The Coast Guard Came to Town

Life in the Bush is just north of unpredictable.

Now that inservice is over in Unalakleet, we now have site inservices at the school. It's actually nice to go to these because it means that we are now getting paid for being at the school all day. We only get paid for 8 hours a day (and spend probably 12-14 working), but such is the life of a teacher.

Today was a special day for Gambell. OPERATION ARCTIC CROSSROADS (a joint-force operation between many military services) rolled into town! I have been keeping track of this operation for some time, and they've been doing some great things in the area. Since more and more people are going to the Arctic with the gradual opening of the Northwest Passage, the Coast Guard is seeing an increasing need for more CG presence in the Alaskan North. It's always best to make friends with villages and be prepared equipment-wise before such a big implementation, so they decided to smart small check the area out a little at a time. Medical services were offered to the villages as a kind of outreach, and the whole operation concluded in a press conference with the CG Commandant in Nome. Basically, the three-week operation is made up of many different kids of (military) doctors that go to villages in the Bering Strait/Norton Sound region. Villages visited included: Koyuk, Unalakleet, Savoonga, Gambell, Shishmaref.

I actually met up with the CG in Unalakleet during New Teacher Inservice and talked with them for a bit in the road before my flight to Gambell. I made contact with the USCGC SPAR during the following days (it helps to have connections sometimes!), and so I knew exactly when the cutter was going to pull into Gambell. Myself and the other Student Council co-sponsor decided it would be nice to have students welcome this joint-force operation into the village and give them a tour (at least of the school), so I contacted the SPAR and set that up. Best laid plans . . .

Once the SPAR pulled in and anchored out just off the North Beach, Tyler (another teacher) and I drove out to the beach on a Honda and waited for them to come ashore. We knew they would need a ride, and since they were going to the school anyway it just seemed to make sense. (We also hoped to talk to the doctors about giving our athletes their physicals). We waited, and waited, and waited! It was obvious that there was trouble but we couldn't figure out what was going on.






Finally, after about 45 min of watching the Coasties stand around on deck, they finally launched a little zodiac and went zooming off to land at the worst possible place on the island. :-) It was rocky and the swells were insane, but they insisted upon landing at that spot. Unfortunately, their zodiac motor jammed three-quarters of the way into the journey and one of their paddles broke on the third stroke, so they were tossed ashore by the Bering Sea. I got a quick video of them just coming ashore and trying to figure out what in the world they were going to do next.


Getting Bullied by the Bering







A few of the villagers were also waiting for the SPAR with Tyler and I, so we all pitched in and fished the two Coasties' zodiac out of the water. We tried to attach the zodiac to a Honda, but the Honda wasn't strong enough on its own (especially with an unstable gravel foundation). As you can tell from the video, that didn't really work out so well! At that point I had to put down the camera and pitch in. Everyone that was there (including myself and Tyler) grabbed the rope, pooled our strength in with the Honda, and finally got it on the shore.


Fishing for Coasties


They realized that the SPAR's crew would not be able to come ashore . . . and they wanted off the island and back on their cutter. :-) Since their motor was jammed, the desire to go back to the SPAR brought complications. They couldn't launch from their current position, either, because of the waves and rocks. So, we did the only thing we could: we picked up the zodiac and walked it down the beach! Those things are much heavier than I would have imagined. They finally got into a better launch position and were able to paddle out past the breaking swells. The motor even started working again, and they zoomed back to the SPAR with a wave. I wish I had a video of the last half of that adventure, but I was too busy hauling around the Coast Guard's boat! By the end of this whole adventure, I was freezing cold, soaked to the skin with salt water, and ready for a warm cup of hot chocolate.

Later, they were able to get a few of the doctors on shore. Tyler and I took the veterinarian to the clinic, and she got to work vaccinating some of the village dogs soon after. Unfortunately, the SPAR's crew did not get ashore and so the tour/meeting never took place. Maybe next time! Funny thing was, the weather in Gambell wasn't even THAT bad today. Just a lot of bad luck, I guess. Apparently, they had equipment trouble in Savoonga yesterday, too.

This all took place while Tyler and I should have been in meetings. We had to go back to the meetings in the afternoon, and it was like it never happened. Life in the Bush is so crazy unpredictable! It did make me homesick for the CG though; I hope they visit again soon.

-Megan