Visitors Check Out Coast Guard Cutter

OXNARD — Instead of rescuing stranded boaters and enforcing laws on the open seas Saturday, Oxnard Coast Guard members were in port, entertaining and educating visitors.

As part of Team Coast Guard Day at Channel Islands Harbor, the Coast Guard invited the public to visit its vessels, learn boating safety and watch a helicopter search and rescue demonstration and boat parade.

Some 300 visitors got a chance to experience life aboard the 82-foot rescue cutter Point Carrew.

“They’ve got some pretty good accommodations; I’m going right now to sign up,” said Frank Berg, a retired real-estate developer from Redondo Beach.

The children on board seemed to like the cutter as well.

“I like climbing up and down all the stairs, and ringing the bell,” said 6-year-old Michael Miller of Oxnard.

Visitors who had been on cutters before were impressed with the condition of the Point Carrew.

“This one is in great condition, it doesn’t have any rust on it at all,” said Phil Sorensen, who served in the Coast Guard between 1959 and 1963. His wife, Maureen, agreed: “There’s not even a fingerprint on the brass.”

The cutter’s good condition is due to hard work, according to Coast Guard Executive Petty Officer Michael Goode. Goode, 26, said the ship patrols the Pacific Ocean from the Mexican border to San Francisco Bay on missions lasting seven to 10 days.

Rescues make up the bulk of the Coast Guard’s work, Goode said, but the service also randomly searches vessels at sea to enforce fish and game and drug trafficking laws.

When not patrolling, the Point Carrew’s crew is working on the boat, Goode said.

“It’s a pretty arduous duty for two years, but it’s good training and you usually get a good assignment when you’re done.”