The 110-foot Anacapa was stationed in Petersburg for more than three decades, patrolling Southeast waters and helping to save many lives.
When Josh Rathmann was a petty officer second class boatswain’s mate aboard the Coast Guard cutter Anacapa, there was no EMT onboard – he was the designated “medical guy.”
Now, Rathmann is Petersburg’s Emergency Services Coordinator, but he didn’t have all that medical training in 2017.“I was giving them sips of orange juice because I thought maybe low blood sugar or something,” he said. There were guys that were coming down and running and getting supplies for me. It was a great team effort.”
Rathmann said he found out later that the man was in septic shock and on the verge of death. He said the Coast Guard’s teamwork saved the man’s life – and made him proud of his Anacapa crewmates and fellow coasties around Southeast. The service life of the Anacapa, like all Island Class cutters, was designed to be about three decades. But Mike Salerno, a Coast Guard public affairs officer, said older boats get more and more difficult to maintain.
The Anacapa is now on its way to Baltimore, via the Panama Canal. It’s headed to a place called the Cutter Transition Division, where decommissioned vessels go to get prepped for their next phase of life. Salerno said sometimes the Coast Guard sells the boats to other countries for use in that nation’s military. And sometimes the cutters are stripped for parts.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Man, 65, bitten by shark off South Carolina coast while spearfishing, Coast Guard saysA 65-year-old man was spearfishing about 20 miles off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, when he was bitten by a shark, the Coast Guard said.
Read more »
Going Coast to Coast, UW Adds Rhode Island Basketball GuardLuis Kortright becomes fifth new backcourt player for coach Danny Sprinkle.
Read more »
Coast Guard rescues injured sailor off Georgia coastThe U.S. Coast Guard rescued an injured man whose sailboat, the Quicksilver, ran aground near Sapelo Sound, Georgia on Wednesday. The man was airlifted away from the scene.
Read more »
Southeast University Future Technology Institute Recruitment Notice - Nanjing, Jiangsu (CN) job with Southeast UniversityIntroduction to the Institute: Southeast University is one of the first 12 units in the country to establish a Future Technology Institute and is an important part of China's New Engineering 2.0 Plan.
Read more »
‘New Berlin’s forever crossing guard’: National PTA honors beloved guard with posthumous awardThe National Parent Teacher Association will honor a beloved crossing guard Thursday night at New Berlin Elementary.
Read more »
Pregnant Disney Cruise Passenger Airlifted Off Ship by U.S. Coast Guard: See PhotosThe 'Disney Fantasy' was stationed 180 miles from land when Coast Guard members responded to a medical emergency involving the 35-year-old patient
Read more »