Arctic Exchange

ARCTIC OCEAN – Fireman Mike Miozzi (right) returns to the Coast Cutter Healy after spending the day aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent Aug. 17, 2009.

While Miozzi was on the Laurent a few Canadian Coast Guardsmen toured the Healy.  The ships have been exchanging personnel for the last few days to help crewmembers of both vessels develop a better understanding of how each ship is operated and maintained.

Miozzi, an Exeter, R.I., native, has been stationed on the Healy for nearly a year and is working to become a machinery technician.  As a member of the Healy’s main propulsion engineering division, the Laurent’s machinery spaces were what he was most interested in exploring.

“Their engine room is much different than ours.  Here most of our machinery occupies its own space, but on the Laurent almost all of their equipment and machinery is in the same space,” Miozzi said.  The design reminded him of the Coast Guard’s 378-foot cutters, he said.

While his main objective was merely to have a look at the Laurent, Miozzi found his way into a bit of work.  “I got to clean a few duplex strainers that were in their sludge system,” he said.  “It worked the same way over there as it does here: shift the flow to the strainer that is not being worked on, open up the strainer you need to clean, remove the basket, rinse it off, put the basket back in and close it up,” he said.  “I didn’t exactly go over there and change out an engine, but it was pretty cool to be more than just a tourist,” he said.

Even though the engine room was impressive, it wasn’t what stood out most to Miozzi.  “The people on the Laurent were so professional and welcoming that I felt like I was a part of their crew,” he said.  “The next time they have a few people come over here I am going to volunteer to give them a tour to return the favor,” he said.

There was one other thing that Miozzi couldn’t help but notice.  “They have a bar that’s open from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.,” he said.  “I’m pretty sure that’s why we had to leave at 7 p.m.,” he said.

(U.S. Coast Guard photos and story by Petty Officer Patrick Kelley)

In Her Element

ARCTIC OCEAN – Seaman Melissa Gomes, a Seattle native, prepares to select fresh vegetables to be served with the evening meal Aug.13, 2009, on the Coast Guard Cutter Healy.

Gomes graduated food service specialist class A-school in April and is scheduled to be promoted to Petty Officer Third Class in October.

The daughter of two former Coast Guard food service specialists, she says the Coast Guard provided her the most direct path to her chosen profession and that she is ready to face the challenges that come with being a cook on a large cutter. “I know that cooking for so many people is a big job but it’s exactly what I want to do,” Gomes said.

Gomes worked at a restaurant for nearly a year before she joined the Coast Guard but was never afforded the opportunity to work in the kitchen. “The fact that I could begin cooking as soon as I finished my training is what I found so appealing about joining the guard,” she said.

Petty Officer Second Class Candice Morrison, a food service specialist, says she believes that Gomes has a bright future ahead of her. “She works hard and is learning quickly,” Morrison said. “I think her positive attitude is what will set her apart during her career,” she said.

When asked what her favorite part of her new career is, she didn’t hesitate. “Being able to serve others while I am doing what I enjoy most is the absolute best part of the job,” she said.

(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Patrick Kelley)

Healy Conducts Arctic Continental Shelf Research

ARCTIC OCEAN – A Coast Guard Cutter Healy boatcrew along with Ethan Roth,a research engineer at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, recovered a bottom-moored autonomous acoustic recorder called a High-frequency Acoustic Recording Package (HARP), Aug. 8, 2009, while on a scientific research mission in the Arctic Ocean.

The 1,100-pound HARP spent nearly a year on the ocean floor at a depth of almost 1,000 feet measuring ambient noise at its location.

To locate and recover the device the Healy was steered to the position the recorder was deployed a year ago. A signal was sent from the cutter to the mooring that commanded it to release the ballast weights that held it to the bottom of ocean.

After a 5-minute assent, the device reached the surface and was located by the boatcrew. The crew towed the instrument to the stern of the Healy where it was hoisted onto the ship using a large a-frame crane.

While deployed, a hydrophone recorded sounds made by whales, seals and other marine mammals. It also monitored sounds created by movements of ice sheets above and the sea floor below. This information will be used to help scientists understand the natural sound level in the ocean.

The Healy’s current mission is of part of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Task Force’s efforts to determine the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf.

The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St.-Laurent is scheduled to join the Healy Aug. 10, 2009, to aid in collecting data that will used by both countries. For photos, please  visit the cutter Healy’s Flickr photostream at Flickr.com/photos/cutterhealy.

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