Fred's Place - The Place To Meet Old Coast Guard Shipmates

Welcome Aboard The CGC Sycamore

On Patrol

We join the crew of the Cutter Sycamore underway servicing Aids to Navigation (ATON) and conducting boardings of fishing vessels participating in the Tanner Crab fishery in Kiliuda Bay off Kodiak Island.

Photos by Petty Officer Paul Roszkowski

The Coast Guard Cutter Sycamore, homeported in Cordova, Ak.

Petty Officer Bradley Latigue (left) and Chief Petty Officer Daniel Burke (right) prepare to jump aboard a buoy near Kodiak. The buoy was reported to be extinguished. Latigue and Burke were dropped off on the buoy by a small boat crew in an attempt to repair the broken light.

Chief Petty Officer Daniel Burke (left) and Petty Officer Bradley Latigue (right) work on top of a buoy near Spruce Cape here as the fishing vessel Providence heads out to sea. Burke and Latigue were aboard the buoy to repair the extinguished light.

Petty Officer Bradley Latigue (left) and Chief Petty Officer Daniel Burke (right) work to repair an extinguished buoy near Spruce Cape here. The buoy was reported to be extinguished. As part of the repair process the buoy’s lamps, lamp changer, wiring, solar panel and other electrical equipment are checked. Latigue and Burke had to "hot pack" the light. A "hot Pack" is a temporarily battery patch to keep the buoy lit until a cutter crew can service the aid.

An environmental portrait of Seaman Apprentice Thomas Caffarelli inserting a tray of pans into the dishwasher. Caffarelli is working as a mess cook. Mess cooks are routinely new members of the crew fresh from boot camp. Mess cooking involves assisting the ship’s cooks with dishes, setting up for meals and cleaning the ships galley, or kitchen, and mess deck, or eating area.

An environmental portrait of Petty Officer Juan Deleon sitting on the buoy deck with a full moon behind him at 9:30 a.m., Jan. 18. Deleon is prepared to service a buoy near Kodiak Island. The red light bathing Deleon is designed not to interfere with a person’s night vision.

The crew of the Cutter Sycamore sailing in Kiliuda Bay off of Kodiak Island. The cutter crew was in Kodiak the week of Jan. 16 to conduct at sea boardings of fishing vessels participating in the Tanner Crab fishery. The specifically targeted fishing vessel crews that departed the docks prior to successfully completing a dockside safety inspection. The Cutter Sycamore is a 225-foot buoy tender homeported in Cordova.

Petty Officer Joseph Lovette, Lt. J.G. Meaghan Mercer and Petty Officer Mark Cobb discuss plans for conducting at sea boardings of fishing vessels taking part in the Kodiak Tanner Crab fishery Jan. 16. Mercer and Cobb are members of the boarding team. Lovette is a member of Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak. Lovette was aboard the Cutter to assist the crew in identifying fishing vessels and with local knowledge.

A boarding team approaches the fishing vessel Melina outside of Old Harbor, Alaska, Jan. 19. The crew of the Melina was fishing for Tanner Crab in Kiliuda Bay off Kodiak Island.

A boarding team prepares to board the fishing vessel Melina outside of Old Harbor, Alaska, Jan. 19. The boarding team talks to the crew of the fishing vessel prior to boarding.

Petty Officer Otis O’Neal and Petty Officer Bradley Latigue inspect life jackets aboard the fishing vessel Legasea in Ugak Bay off Kodiak Island Jan. 19.

Petty Officer Bradley Latigue inspect the life raft aboard the fishing vessel Legasea in Ugak Bay off Kodiak Island Jan. 19.

Petty Officer Bradley Latigue and Petty Officer Otis O’Neal inspect the life raft aboard the fishing vessel Legasea in Ugak Bay off Kodiak Island Jan. 19.

Lt. J.G. Meaghan Mercer and Petty Officer Donald Spigelmyre review the results of a at sea boarding with Edward C. Pestrikoff, captain of the fishing vessel Melina Jan. 19. Mecer and Spigelmyre presented a copy of the commercial fishing vessel boarding form to Pestrikoff as a receipt of the boarding.

Petty Officer Donald Seigelmyre waits for the small boat to return to the fishing vessel Melina Jan. 19. Aboard the small boat are Petty Officer Jason Scott (driving) and Petty Officer Daniel Schneider. The small boat allows boarding crews to board vessels at sea safely.

Petty Officer Bradley Latigue hoists a batty pack onto a buoy off Spruce Cape here. The battery pack, weighing more than 100-pounds, had to be hoisted onto the pitching and bobbing buoy by one person. The battery pack is wired to the buoy lamp and lashed in to prevent it from being washed away.

An environmental portrait of Petty Officer Bartosz Kotlarz, a boatswain’s mate aboard the Cutter Sycamore.

Lt. J.G. Meaghan Mercer calls in the names of the crew of the fishing vessel Melina for a wants and warrants check. The boarding of a vessel at sea is part of the Coast Guard’s law enforcement mission, and as such, the names of the crew of the boarded vessel are run to ensure none of them are wanted by law enforcement. Mercer is a boarding officer and the operations officer aboard the Cutter Sycamore.

Chief Petty Officer Daniel Burke jumps off of a buoy near Spruce Cape here. Burke was one of two crewmen from the Cutter Sycamore who jumped onto the buoy in an attempt to repair the extinguished lamp. Burke had to put a temporary battery pack onto the buoy until a cutter crew can service the buoy.

An environmental portrait of Seaman Stephano Torre with a fog shrouded Kodiak behind him. Torre is a buoy deck seaman aboard the Cutter Sycamore.

Petty Officer Otis O’Neal (front) and Petty Officer Donald Spigelmyre (back) check the engine compartment aboard the fishing vessel Melina, Jan. 19. O’Neal and Spigelmyre are checking the engine room for leaks and to ensure compliance with federal regulations.