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U.S. Coast Guard: Always ready

The Coast Guard has a proud history--in peacetime and at war. By Bob Sargeant. U.S. Coast Guard: Always ready

Date published: 11/20/2004

THE COAST GUARD is famil- iar to most Virginians who venture out onto the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River as watchful guardians who are sometimes welcomed aboard for the occasional marine inspection, and whose presence is always welcomed when the water is coming in over the gunwales.

The Old Coast Guard Station in Virginia Beach, formerly known as The Life-Saving Museum, preserves much of the state's maritime history and stories of ships lost, ships saved and daring rescues. Located at 24th Street and Atlantic Avenue, the station is a perfect destination for school day trips.

The museum building is one of the few remaining examples of the picturesque rescue-boat stations left in the nation, and offers a host of year-round programs ranging from maritime poetry contests for students to pig and oyster roasts to lifeguard reunions. The station also boasts a fine museum shop, library and seasonal maritime craft shows and exhibits.

On Water Safety Day, visitors can watch simulated surf rescues by Coast Guard boats and helicopters and learn safety tips so they need not be one of the thousands of people each year who pray that the familiar white hull of a cutter soon shows up on the horizon. When sea conditions are at their worst, the Coast Guard counts on getting the call: "You have to go out. You don't have to come back."

I joined the Coast Guard back in 1975 with visions of daring rescues from the decks of pitch- ing small boats and an idyllic life in a scenic New England cove at a cozy rescue station not unlike the one that houses the museum. The reality was intensive schooling in radar, electronics, computers and naval gunnery, followed by three years aboard two world-roaming 378-foot ships that could go almost 18,000 miles between pit stops.

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Date published: 11/20/2004