The Aleutian Islands are well known for their dangerous weather. Storms that blow in faster than an SR-71 some have quoted, and out of nowhere meaning those in the maritime style of living take their lives in their own hands. Mother Nature can be a brutally mean *****!
Because of fearless men and women pilots of both land and sea our USCG's motto plays an important role - "Semper Paratus" - Always Ready and we were. Knowing the storm was forecasted, USCG ships and aircraft were strategically placed along the islands.
No matter the weather, if someone is in need of our help, we go at a moments notice. Myself, Commander Vasali and Lieutenant Commander Greenleaf, as well as navigation officers Captain Reddy and Captain Gough, received a distress call coming from the Bering Sea.
The Hyundai Merchant Marine Vessel "Hyundai Fortune" was caught in the thick of the bad weather and was taking on water. her engines were dead, and she was drifting dangerously close to the reefs. unfortunately as her captain was giving a distress call, they lost all power. Last known location was near the Amchitka Pass close to Semisopochnoi Island, drifting towards the Gareloi Islands.
We were at the ready. The weather at our temproary station was already getting bad and we knew we would be heading into the thick of it.
No matter the weather....we would go find and give the coordinates of Hyundai Fortune. Rain, sleet, snow, or shine...and we were off
Reaching an altitude of 5000 feet, we headed towards the last general direction of the distress call. Winds had picked up to gusts of 50 with a steady 20
we lowered our descent to an altitude of 1000 feet all eyes on the sea taking advantage of a small break in the clouds.
unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse and the blizzard conditions became prevalent. Sight distances were between 1/16th of a mile to 1/4 a mile so as fearless as we were we lowered our trusty C-130 to 200 feet, everyone concentrating on the controls and navigation devices. We searched for well over an hour wondering if we would find Fortune. Their luck would only last so long. With temeratures well below freezing, and taking on water, everyone knew without any power their lives were ticking away fast. Luckily Lieutenant Commander Greenleaf picked up a blip on radar. Could it be? We notified base of our location and went to check it out. Because of the dismal weather conditions we were almost upon the blip when out of the blizzard Fortune appeared.
Notifying base of her coordinates, we climbed to 500 feet and began circling.
Part 2 to follow
Comments always welcomed
Aircraft - Alphasims C-130 base package (I am tired of waiting for Captainsims C-130 lol)
---Stephen
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