ALAMEDA, Calif. – Coast Guard Base Alameda welcomed its new commanding officer during a change of command ceremony held on Coast Guard Island, Thursday, May 3.

Capt. Michael Woolard relieved Capt. Gary Spenik, who has served in Alameda since June 2011 when Coast Guard Base Alameda was known as Coast Guard Base Support Unit Alameda prior to being reorganized in 2012.

Woolard’s previous assignment was Executive Officer of Civil Engineering Unit Oakland, Calif. His first assignment was on the Coast Guard Cutter Chilua followed by the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast. Other assignments include Training Center Petaluma, Integrated Deepwater System at Coast Guard Headquarters, Integrated Support Center Kodiak, Civil Engineering Unit Miami and Office of Engineering at Coast Guard Headquarters.  

Woolard graduated in 1990 from the United States Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. He went on to receive his Masters Degree in Civil Engineering in 1996 from the University of Illinois.

Spenik will be retiring after 27 years. His immediate plans are to spend time with his family while remaining in the Alameda area.

The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition, which formally restates that the continuity of command will be maintained. It is a formal ritual, conducted before the assembled company of command. It conveys to the officers, enlisted personnel, civilian employees, and auxiliary members of the Coast Guard that although the authority of command is relinquished by one person and is assumed by another, it is still maintained without interruption.

Base Alameda is located on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, Calif. Established Feb. 15, 2012, Base Alameda provides a wide variety of services in direct support of Coast Guard activities throughout the West Coast.  As with all Coast Guard units, a day in Base Alameda is like no other unit.  Every day colors are observed, galley meals are served, hundreds of vehicles are checked as they pass through the security gate, contracts and purchase orders are processed, maintenance work orders are done, port and base security are maintained, tons of materials are stored and moved in and out of the warehouse, industrial support and Maintenance Augmentation Teams are provided throughout the West Coast.

There are five departments and two units within Base Alameda.

Electronics Support Unit Alameda—Supports our operational partners by maximizing C4IT readiness through the installation, maintenance, and repair of Coast Guard standard C4IT systems, providing timely and comprehensive depot level support within District 11 area of operations.

Naval Engineering Support Unit Alameda—Provides hull, mechanical and electrical; ordinance maintenance augmentation to specific cutters; Industrial Support Activities; and Maintenance Augmentation Teams.

Facilities Engineering—Responsible for the maintenance and care of all CG Island Facilities, including both preventive and recurring unit level maintenance.  Ensures that facilities and utilities are adequate for over 2,100 tenants in regards to heating, air condition, and ventilation.  Manages safety and environmental programs including life safety issues and environmental compliance.

Personnel Support—Provides and manages support in Personnel Services, Decedent Affairs, Housing, Transportation, Education,  Morale, Recreation & Welfare, Child Development Center, and Temporary Duty Management.

Comptroller/Base Operations—Manages a 15.5 million dollar budget for all the Base services/operations, housing maintenance and shore energy accounts.  Provides security, emergency contingency preparations, and port services. 

Procurement & Contracting—Provides supplies, services, and construction contracting (<$150K) for its numerous customers under direction and guidance from the Base Commanding Officer and the Shore Infrastructure Logistics

Center (SILC)-Base Support.  Maintains Purchase Card program.

Health Safety & Work Life—Provides primary care medical, dental,  optical, acute care pharmacy, and specialty referral.  Assistance and training provided for Employee, Family, Special Needs, Transition, Career, and Health concerns.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard is working with offshore racing organizers to amend their courses for the next two offshore sailing races pending a review of safety plans and procedures in the San Francisco Bay area.  

The April 28, 2012 Offshore Yacht Racing Association Duxship Race and the May 12, 2012 Singlehanded Sailing Society Farallons Race are the affected races. The Coast Guard is working closely with race organizers to implement alternative courses for the impacted races. All other races that stay within the demarcation line that runs from Point Bonita to Land’s End are not impacted.

Recent offshore accidents have highlighted the need to assess offshore race organizers’ safety plans and procedures. Races inside the bay are still being permitted per the current procedures. The Coast Guard is calling on all offshore race organizers and participants to conduct their own safety stand-downs during this period. 

US Sailing, the national governing body for the sport of sailing, is conducting an independent review of Bay Area offshore racing safety procedures to provide an independent assessment of existing plans and procedures.

 “The San Francisco Bay Area sailing community is one of the most vibrant, experienced, and capable sailing communities in the world,” said Capt. Cynthia Stowe, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of San Francisco.  “This temporary safety stand-down from offshore racing will allow the Coast Guard and the offshore racing community to further our common safety goals.”

