CG 47' MLB training from a different angle

L

localboy

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C Dory Year
2007
C Dory Model
25 Cruiser
Vessel Name
'Au Kai (Ocean Traveler)
Surf's up, dude.
 
I've ridden on the top on one of the 47-footers out of Station Golden Gate when one of my friends was a Coxwain (skipper) in the Coast Guard stationed there.

Glad to have a Mustang Survival Suit on aand straped down with a seat belt harness! No knock-downs, though, just an afternoon patrol out to the Light Buoy, a few boats to check out, some wave busting and jumping, and a lot of fun.

This was before 9-11, and civilians could go out on patrols with permission of the Station Commander.

MORE FUN

AND EVEN MORE FUN!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Great videos, Joe.

The Cape Disappointment Motor Lifeboat School is across the Columbia from me, and now and then I get to talk to one of the instructors. They really love the 47, but knockdowns are hard on the crews, as are repeated head-ons with large waves. Injuries are common, most of the cut, bruise, and abrasion type, but some structural (knees, especially).

As you might expect, the boats can take more abuse than the crews.

USCG Cape D: http://www.uscg.mil/d13/gruasAstoria/un ... ntment.asp
 
My surfing experience would not have me getting a boat sideways in the surf zone. Every time they were not going straight into it the boat got turned and rolled excessively. And every time they punched straight thru they had better control and no rolling. Maybe thats why they called it training.

I did get to drive a 47 and they are awesome boats. But the beatings from getting rolled in the surf zone does do damage. A chief rolled his boat in the Humboldt harbor entrance while he was doing surf training and it took out the transmission, did prop damage and basically limped back in for repairs. This happened a few weeks after the chief and I were talking about running in the surf. He hit the swell dead on and it still rolled and turned him 180 degrees. He was punching what looked like to me a 20 footer. The video of it looked like he was on a big surf board getting tossed around. The boat responded just as our surf boards do in the surf and believe me when its big we can get trashed being caught inside.

I am sure glad they train for it as it makes them better prepared for their mission. In my eyes I look at them with the same respect I have for the rescue swimmer.
 
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