Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/149372
Coast Guard Cutter Spar Crew Outreach The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar crew went ashore to meet with whaling captains and tribal leaders in the villages of Little Diomede, Wales, Point Hope, and Kivalina. Chart information is overlaid on the NOAA chart for Little Diomede Island to determine "safe water" for the Spar. U.S. Coast Guard graphic by ET1 David Winters. Crewmembers wait to be transported back to the cutter from the village of Point Hope, as the near-shore depths prevented Spar from anchoring close to the beach. Photo courtesy of Dr. Leslie Wood, U.S. Public Health Service. To overcome the absence of sounding information, the Spar crew used the hydrographic system on its small boats to conduct a simplifed survey of the depths in the transit areas and transferred the data back to the cutter, where it was processed into a usable chart. The Spar team used the resultant chart to plan the route for the small boats and to identify an area for the ship to safely anchor. Spar anchors near Barrow during an Arctic deployment. No docking facilities exist in this northernmost city. U.S. Coast Guard photo. theindigenouspeople,canenjoyandbeneftfroma productiveuseofthisfragileenvironment,andwe canallavoidalife-threateningemergencyorenvironmentaltragedy. About the author: LCDR Michele Schallip is the commanding offcer of USCGC Spar, homeported in Kodiak, Alaska. LCDR Schallip served aboard fve 38 Proceedings Summer 2013 cutters, and is on her third Alaskan assignment. She holds a master's degree in public administration, and a 1600 gross-ton merchant mariner license. Endnotes: 1. Alaska Priorities. NOAAOffceofCoastSurvey,2011. 2. Arctic Nautical Charting Plan: A Plan to Support Sustainable Marine Transportation in Alaska and the Arctic. NOAAOffceofCoastSurvey,February2013. www.uscg.mil/proceedings