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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

By Nelson Sigelman
Published: April 9, 2009

Executive Petty Officer Jordan Baptiste, recently assigned to Coast Guard Station Menemsha, joins a unique fraternity of men and women who have served at the Chilmark station. Some, like Mr. Baptiste, already called Martha's Vineyard home. Many others arrived here having never been to Martha's Vineyard. Eventually, some of these made Martha's Vineyard their home.

In conversations with The Martha's Vineyard Times, former Coast Guard personnel spoke about the camaraderie of the crews and the personal satisfaction they got from helping people in distress.

Robert E. Kinnecom of Oak Bluffs served at Station Gay Head, the precursor to Station Menemsha (see history on Page 36), in 1951 and 1952, when it was located next to the lighthouse on the cliffs. The rescue boats were kept at a boathouse in Menemsha. His father, Chief Petty Officer Harold .E. Kinnecom, commanded the station prior to World War II. Then, the rescue boats were kept and launched from Lobsterville Beach.

A first class sonarman, Robert Kinnecom served with 13 men, and they worked six days on and two days off. "And you could only go into town one night during those six days if you were married," he said. "Otherwise, you stayed right there on the cliff for six days. And we had to take care of the lighthouse when the lighthouse keeper was away or he was sick."

Mr. Kinnecom, who served in the Coast Guard from 1949 to 1953, added, "I was with some great guys."

Susan Larsen of Chilmark graduated from college with a degree in French in 1985, and promptly left for the Coast Guard, which came as a big surprise to her parents who were unaware she had enlisted. Originally from Wareham, she worked hard to earn her coxswain license. The former boatswain's mate second class arrived at Station Menemsha in late 1986 and served as the station's first woman coxswain, responsible for operating the 41- and 44-foot rescue boats. "It wasn't easy at all, but it was fun, and I don't regret it," she said.

One of the attractions Station Menemsha offered was the service area, which encompassed the waters of Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay and 20 miles south of the Vineyard.

"Driving the boats was my favorite thing, that was a lot of fun," she said. "I liked the forty-four the best because it was slow, but it was really powerful. But the forty-one was fast. That was a nice boat, but you couldn't go in every type of weather. The forty-four, you could."

Islander Wayne V. Iacono of Chilmark, now a lobsterman, served two stints at Station Gay Head during his eight years in the Coast Guard. He was there from 1967 to 1969, went to Vietnam for one year, and returned for another two years in 1971, serving as executive petty officer, the job Mr. Baptiste will have.

At the time, there was no global positioning system, no cell phones, and a mostly wooden commercial fishing fleet.

"It was really busy," said Mr. Iacono. "We used to average three hundred to four hundred good cases a year. There was a lot of search and rescue work; lots of sinkings and fires and groundings."

One bitterly cold, dark February night, the station received a mayday call from an Eastern-rigged dragger named the Charles E. Beckman that was sinking about 12 miles west of Gay Head. Mr. Iacono, the coxswain of the 44-motor lifeboat, along with three other Coast Guardsmen on board, set out for the approximate location. "We got there with the forty-four and just happened to find the two guys in their dory," he said. The only visible light was from a rapidly fading flashlight one of the men was holding.

Mr. Iacono said that finding the men that night was pure luck. "The men were bailing with their boots in the 15-degree night and likely would not have lasted long," he said.

Originally from West Bridgewater, Joe Uva of West Tisbury served approximately 10 years at Station Menemsha during his 20-year Coast Guard career. The former boatswain's mate second class said he was happy to see Jordan Baptiste join the Coast Guard, because it is a branch of the military that provides many opportunities for personal and professional enrichment. "Even though it is a small station, it is a big responsibility," he said.

Mr. Uva said Station Menemsha is unique for its Island neighbors and for the quaintness of Island life. At one time, on Sundays in the winter, a dozen or so local fishermen and residents, including former selectman Herbert Hancock and fisherman Bob Flanders, would come to the station, and the four crew members would cook breakfast.

"It was like a town meeting," Mr. Uva said. The Chilmarkers would put money in a jar for the cost of the food.

Mr. Uva said that of all his various experiences, the opportunity to assist people when they called for help was what was most gratifying. "When you show up, it's like the clouds part," he said. "And they are so grateful because they have tried everything else, and you are there to help them and save them."

Ned Casey of Edgartown grew up in Ludlow in Western Massachusetts and knew little about Martha's Vineyard when he arrived at Station Menemsha in 1974. Here two years, he was reassigned to a ship but returned to the station in 1978 for his last year of service.

"Your whole adrenalin level goes up a notch as soon as you get a call and hear the alarm go off," said Mr. Casey. "You're running down the dock, and you never knew what to expect. A boat sinking, a boat on fire, or somebody's in the water."

Every emergency called for quick thinking about how best to respond and teamwork by the four-man rescue boat crew. "All of a sudden, they all start communicating as one, everybody's input focused on the same objective," said Mr. Casey.

Unlike today, when commercial towing services respond to non-emergency calls having to do with engine breakdowns and empty fuel tanks, in the past the Coast Guard responded, Mr. Casey recalled, making for very busy summers. "People lost in the fog, boats running aground, boats sinking, people overboard, missing people, missing boat... and searches, a lot of searches," he said. "A lot of long 24- or 36-hour searches, looking for people who should have been in and were reported missing."