Coast Guard decommissions longtime Southeast Alaska cutter Anacapa

The Coast Guard cutter Anacapa astatine anchor (Courtesy Josh Rathmann)

When Josh Rathmann was a petty serviceman 2nd people boatswain’s mate aboard nan Coast Guard cutter Anacapa, location was nary EMT onboard – he was nan designated “medical guy.”

“Everyone was like, okay, Josh, you’re up,” he said. “I’m for illustration ‘(expletive)’ you know. And truthful this dude is – I mean – he’s, successful and retired of consciousness, he’s stopping breathing…”

The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned nan Anacapa astatine a ceremonial successful Port Angeles, Washington connected April 26. In its much than 3 decades stationed successful Petersburg, nan Anacapa responded to a batch of emergency situations. The unit went connected hunt and rescue missions, responded to earthy disasters and rescued fishermen from a sinking ship. 

This time, a crewmember connected different Coast Guard alloy was having a aesculapian emergency. 

Crew transferred him to nan Anacapa, which was faster than nan different boat. They headed afloat steam for Ketchikan.

Now, Rathmann is Petersburg’s Emergency Services Coordinator, but he didn’t person each that aesculapian training successful 2017. Still, he knew a small bit. More than anyone else.

“I was giving them sips of orangish juice because I thought possibly debased humor sweetener aliases something,” he said. There were guys that were coming down and moving and getting supplies for me. It was a awesome squad effort.”

Partway there, they were met by a third, moreover faster, Coast Guard boat, which brought nan man to Ketchikan to beryllium medivaced.

“It worked great,” Rathmann said. “Everybody worked together tremendously, seamlessly. You know, each nan guys connected our ship, each nan guys connected nan different ship.” 

Rathmann said he recovered retired later that nan man was successful septic daze and connected nan verge of death. He said nan Coast Guard’s teamwork saved nan man’s life – and made him proud of his Anacapa crewmates and chap coasties astir Southeast. 

Besides conducting rescue missions, nan Anacapa unit besides acted arsenic marine rule enforcement, disentangled whales, delivered a Christmas character to nan authorities capital, and moreover utilized its cannon to descend a derelict Japanese shade ship off nan seashore of Southeast Alaska aft nan Fukushima tsunami.

But Rathmann said it wasn’t each work.

“We’d food for halibut, and if we’d drawback halibut, we’d filet it up and our navigator would navigator it up nan adjacent time and make halibut tacos. We would return nan mini vessel complete to statement and we’d spell cervid hunting. And 1 of nan guys sewage a cervid nan 1 clip – brought it backmost connected board, strung it up connected nan backmost deck,” he said.

Rathmann wasn’t amazed to spot nan Anacapa decommissioned. He said nan vessel had quirks.

“It ne'er failed, each clip it went underway, we had immoderate issue,” he said. “Every azygous clip we had an issue…we ended up calling it nan Ana-crap-a, we’d joke astir it,” he said, laughing.

The work life of nan Anacapa, for illustration each Island Class cutters, was designed to beryllium astir 3 decades. But Mike Salerno, a Coast Guard nationalist affairs officer, said older boats get much and much difficult to maintain.

“The vessel was built successful nan 1980s. So, conscionable for illustration an aged car takes a small spot much activity to enactment successful pristine conditions, you know, nan older a vessel gets, nan much attraction it’ll require,” he said.

He said sometimes it’s reliable to do that attraction because parts conscionable aren’t available.

“You know, manufacturers sometimes will extremity making parts that they utilized to make successful abundance – now they’re overmuch much sparse,” he said.

The Coast Guard had planned to decommission nan vessel astatine nan extremity of its 32 years successful Petersburg, but it sewage a mates much years of usage successful Port Angeles, wherever it replaced a alloy successful worse condition. 

The Anacapa is now connected its measurement to Baltimore, via nan Panama Canal. It’s headed to a spot called nan Cutter Transition Division, wherever decommissioned vessels spell to get prepped for their adjacent shape of life. Salerno said sometimes nan Coast Guard sells nan boats to different countries for usage successful that nation’s military. And sometimes nan cutters are stripped for parts.

“The Coast Guard will reintroduce nan parts and instrumentality backmost into nan Coast Guard, and sometimes Navy, proviso chains for usage connected ships that are still operational,” he said.

Salerno said he can’t beryllium sure, but nan Anacapa’s eventual destination will apt beryllium 1 of those two.

Josh Rathmann, who was honorably discharged from Coast Guard successful 2019, is 1 of respective erstwhile Anacapa crewmembers who person made Petersburg their home. He said it’s bittersweet to spot nan vessel go.

“I mean, it was a bully boat. I deliberation it’s a surviving legend, you know, particularly successful Southeast. It’s served nan organization and nan region for years and years and years,” he said.

The Coast Guard Cutter Pike, an 87-foot patrol boat, replaced nan Anacapa successful Petersburg successful June of 2022.