I joined the U. S. Coast Guard in 1977, and I was inspired by the stories I heard from the "Old Guard" members that were beginning to leave. I started out as a lighthouse keeper on our Lake Superior and understand winter storms. I transferred to the Pacific Northwest over time and saw horrific storms and have my own share of stories trying to keep the lights on and the radios working. The movie "The Finest Hours" does justice to those Old Guard Coasties and what they endured so others could live. Much like your RNLI. I do recommend it when it's released over there. Trailer 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQmllwTKtqU Trailer 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-XsppzuH-k
Astonishing isn't it David 9 of those 11 years was as a Helmsman too good times with great equipment and greater colleagues It was a pleasure to serve and greatly missed Oh well, life moves on aye
Longilily, as someone who's family has lost men to the sea I thank your organisation for the ones you could save and I thank you for your service.
Hi Longlilly! Was that where you are now or elsewhere???.. I know a chap who was with the Southwold crew but that was a little while ago.............
Hi Pods Where I am now, been here born and bred, don't think I'll ever move away now Visited Cromer Station some years ago, nice round that way
I will keep an eye out for it Neighbor Al. Lighthouse keeper? Probably my ideal job, it's a shame they are all automated over here now.
A handshake and a hand salute to Longlilly for his service. I'm under the impression that there has been a lot of collaboration over the years on boat designs between our organizations. Lighthouse duty was a wonderful experience for a 19 year old. I became an electronics technician and went on to maintain automated lighthouses off of the coast the states of Oregon and Washington. Kind of like being a groupie in a documentary! I've been fighting nostalgia lately. I sorely miss the sights and smells of the ocean, along with the thrill and camaraderie of my life in the Coast Guard. I ended up very far away from anywhere I previously called home, and I don't think it'll ever feel quite right. such is life.
What a fulfilling work life you had Al few have enjoyed their work to that degree, Wish I could of said the same, had a bad job for 9 years that I loathed the rest of my working life was ok though so not so bad after all. Light a lamp or three and reminisce I'll toast you tonight with a glass of red (or three ) for your excellent work
Here's two fun ones. I was station on Johnston Atoll in the north Pacific for a year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_Atoll We lived on one island, and worked on another island, commuting by small boats. On day I was running between the two islands by myself when a HUGE manta ray breached in front of me, forcing me to turn hard to avoid it. I expect that it had a wing-span great than 8 feet. Beautiful sea monster! The nights out there were beautiful since we were 800 miles out in the middle of nowhere. Low clouds during the rainy season would slide by day or night and drop rain behind them. One night, with a full moon, one of those clouds passed between the moon and me, and it created the most spectacular rainbow against a star-filled sky. A few of us saw it and just marveled. Beautiful places off the beaten path.
That was an interesting read on Wiki, I knew about the high altitude nuclear testing and launch failures from the film Trinity and Beyond, but not about the rest of it. Certainly off the beaten track, Al! Beautiful? I guess by the time you were there it was just another atoll.
