however, the vessel traffic was not. 200 vessels transit the Straits of Gibraltar each day. In fact, we soon found out that the Mediterranean could be considered a merchant vessel Super Highway, only without any lanes. It has kept the Officers of the Deck on the bridge busy determining how to avoid collisions at sea and Captain Giglio hasn't had an uninterrupted night of sleep since we passed through the straits.
Along the way we were forced to drop off a shipmate in Almeria, Spain with appendicitis. You'll be happy to know that the surgery went very well and he is now at the U.S. Naval Base in Rota, Spain recovering. After dropping him off and heading back out into the Med, SN McGhee spotted a small vessel with several people onboard trying to flag us down. NORTHLAND altered course to investigate and discovered seven Algerian migrants on their way to Europe. Luckily we had SN Lheureux onboard to act as our French translator with the migrants. They had been out on the water for four days and ran out of food, water and gas for their outboard two days earlier. Needless to say they were very happy to see us. We notified the Spanish authorities and stayed with the migrants providing them food and water until a Spanish rescue helicopter arrived on scene and hoisted everyone to safety. Afterwards we recovered the migrants' boat and secured it on deck.
The slow transit to our next port call has provided us the opportunity to do some much needed training and also a chance to enjoy some time off. We conducted a flooding drill, a main space fire drill, engineering casualty control drills, a General Quarters drill and ship handling training. For morale we had two swim calls, a flight deck movie and a Steel Beach BBQ. Our first week in the Mediterranean has definitely been one for the record books.
Photos
MKC Crooms and FN Lindstom review BECCES procedures.
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EMC Harvey making the best of the afternoon on Steel Beach.
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IT3 Cantatore stands AT/FP watch on the bridge during our transit through the Straits of Gibraltar.
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NORTHLAND picks NOR 2.5 up out of the water.
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MK2 Fleming observes FN Hart's initial actions during BECCES.
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MK3 Jennings conducting a round in the Engineroom.
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SN Iulo and MK3 Rose taking a break for the day during the Steel Beach BBQ.
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FN Hart doing a little fishing during Fish Call.
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OS2 Osenbach, BM2 Montejano, OSC Fink and LTJG Blood discuss what CD to play during the BBQ.
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OS2 Hamrah, OS2 French, and OS2 Rivera sit around during the BBQ.
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NOR 1 Boat Crew watching the action during swim call.
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NORTHLAND crew score each jump for technique and splash.
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Enjoying the first swim in the Mediterranean.
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NORTHLAND's boarding team questions the migrants.
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Algerian migrant vessel with NORTHLAND in the background.
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Spanish rescue helicopter hoists the migrants.
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