THANKSGIVING IN DUTCH HARBOR

BOUTWELL pulled into Dutch Harbor, Alaska Wednesday, November 25th for fuel, parts, food, and rest. The port visit also gave crew members a chance to call home and talk to family and friends in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. The crew also had the opportunity to participate in several activities during the time inport. Raquetball and basketball games at the Dutch Harbor fitness center, and the Unalaska Turkey Trot 5K benefiting St. Jude Hospital provided the crew with healthy amd fun activities. Thanksgiving day marked the first annual Turkey Bowl football game between the Officers and Chiefs. Fun was had by all, and fierce competition resulted in a 19-8 victory for the Officers. A picture of the participants is shown above.

Many Dutch Harbor residents opened their homes for BOUTWELL members for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone who took part enjoyed good food and good company. FSCS Jackson and the rest of the Food Service division ensured the duty section and everyone else onboard enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner as well. BOUTWELL left Dutch Harbor the next day rested, well fed, and ready to continue its work in the Bering Sea.

Mid Patrol Break: POLAR SEA, Cornelia Marie Visit.

BOUTWELL spent its mid-patrol break in Dutch Harbor, AK. The time between Kodiak and Dutch Harbor was spent boarding fishing vessels taking part in the red king crab fishery. The boardings checked to ensure vessels were in compliance with federal safety and administrative regulations. The stay was originally scheduled for four days, but BOUTWELL had to spend and extra six due to raw water pump failure on one of the main deisel engines and one of the ship service generators. While BOUTWELL was in Dutch Harbor, the USCGC POLAR SEA pulled in for a brief stop for fuel and supplies. The POLAR SEA had spent 60 days prior underway in the ice, tagging polar bears for scientific research. Members of both BOUWELL and POLAR SEA mingled out in Dutch Harbor, sharing sea stories and discussing the differences between their patrols. ENS Riley Matsco enjoyed the visit most, as his wife, ENS Emily Matsco, is a member of POLAR SEA. the picture above was taken from Mount Ballyhoo, which was located right next to BOUTWELL's pier.

BOUTWELL was also lucky to have several celebrities visit while she was moored in Dutch Harbor. The Cornelia Marie, a pot boat on the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch, also pulled into Dutch Harbor while BOUTWELL was moored, and the crew received a tour from Captain Cavanaugh. The picture below was taken on the bridge during the tour.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EO!!!

LCDR Fleming celebrated his birthday with the crew of BOUTWELL while underway on November 5th. He arrived at lunch in the wardroom and found his seat decorated with a banner and streamers. FS3 Morin baked a three layer cookie cake, which was presented at dinner with birthday candles. A picture of EO with his Happy Birthday banner is shown above.

HALLOWEEN UNDERWAY

Being underway on Halloween did not stop BOUTWELL from celebrating the day. More than 11 members dressed up, participated in a costume contest, and trick-or-treated around the Ship afterwards. Winners of the costume contest were: ENS Michka (Most Retro, as an extra from the movie Dazed and Confused), ENS Powers (Most Creative, as GM1 Lee), HS3 Moran and ET2 Menrath (Scariest, as Medical Zombies), FS1 Stewart (Funniest, as an older woman who lost her puppy) and FN McKee (Most Original, as the Scarecrow from The Dark Knight). Pictured from left to right is: ENS Sullivan, CDR Pruitt, ENS Michka, ENS Powers, HS3 Moran, ET2 Menrath, FN McKee, DC2 Cooper, SK1 Williams, FS1 Stewart and LTJG Love.

CREW MEMBERS TAKE C-130 RIDE

On October 7th, 8 BOUTWELL crewmembers had the great opportunity of taking a ride on an HC-130 the last full day of BOUTWELL's Kodiak inport. From left to right, members included SN Fike, FN Stanford, ENS Fernandez, ENS Van Cleave, IT3 Chicwak, BM3 Hoigaard, SN Gonzalez and SN Rivas. Organized by ENS Van Cleave, the training flight afforded everyone the opportunity to gain a better understanding of Coast Guard Aviation while taking in breath-taking views of Alaska. A special thank you to AIRSTA KODIAK for their willingness to show a small group of BOUTWELL members another side of the Coast Guard!

BOUTWELL DEPARTS ALAMEDA, HEADS NORTH

October 16th marked the 99th day of in port time following her six month deployment around the World. It also marked day one of her next patrol. BOUTWELL got underway from Coast Guard Island around 6:45 PM after making some last minute repairs. Once again, the hard work and dedication of the engineers onboard proved critical to our success. This time BOUTWELL turned North instead of West, on her way to the Alaskan frontier. BOUTWELL will be boarding commercial fishing vessels while in Alaska, and serve as an additional search and rescue asset.
On the transit North, BOUTWELL conducted flight operations with Air Station Humboldt Bay, CA and Air Station Astoria, OR. The flight operations enabled the Air Stations to certify/recertify several pilots and air crew members, while providing BOUTWELL the opportunity to practice evolutions we hadn’t completed in months. BOUTWELL also managed to find time to tour Glacier Bay, which is located in Southeast Alaska. Glacier Bay is a tourist attraction featuring beautiful terrain, pristine waters, and of course, glaciers. Glacier Bay attracts approximately five hundred thousand visitors each year, of which 480,000 arrive via cruise ship. The scenery was breath-taking, and several crew members brought their cameras out on deck to capture the wild beauty of Glacier Bay. At the conclusion of the detour, BOUTWELL continued North to Alaska.

Fleet Week Article in American Observer

William Cummings, a contributor to American Observer, American University's journalism magazine, toured BOUTWELL during Fleet Week and wrote an article recounting his time onboard:

http://inews6.americanobserver.net/articles/coast-guard-crew-recounts-adventures