Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS July 2011


Commercial Fishing News FIRST USCG ACADEMY LEADERSHIP 44 LAUNCHED


Ceremony Commemorates First of Eight Sail Training Boats Built Through a Partnership of the Coast Guard Foundation, Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, Coast Guard Academy Parents Association and United States Coast Guard Academy


NEW LONDON, CT – The Coast Guard Foundation, the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, the Coast Guard Academy Parents Association and the United States Coast Guard Academy, through a collaborative partnership, hosted the christening and launch of the United States Coast Guard Academy’s new sailing training vessel, L44-01 Shearwater, at the Coast Guard Academy Waterfront on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm. As part of the Leadership 44 Campaign, the three non-profit organizations have raised nearly $6 million to build a new class of eight leadership sail training boats for the Coast Guard Academy. The event celebrated the launch of the first new vessel. The Leadership 44 boats will offer cadets the opportunity to learn the ways of the sea and provide valuable leadership and teamwork experience.


“The Leadership 44 Campaign is the first collaborative partnership of Coast Guard Academy stakeholders and will provide new training vessels for the future guardians of our shores,” said Robert


Hallock, chairman of the Leadership 44 Campaign Committee. “The sail training program is instrumental in developing cadets’ aptitude on the water. It is not simply about learning how to sail; it’s about learning how to lead and work as a team which are vital skills for Coast Guard officers.”


The Academy currently employs only four boats for the Coastal Sail Training Program. Due to the limited number of vessels, not every cadet at the Academy is able to participate in the program. The new sloops, made possible by the Leadership 44 Campaign, standardize the offshore sailing program and allow a greater number of cadets to participant in an experience crucial to their transformation into officers. The Coast Guard Academy Leadership 44-01, Shearwater, was designed to optimize and enhance the training experience. A procurement committee, representing the interests of the Academy and the three non- profits, worked with naval architect David Pedrick of Newport, Rhode Island, to develop a custom design for the sailboats. Built by Morris Yachts of Trenton, Maine, the resulting boats have contemporary lines, simplified rigging and an improved sail plan that will meet the rigorous demands of the Coastal Sail Training Program and give the Academy excellent performance for years to come.


“The current fleet is over forty-five years old,” continued Hallock. “The new USCG Shearwater and her sister vessels will help current and future Academy cadets prepare to effectively aid us in times of need and protect our country.”


The Leadership 44 Campaign partners are covering the majority of the cost of building the mold and constructing the new vessels. The federal government has committed to a substantial contribution by providing equipment, sails, engines, rigging and outfitting for each boat. The additional seven Leadership 44 vessels are scheduled to be finished in 2012.


For more information on the L44-01 Christening Ceremony, the Coast Guard Academy Leadership 44 Campaign or to support the project, visit www.cgaleadership44.org.


The Coast Guard Foundation The Coast Guard Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1969. It was initially created to provide funds for academic, athletic, and morale needs of the Coast Guard Academy and its cadets, which were not covered by federal operational funding. In 1986, the Foundation expanded its charter to support projects that enhance the education, welfare and morale of all Coast Guard members and their families. A Board of 100 Trustees from all parts of the country governs the Foundation. The


Lighthouse News


Lighthouse Keepers Honored With Grave Markers


On Memorial Day morning supporters of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse gathered to place, for the first time in history, bronze veteran grave markers at the grave sites of two United States Lighthouse Service keepers who once served at Little River Lighthouse in Cutler.


Among those present at the ceremony were descendants of Willie W. Corbett and Roscoe G. Johnson, the two lighthouse keepers who were honored. They all told stories and recounted memories that had been passed down to them from past generations. Dave Corbett, who is the grandson of Willie W. Corbett and great grandson of Roscoe G. Johnson, was one of those who gave remarks. He said that he had visited the day before with his uncle, 93-year old Purcell Corbett, the last surviving child of Willie and Velma Corbett, who became quite moved when told of the ceremony they would be holding to place and dedicate the markers.


Tim Harrison, president and founder of the Friends of Little River Lighthouse, which is a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, said that as well as honoring the men, the ceremony was historic because, until recently, grave markers were not available to honor the people who served in the United States Lighthouse Service. He went on to say, “There have been markers to honor the various branches of the military, but because the United States Lighthouse Service, which can trace it roots to 1789 was dissolved in 1939 when its duties were assumed by the United States Coast Guard; but the honoring of the Lighthouse Service keepers with grave markers fell by the wayside.”


Willie W. Corbett, who joined the United States Lighthouse Service in 1908, served at Little River Lighthouse from 1921 to 1945. Prior to that he had served at Saddleback Lighthouse, Monhegan Lighthouse, and Tenant’s Harbor


Lighthouse. Corbett’s wife, Velma, was the daughter of Roscoe G. Johnson, who had been the lighthouse keeper at Little River Lighthouse from 1896 to 1898. Prior to Little River Lighthouse, Johnson had been stationed at Libby Island Lighthouse. However, after being stationed at Little River for two years, in a position swap with Frederick Morong, Johnson went back to Libby Island and Morong went to Little River.


