Some years ago, as a very young man, I experienced one of the most amazing adventures I could have ever dreamed of. From September 1973 through August of 1977 I spent 4 years in the United States Coast Guard. Most of that span was spent at the Umpqua River Lifeboat Station in Winchester Bay, Oregon. A small, quaint fishing village along the southwestern coast of Oregon. It was here I became part of an elite search and rescue unit which operating those venerable and magnificent 44 foot Motor Lifeboats, the CG 44303 and the CG 44331. Two of the most iconic surfboats ever commissioned.
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| Art work by Doug O'Dell |
While at the Umpqua River station, the team experienced some amazing rescues and averaged close to 400 SAR's (Search and Rescue or Sea Air Rescue) a year. Most of those were routine, but a few fell well beyond the realm of routine and became life altering and demanding challenges. Needless to say, that experience provided a profound influence upon my young adult life and I would not be the person I am today had those days never occurred.
Even all these years later, I can vividly remember events from those days and I often wished somehow I could convey the emotions and life strengthening events I experienced...so, I've decided to do just that by sharing through a fictional story what it means to be a part of a unit like the Umpqua River unit.
Over the next several weeks, I will be posting a few chapters at a time from an unpublished book I've written that captures the danger and excitement along with personal revelations and challenges of what it means to be part of a Coast Guard Search and Rescue Team. Although a fictional account, the story is heavily influenced by my personal experiences and takes the reader back to that early 1970's era when the CG44303 and the CG44331 ruled.
I've done a lot of writing over the years, mostly about photography or outdoor related adventures. But this particular project was a long time in coming and challenged my writing skills far greater than anything I've ever attempted before. I will include actual photographs or art work with some of the chapters to help enforce the visual effect of the moment. I hope you enjoy this action packed adventure and discover a new appreciation for the young men and women of this amazing branch of military service. The Link to the Prolog is below.
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| CG 44331 - Umpqua River - Circa 1974 |
Here's the Promo:
Running the Edge
Matthew Jacobs, a member of an elite U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue team, finds himself facing the greatest challenge of his life. As a confident and aggressive surfboat coxswain operating the venerable 44 foot motor Lifeboats, his job is to sometimes do the impossible, but sometimes the impossible can not be done and he finds himself unable to save the crew of the fishing vessel Marc Eagle during a dramatic rescue attempt. During the failed rescue, he also loses two of his crew and very nearly his own life.
He faces a loss of confidence and is haunted by the events of that fateful night. His world is further complicated when the former love of his life returns from an overseas missionary assignment and reveals a hidden secret, one that could forever tear them apart.
Not only must they run the edge of danger presented across the tumultuous waters off the Oregon coast, they must run the edge of their emotions as they attempt to reconcile their relationship. Together, they face a final test that not only challenges their faith, but threatens to destroy them both.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. The top half of this photo required a rather strong exposure to prevent over exposing it as the sky was quite bright. However, the bottom half was in shadow with barely enough light to illuminate it. What I did was to take two photo's with the camera on a tripod, one exposure for the top half not caring what the bottom looked like, which was black in this case, then another photo exposing for the bottom half which washed out the top portion.
