Surfmen trainees head to dangerous waters to learn the skills needed to drive Coast Guard lifeboats on the most challenging rescue missions.
The mayday call came on graduation day in 2023 for the U.S. Coast Guard's elite surfmen trainees, but this wasn't a class exercise. A boat was taking on water just outside of one of the most dangerous inlets in the U.S. and conditions had gone from mild to mad by the time the students and instructors on three boats, out for one last training run, found it. 'At this point we're facing 25-, 30-foot, 35-foot breaking seas. Fifty knots of winds.
The area is known as the Graveyard of the Pacific, where the Columbia River spills into the Pacific Ocean at the border between Oregon and Washington. Up to a million cubic feet of water can pour out of the river's mouth every second, and run right into waves that have been moving across the Pacific for thousands of miles. Jeff Smith is the curator of the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which has a giant map illustrating how the mouth of the Columbia River has earned the ominous title.
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.
Coast Guard seizes $4.3 million of cocaine from boat off coast of Puerto RicoCoast Guard crew members found 142 'brick-sized packages' that tested positive for cocaine inside a small boat.
Read more »
Coast Guard hoists ill man from cruise ship nearly 170 miles from California coastA U.S. Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew out of Ventura, California, hoisted a man from the Grand Princess cruise ship on Sunday after reports that he was experiencing severe abdominal pains.
Read more »
Coast Guard hoists sick passenger from cruise ship nearly 170 miles from California coastToday's Video Headlines: 10/15/24
Read more »
Officials rescue man floating on cooler off Florida coast after Hurricane MiltonThe U.S. Coast Guard said the man was found 30 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.
Read more »
Officials rescue man floating on cooler off Florida coast after Hurricane MiltonThe U.S. Coast Guard said the man was found 30 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.
Read more »
Officials rescue man floating on cooler off Florida coast after Hurricane MiltonThe U.S. Coast Guard said the man was found 30 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.
Read more »