WHO: Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, Vice Adm. Sally Brice-O'Hara, Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown and   Vice Adm. Paul Zukunft.

WHAT:Zukunft will relieve Brown as Coast Guard Pacific Area commander, during a change-of-command ceremony.

WHEN: The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., Friday. Media interested in attending the ceremony should contact Pacific Area Public Affairs at 510-437-3375 and should arrive no later than 9:45 a.m.

WHERE: Cutter pier along Spencer Road, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, Calif., 94501.

Background:  Brown assumed the duties as PACAREA commander May 2010. During his time as PACAREA commander, Brown oversaw the reconstitution of the PACAREA staff and the commissioning of the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, which included First Lady Michelle Obama as the ship’s sponsor. Brown is heading to Coast Guard Headquarters to assume the duties of Deputy Commandant for Mission Support.

Zukunft, a North Branford, Conn., native, graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1977, with a Bachelor of Science degree in government.  He holds a Master of Arts degree in management from Webster University and a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies and International Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College.  Zukunft served as the Federal-On-Scene-Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf where he directed federal, state, and local agencies in response efforts.

The area of responsibility of PACAREA is 74 million square miles ranging from South America, north to the Arctic Circle and west to the Far East.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Coast Guard is overseeing the rescue of a disabled freighter, which is currently 11 miles west of Pt. Reyes, and is being towed to the Port of Oakland for repairs, Wednesday, April 25. 

The Coast Guard personnel at Vessel Traffic Service San Francisco identified the disabled motor vessel Pacific Sea, a 623-foot Hong Kong flagged bulk carrier, at approximately 6:00 a.m. Sunday.  At the time the vessel was disabled and adrift 24 miles west of Bodega Bay, Calif., and en route to Stockton, Calif. 

The vessel's owner contracted with Starlight Marine Services to render assistance and two tugs were dispatched to the scene to tow the vessel. 

The Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye, an 87-foot Coastal Patrol boat homeported in Bodega Bay, was also dispatched to the scene to oversee the operation.  The vessel is not carrying any cargo, but does have nearly 200,000 gallons of fuel oil on board.  

The vessel was taken under tow at approximately 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night, and is currently en route to San Francisco Bay with an arrival time of approximately 6:00 a.m.  The vessel will be towed to the Port of Oakland where it will undergo repairs and be inspected by the Coast Guard. 

Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Command Center will continue to monitor the disabled vessel and tow efforts.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – The Coast Guard Pacific Area (PACAREA) commander will be relieved in a change-of-command ceremony scheduled for Friday, at 10 a.m., at Coast Guard Island in Alameda.

Vice Adm. Paul Zukunft, former assistant commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship, at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., will relieve Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown, as Coast Guard Pacific Area commander, during the time-honored military tradition.

Brown assumed the duties as PACAREA commander in May 2010. During his time as PACAREA commander, Brown oversaw the reconstitution of the PACAREA staff and the commissioning of the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, which included First Lady Michelle Obama as the ship’s sponsor. Brown is heading to Coast Guard Headquarters to assume the duties of Deputy Commandant for Mission Support.

Zukunft, a North Branford, Conn., native, graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1977, with a Bachelor of Science degree in government.  He holds a Master of Arts degree in management from Webster University and a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies and International Affairs from the U.S. Naval War College.  Zukunft served as the Federal-On-Scene-Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf where he directed federal, state, and local agencies in response efforts.

The area of responsibility of PACAREA is 74 million square miles ranging from South America, north to the Arctic Circle and west to the Far East.

Media interested in attending the ceremony should contact the Pacific Area Public Affairs office at 510-437-3375.  Media should arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. and have media credentials, a driver’s license and proof of insurance if operating a vehicle to access Coast Guard Island.

ALAMEDA, California - At 8:04 pm (PST) this evening, Coast Guard crews suspended their search for four sailors missing since Saturday afternoon when their sailing vessel, the Low Speed Chase, grounded near the Farallon Islands.

Throughout the course of a search covering an area of more than 5,000 square miles, efforts by multiple air assets included a C-130 airplane from Air Station Sacramento, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco and two Pave Hawk helicopters from the 129th Air National Guard Rescue Wing at Moffett Field near Sunnyvale, CA. Surface efforts included the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, the 87-foot Cutters Pike and Sockeye, and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat, all from the San Francisco Bay Area. Despite the recovery of three survivors and a deceased individual within hours of the grounding, the combined efforts of these numerous assets were unable to locate the four missing crew members as of Sunday evening.

