We've Been Talking About Him for Years

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Captain Obvious, U.S. Coast Guard. 

Navy and Coast Guard Ships Collide Off Kodiak Island

KODIAK, Alaska - A Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team Kodiak boat crew drives a new 38-foot Special Purpose Craft - Training Boat in Womens Bay Sept. 27, 2011. The SPC - TB is the only one of its kind in the Coast Guard and it is now permanently stationed at ANT Kodiak. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Charly Hengen.)

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - Nine people were hurt, including one critically, when a US Coast Guard boat and a US Navy boat collided in Womens Bay, south of the city of Kodiak.

The Coast Guard says the collision happened Wednesday night around 7:30 p.m.

Six people were hurt on the 38-foot Coast Guard boat, and three were hurt on the approximately 60-foot Navy boat. All were taken to the hospital by the Kodiak Fire Department after being brought from the site of the accident to the Coast Guard base, located near the site of the accident a few miles south of the city of Kodiak.

Late Wednesday night, one of the injured was medevaced to Anchorage. According to Capt. Tamara Lawrence, public affairs officer for the Navy, the person is now in stable condition.

The six people on the Coast Guard boat were released from the hospital.

The Coast Guard says both boats are tied up and an investigation is underway to determine what happened. According to Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Scott McCann, the Coast Guard vessel was on its way to port after a hoist training exercise.

Read the link for the whole story.

Monday ... Again?

Didn't we just do this last week?  Oh, well ... let's check the headlines, shall we?

 

Two missing after boat found capsized near Ketchikan

 

Coast Guard continues search near St. George for fishing vessel with six on board

 

Lodges along Iditarod trail brace for financial hit as race start moves to Fairbanks

 

There are winter storm warnings and weather advisories for the Copper River basin and in the King Salmon area. And in the local area, we're expecting a freezing rain/snow mix this morning, changing to rain this afternoon with a projected temp around 34°. That pattern's expected to stick around through tomorrow morning's commute, before colder air comes back with a changeover to all snow.

 

We're all praying there won't be any significant ice build-up. This morning's drive wasn't bad, and there haven't been any road or traffic reports this morning. At least, not yet.

 

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And to end this post, I'd like to show you a video of local racers getting some ice time in, at Big Lake. I'd like to, but can't get it to show, here.

 

Here's a link.  Sorry 'bout that, but stuff happens.

 

Thanks for stopping by, friends.

And Again...

An Anchorage pilot died and his passenger was seriously injured when their small plane crashed on takeoff early Sunday at the Big Lake airport, according to Alaska State Troopers.

In a Sunday AST dispatch, troopers say Mat-Su Valley dispatchers were told of the crash that killed 50-year-old Christopher Cyphers just before 2:30 a.m. Investigators determined that Cyphers was flying a Piper Comanche that experienced “some type of engine problem” as it left the airport.

“Cyphers attempted to perform an emergency landing at the Big Lake Airport but struck trees which caused him to crash land on a roadway near the airport,” troopers wrote. “ Cyphers was killed in the crash and the passenger suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported by Lifemed (air ambulance) to an Anchorage-area hospital.”

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Coast Guard Mulls Downsizing Kodiak Station

The Coast Guard is considering a proposal to downsize its Kodiak communications station.

The proposal would cut 20 positions of 53.

The communications station is 3 miles from the Coast Guard base. The station's primary mission is for search and rescue operations. It's where personnel monitor radio traffic from ships and planes.

Lt. Cmdr. Paul Salerno says nothing has been decided yet. If the downsizing is approved, it would begin in summer 2015.