The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-11-13, Page 1The Ooberttl)
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Goaurich, Ont. 2T,4
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SIGNALTSTAII SECTION
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1975
4
,•
The last weeks are the longest
Crew proud of rescu
record on Lake Huro
Life in the Canadian Coast Guard can
be exciting and rewarding....and boring.
The crew of the coast guard cutter Rapid
is now going through the boring stretch
of their assignment in the Great Lakes
' but when they reflect on their season
stationed here in Goderich, it has all
been worthwhile.
Bobbing aboard their 96 -foot search
and rescue vessel, the crew of the Rapid
has little to do but sit and wait for a
possible emergency call.
0 • •
"The yachting season is pretty well
over but we'll probably be here Until,the • .
end of 'the shippvig-seaSory for the year/
said the part-time master of the ship
John Robert Peterson.
The cutter was stationed in Goderich
at the beginning of last -year's shipping
season to provide search and rescue
protection for Lake Huron and Georgian
Bay and most of their missions since
their arrival have concerned pleasure
boaters or sailing enthusiasts. -
- • At this time of year most of the
privately owned boats are out of thb
water for the winter but theqtapicl.
remains on duty in case of emergency
with a die-hard sailor or a great lake
merchant vessel. •
The reason for the long stretches of
inactivity aboard the Rapid is the inA
terruption- of dctily F0111:Jit 1:,y the
weather. For most of the two seasons the
crew has spent on the ship in Goderich,
members have been working on a
complete refit. When the Rapid was
assigned' Lake, Huron in 1974 she was
taken out of mothballs in Halifax and
afte? a quick overhauil was sent to
Goderich.
"When we can on board for the first
trip up here she was in pretty rough
shape;" said quartermaster Raymond
Cheese. "For ry,tost of both summers on
the„lake the time has flown by because
we have all been working on her refit."
.The two year effort by the 24 man
crew, working 12 men on board for a two
week stretch, has produced a vessel on
which all 24 men are proud to serve
"The engine room looked like a bomb
had gone off in it," said Cheese,
referring to what is now an immaculate
power centre—"Every chance we got we
spent scraping and painting, taking
everything but *the hull down to bare
metal and repainting it."
Sitting idle for a week at a stretch has
not hampered the efficiency of the crew
when they are called into action. rf an
emergency is reported the ship. can be.
away from her berth and at the break -
wall outside Goderich 'harbor in 45
minutes.
"rf. we really, had to push it we could be
out 'in less time but we wouldn't be able
to warm pp the engines enough and it
could be very hard on them," ...said
engine oiler Allan Render.
"1 think if we had to', we could be on
our way in five minutes," he added
proudly.
The last search and rescue mission the
,Rapid participated in renewed ,-the
ambitions ,f the crew. Several weeks
ago a' saiii, .t left Red Bay near Kin-
cardine for fishing expedition and was
tOoor ted 24 litiLICS uc,erdue:
' .
The coast guard assigned the Rapid to
,the mission working with a Hercules
aircraft and a helicopter. The Hercules
• spotted the sailboat driftingnear the
middle of the lake and began droppirig
smoke bombs to mark the spot.
-The helicopter directed the Rapid to
the scene and the crew' were taken
aboard the rescue ship and the drifting
'sailboat .taken into tow,. The missi6n, a
success from every 'angle, was very
*I. 4,, '474, •
,
I •
<4,
Allan Render does a check on the many gauges of the control panel lbcated in the engine
reom of The Rapid. (staff photo)
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central location'. The ship: and its crew are on 15 minute
The Canadian Coast Gud'ill has been patrolling Lake Huron for
standby to answer:any search and rescue alert. (staff photo)
two summets and docks in Goderich Harbor because of its
satisfying to the crew of he
"We get called to situations that ap.
pear to be emergencies 6trt they are.
quite often unnecessary," saki Raymond
Cheese. "After several outings like that
you get the attitilde that nothing is going
to happen when we go out but when we
actually rescue someone that is in
danger it is very satisfying."
"It renews your hope. when you pu I
somebody Out of the water or off
stranded vessel," he added.
• 0
•
,The shipping season is nearing its
closing and the crew of the Rapid are
awaiting their final cruise of the season,
back to their home port in, Trenton, Some
of .the, sailors will winter at their homes
or find another job for the winter and
some will report to the ship daily to work
on a winter refit,
Whatever they do to pass the winter
they all agree that they willeach report
back to the Rapid for their third season
in Goderich, standing guard over Lake
Huro.
Story by Jeff Seddon
Pictures by,
Dave Sykes
Radio communications is a vital link with the mainland for
any ship and is of,paramount importance for the Coast
Guardq. utter Rapid. Wayne McCrae of Trenton, a member
of the Rapid crew checks the radio equipment operation in
the radio room. (staff photo)
•
1,
Allan Render, (background) of Brockville and Vlado Bukovac of Prescott
make a check on the systems in the engine room. The two are tpe only •
men %%orking, in the engine room and Allan is a 12 year veteran of the
coast guard. Vlado, an oiler, has been with The Rapid for two years:
41,
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