"The decision to suspend a search and rescue case like this is never an easy one to make," said Captain Cynthia Stowe, Sector San Francisco commanding officer. "The Coast Guard extends our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the lost crewmen and the deceased. They will all be in our thoughts and prayers."

INFORMATIONAL LINKS & PRESS RELEASES:

The 129th Air National Guard Rescue Wing Public Affairs Officer:
Capt. Donald G. Leblanc (650) 603-9152

129th Air Rescue Wing press release

Update 3: Coast Guard, Air National Guard continue search for 4

VIDEO: 3 rescued by Coast Guard and Air National Guard

Coast Guard, Air National Guard recovers 3 sailors, 1 deceased

San Francisco Yacht Club

Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The US Coast Guard and Air National Guard continue to search for four individuals who remain missing following Saturday's grounding of the sailing vessel Low Speed Chase near the Farallon Islands.

Coast Guard air assets conducted a search for missing crewmembers throughout much of the evening, with the exception of a temporary suspension in the early morning hours due to low visibility and adverse weather conditions.  Improved conditions and daylight enabled a continuation of search operations by daybreak Sunday using a Coast Guard C-130 from Air Station Sacramento, an MH-65 from Air Station San Francisco, two Blackhawk helicopters from the 129th Air National Guard Rescue Wing at Moffett Field, the 225-foot Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, the 87-foot Cutters Pike and Sockeye, and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Golden Gate.  The number of assets involved in the search was increased to account for the expanding size of the search area, which was approximately 15 X 30 miles as of early Sunday morning. 

According to reports by the vessel master who survived the incident, the Low Speed Chase was transiting around the Farallon Islands when it was struck by a series of large waves that rolled the vessel multiple times, causing crew members to enter the water and ultimately running the vessel aground. The vessel remains intact on the rocks. 

"The Coast Guard recognizes the difficulties being faced by family and friends of the missing and deceased," said Capt. Cynthia Stowe, Sector San Francisco commanding officer. "The Coast Guard extends our thoughts and prayers to all those involved."

The 129th Air National Guard Rescue Wing Public Affairs Officer is: Capt. Donald G. Leblanc, Moffett Federal Airfield, CA, 650-603-9152.

ALAMEDA, California - The US Coast Guard and Air National Guard are conducting rescue efforts in the vicinity of the Farallon Islands following the grounding of a sailing vessel with eight people on board.

At approximately 3 p.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center at Coast Guard Island, Alameda, received a 406MHz signal from an Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon registered to the 38-foot sailing vessel Low Speed Chase, which was participating in a race around the Farallon Islands with eight people on board.  Around the same time, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received a related mayday call and issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and launched multiple assets including an MH-65 helicopter from Air Station San Francisco, the 87-foot CG Cutter SOCKEYE, and an 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Golden Gate. Search efforts were aided by two Blackhawk helicopters from the 129th Air National Guard unit at Moffett Field.  Upon arriving on scene, three survivors and a fourth deceased individual were recovered.  Coast Guard and Air National Guard assets continue to search for the remaining four crew members who remain missing.

Bodega Bay, Calif.- The Coast Guard rescued three people early Sunday morning near Bodega Bay after recieving a report of two men and a seven-year-old boy who were overdue.

At approximately 11:30 P.M. Saturday, April 7, the Coast Guard was notified about the missing boaters, who had gone out on a fishing trip and failed to return as planned.

The Coast Guard launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Bodega Bay and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco. The aircrew was able to locate the recreational vessel and directed the boatcrew to overdue vessel.

The motor lifeboat crew took the recreational vessel in tow back to Bodega Bay.  All three boaters were found in good condition.

The Coast Guard would like to remind boaters of the importance of having a Float Plan. A Float Plan is letting people know what your intentions are before leaving to go out on the water.  This could include how long you will be gone, where you are going, where your boat is going to be launched from and any other important information that could aid in a search effort.     

SAN FRANCISCO — Coast Guard crews suspended the search at 8:37 p.m. for a 42-year-old man who went overboard from a 43-foot fishing vessel approximately nine miles off the coast of Moss Landing, Calif., Tuesday.

The fishing vessel Elaine notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Monterey, Calif., that a crewmember had gone overboard at approximately 6:30 a.m.

The Coast Guard searched with crews aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco, two 47-foot Motor Lifeboats from Station Monterey, and the Coast Guard Cutter Hawksbill, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat homeported in Monterey. A fireboat from the Monterey County Fire Department also assisted with the search.

The Coast Guard searched an area of 242 square miles for approximately 13 hours.

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