Harrison said that although lighthouse keepers and other employees of the Lighthouse Service were civilians, technically they must also be considered veterans. “They wore uniforms that were of similar design to those of the Navy and operated under many of the same guidelines and rules. They were a paramilitary organizational branch of the government and they served our nation with dedication and perseverance while keeping our waterways safe and many times performed acts of bravery and heroism that often went unnoticed.”


The United States Lighthouse Service is the name that is most commonly used when referring to the organization but it had been previously been referred to as the Lighthouse Establishment and official names that it operated under were also the U.S. Light-House Board from 1862 to 1910 and the U.S. Bureau of Lighthouses from 1910 to 1939 when it was dissolved and its duties were merged into the U.S. Coast Guard.


Harrison said that as soon as the Friends of Little River Lighthouse can raise the money and locate the gravesites of the other lighthouse keepers who served in the U.S. Lighthouse Service at Little River Lighthouse they will also place markers at those locations. Those lighthouse keepers and their dates of service at Little River Lighthouse are Elijah Shiverick, 1848-1853; John McGuire, 1853-1865; Oliver Ackley, 1865-1866; Edward Noyes, 1866-1870; Lucius Davis, 1870-1896; Frederick W.


Morong, Sr., 1898-1912 and Charles A. Kenney who served there from 1912 to 1921. The Friends of Little River Lighthouse also want to place a U. S. Lighthouse Service marker at the gravesite of Gleason W. Colbeth who served at Little River Lighthouse from 1945-1950. Although Colbeth served as a Coast Guard keeper at Little River Lighthouse, he had joined the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1930 and previously served at Seguin Island, Goose Rocks, Ram Island, Great Duck Island, Isles of Shoals, and Libby Island lighthouses. Colbeth joined the Coast Guard when they took over the Lighthouse Service in 1939. To learn more about Little River Lighthouse you can visit their web site at www.LittleRiverLight.org or by mail at P.O. Box 671, East Machias, ME 04630 or call them at 207-259-3833.


Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse 2011 Open House Schedule Announced Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse in South Portland will be open to the public beginning Saturday June 18 from 11am to 3pm to Labor Day - and now Sundays as well starting July 3 at the same time, 11am to 3pm. America’s only known publicly accessible caisson lighthouse will also be open Saturday Sept. 17 for annual Maine Lighthouse Day celebration and October 8 for Columbus Day weekend. The 24 total Open House dates are the most ever in a season. A 5.00 tour fee donation is recommended, and children under 13 are free. Some individuals might not be able to access the lighthouse as walking the breakwater and then climbing a small ladder is required. For more information go to www.springpointlight.org or call 799- 6337. Spring Point Light is located on the campus of SMCC in South Portland off of Fort Road. The lighthouse is solely maintained by the generous works and donations of the Spring Point Ledge Light Trust, a 501 c-3 non profit.


Trustees elect from their members a 30 person Board of Directors to oversee the management of the Foundation. Located in Stonington, Connecticut, the Foundation employs a staff of twelve civilians responsible for meeting the Foundation’s objectives and working closely with the Coast Guard on all issues. www.coastguardfoundation.org U.S. Coast Guard Academy As the smallest of the five U.S. service academies, the Coast Guard Academy offers a prestigious higher education, rigorous professional development and honor and tradition of a military academy. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled in the Academy, completing their course work in four years. Cadets devote themselves to an honor concept and graduate to work at sea, on land and in the air in meaningful careers of selfless service to others. All cadets who graduate are commissioned as Ensigns in the United States Coast Guard, and most are assigned to ships as Deck Watch Officers or Engineers in Training for their first two-year tour. www.uscga.edu


Sea Dogs Slugger to Participate in 8th Annual Boat Building Festival July 8, 9 & 10 in Portland


PORTLAND—A new feature of this year’s Boat Building Festival is a special Rowing Challenge, the “Row-Down” in which Slugger, mascot of the Portland Sea Dogs, will challenge Crusher of the Red Claws and Salty Pete of the Pirates to a rowing competition at Back Cove on Saturday July 9th at 4pm. Jointly sponsored with the Sea Dogs, the “Row-Down” will help raise funds for the Compass Project’s Boat Building Programs for at-risk youth. The Compass Project will display a boat at Hadlock Field on Saturday June 11th from 4:30 to 6 pm to promote the Row-Down. Slugger will look the boat over and demonstrate his rowing technique between 5:00-5:15 on Saturday at the boat display in the plaza. A Compass Project student, Dylan Farrell-Reny, will throw out the first pitch at Saturday’s game. Dylan is a student from So. Portland High School who participated in a Math and Boat Building Program at the Compass Project this year.


The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball Team located at Portland’s Hadlock Field. Tickets to Saturday’s game are available by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 208-879-9500 or online at www.seadogs.com. The Boat Building Festival will be held on July 8, 9 & 10 in Portland. The event is open to families and youth groups – to participate, register at to www.compassproject.org.


Compass Project programs engage at- risk youth through boat building and rowing by teaching practical and academic skills. These hands-on programs help youth find new directions for the future by incorporating both life-skills and job-skills training. To date, Compass Project has taught more than 1600 elementary, and middle and high school teens from the Greater Portland area how to build and row boats, work as a team, and most importantly take pride in their ability to complete a task. The Compass Project became a community- based organization of Spurwink Services on January 1, 2010.


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