A Whale Tale

SECTOR HAMPTON ROADS, Virginia. It was 01 April 2012, "April Fools" day; but for an Auxiliary Air Crew it wasn’t a joke.  It was Palm Sunday too but it’s always "Duty First" for we who serve. We were scheduled for a regular observation patrol of the eastern rivers of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore.

On these patrols we are the "Eyes in the Sky" for the United States Coast Guard based in Portsmouth Virginia and sometimes for Sector North Carolina.  We look for anything unusual on the surface and respond to radio calls if needed to find distressed boaters.

It was cool and dry when we rolled the aircraft out of the hanger that morning.  There were a few clouds but none that would hamper our mission.  It was a good day to fly.  We loaded our equipment, buckled in and went through preflight checklists.   The pilot shouted "Clear Prop!" and the engine roared to life.  The propeller clawed at the morning air. We taxied to the runway and the Cessna leaped into the brightening sky.

We followed our flight plan going from station to station as assigned. We crossed the bay to the Eastern Shore.  Along the way we practiced procedures for navigation and search and rescue tasks.

Now flying southbound over the Bay Bridge Tunnel, just past the fourth island a flash of white and a big splash caught the last corner of my eye.  The pilot and trainee saw it too.  We began to circle.  The object was gone and I searched with binoculars to find it again.  Our trainee,Kristian Barton began to search too.   He soon identified it as not a jumping fish but a 30 foot humpback whale!

It seemed like a long time but soon there was a hump in the sea and a spout spewed upward.  We continued to circle, changing course to stay with the anticipated path of the creature. The whale rolled on its back, smacked the surface with its long white flipper, sounded, then leapt from the water in a magnificent display only a whale can make.

We were concerned that the animal was fouled in a net or possibly sick so kept it in sight as we were able.   The Coast Guard station was notified and sent a response boat.  They notified the Virginia Aquarium.  They too sent a boat to investigate.

Trainee, Kristian Barton, called the Aquarium the next day and found the whale had exhibited normal behavior.  We were relieved to hear that news.  "Our" whale was safe and soon to swim to the summer feeding grounds in the Gulf of Maine.

This was just one of the stated missions of the U.S. Coast Guard and its Auxiliary which is to protect and preserve marine life.

The crew consisted of Pilot in Command, Ken Guthrie, Flotilla 5-10, D5-SR, Colonial Heights, VA, Observer Craig Gilkison, and Observer Trainee Kristian Barton, Flotilla 25-11, D5-SR, Alexandria, VA.

 

 

Author of Story and Aircraft Observer VFC Craig Gilkison

 

~mg 07-27-12