47 ft. Coast Guard Rescue Boat Training at Morrow Bay, CA

Amazing photos--even realizing that these were taken thru a telephoto lense, it gives a great deal of respect to these "life savers".

Here is a link to MoJo--a boat chartered to George C Scott, which did the same type of run into a 20 foot plus sea at Morro Bay, Jan 28 1978, but with far different consiquences:
http://www.mv-dreamer.com/Mojo.htm

The 85 foot Ditmar and Donaldson wooden boat was rebuilt, later survived a fire, was lengthened 10 feet, and is still in regular use out of Newport Beach CA.
 
CW-

I've ridden in the port side flying bridge seat on one of the 47's out of Golden Gate Station in San Francisco.

While we weren't in as heavy of weather as the boat pictured, we did plane across and power through the tops of the waves and swells on the infamous Potato Patch Shoal.

This was before 9/11, and therefore before the severe restrictions on civilians on board CG craft. A buddy of mine was the coxswain on one of their two 47's at the station.

If you want to see how to build a really tough vessel, look at one of them. All heavy plate aluminum with sealed hatches that look like they're designed for underwater travel, which they are.

The flying bridge has a traditional wheel, though it's fly by wire, and the lower helm looks like a dentist's chair with a joy stick for steering. Great electronics. And you're right about the seat harness and straps. We wore Mustang work/survival suits and helmets.

Later that night, the vessel went out to practice finding a man overboard, picking him up, then transferring him in the dark in a basket up to a helo unit. However, I didn't volunteer to be the 'Dummy" overboard! Do enough of that "dummy" stuff right here, and more than a fewl of the C-Brats would verify my basket case status.

Joe. :thup :teeth :wink

47ft.jpg
 
Nice looking those 47' Motor Life Boats. Canadian Coast Guard just acquired over a dozen for SAR around the Great Lakes / St. Lawrence River. Submersible ?...pretty well. They are self-righting; should they capsize, they're designed to flip over on their own, and be on their merry way.

Marc
 
Friends of my parents fished and salvaged at MB -- owned a HUGE shell/rock shop down on the water. My dad had partnered with him on a fishing boat out of Newport OR for a while then decided teaching was his true calling and moved back to Portland OR.

The salvage operation recovered remains of WWI 4 stack destroyers that sank as a group between the wars. Lots of brass (and cordite for making cool fires) and huge jade boulders.

Water side memories are the best ones!

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV
 
That picture of George Scott's boat is spectacular, and I've seen it for years. This is the first time I saw the small boat just at the lower port side. Let's hope that it's telephoto compression and it made it out of there OK.

Judy saw that pic just before we left Morro Bay on a 25' sailboat, and nearly went home. When we left it was flat calm and we motored out.

Boris
 
Mojo1.jpg


Interesting photo!

Is that MOJO boat a little close to the rocks?

Looks like he's almost inside the channel markers, although the telephoto effect could be misleading.

Joe.
 
There is a huge amount of telephoto "compression" in the photos. I don't know if that is a CG vessel, but I suspect that it is. If it is, I don't think it is a Caulkin's Bar Tender--but it looks like one...

There is a slight dog leg in the jetties, and the point where the break occcurs is outside of the jetties. The waves tend to come from the North West/West, most of the time. The course out of the Bay is about 185 degrees, and there is some shelter from Pt Buchon to the South--although any high winds/waves can cause a serious break at Morro Bay entrance.

We have been across all of the West Coast bars, except Depo Bay. (didn't have mast clearance)--and we always check with the CG about conditions before comming in or leaving--and attempt to enter or leave at high slack tide. We did take one breaking sea over the boat at Coos Bay--and immediately the CG closed the bar--much to the shagrin of a sportfisher who was standing off the sea bouy and who had hoped to refuel there.

I suspect that there are C Brats who live near Morro Bay and have a lot more experience with that entrance than we do--but it is certainly to be treated with the utmost of respect! Morro Bay is a delightful harbor and we always enjoy the hospitality of their Yacht Club.
 
As fascinating as Patton's boat was several decades ago.... I beg to conjecture that this is much more extreme.... check out the vertical position of the whole frickin' boat. C.W.

Morro_Bay_Coast_Guard_Vertical.sized.jpg
 
CW-

Yup, that would be a real E-Ticket ride, all right!

Imagine holding your breath and waiting for the time it takes the boat to right itself while you're strapped in upside down in 50 some degree or so water!

I looked it up, and the boat should right itself within 10 seconds or so.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Entirely different circumstances--the CG boat is on a training run (probably)--is built for this, and came up running after a roll, and continued under its own power. Also the CG boat is 47 feet, MOJO was 85 feet. She was totally disabled and eventually salvaged and rebuilt--a tribute to a very well built wooden boat. Vs the purpose built motor life boat, designed and built to do exactly what the photo's showed. I suspect that both waves were near the same size somewhere between 15 and 20 feet.

Not to detract from the Coast Guard photos in any way. But MOJO was foolishness, Coast Guard is business.
 
All I know is that I hope both of those boats have lots of storage for clothes, because if I survived the ordeal I'd need to change my underwear and pants quickly.

:crook
 
Hi Folks,

I was on a 47' on Buzzards Bay one winter. Great boats. The only boats the Coast Guard will have left at the small boat stations will be the 47' and the hard inflatable, from 22' to 27'.

The Canadian Coast Guard have also purchased a bunch of 47' but I think they could have problems with Ice Build up.

Fred
 
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