This Day in Coast Guard History - September 17

1882-At 2: 30 a.m., during the prevalence of a strong southerly gale upon Lake Huron, the schooner, Colonel Hathaway, lying at the wharf at South Harrisville, MI was wrenched from her moorings and driven ashore. The morning was intensely dark and rain fell in torrents, but the schooner drove so far up on the beach that her crew of five men found no difficulty in saving themselves without aid. While drifting in, she collided with the schooner Garibaldi, she too broke adrift and drove ashore. The crew of this vessel, five in number, were equally fortunate in getting ashore without trouble. Word being sent about noon to the life-saving station at Sturgeon Point (No. 5, Tenth District), six or seven miles distant, that two vessels were ashore at South Harrisville, the crew at once repaired to the scene to offer their services. Hathaway’s crew was busily at work stripping the vessel, but requiring no assistance. Finding nothing could be done for her, the life-saving crew went to the aid of Garibaldi. After discharging her cargo of lumber and tan-bark, they pumped her out and assisted in heaving her within reach of the lines of a steam-barge, which then took hold and hauled her afloat. She came off in a leaky condition, but nevertheless reloaded her cargo and proceeded to her port of destination in tow of the steamer which assisted in getting her off.

1999- The CGC Dallas returned to Charleston after an 84-day deployment to the Mediterranean and Black seas.  Originally scheduled to go to the Adriatic and Ionian seas in support of NATO forces engaged in Kosovo, the Dallas turned to support the U.S. 6th Fleet after tensions in Kosovo eased.  The Dallas also visited several ports not normally seen by Coast Guard crews, including Rota, Spain; Souda Bay, Crete; Haifa, Israel; and Antayla, Turkey.

2004-The Coast Guard made the largest cocaine seizure in its history (to date) when Coast Guard and Navy forces located and seized 30,000 pounds of cocaine aboard the fishing vessel Lina Maria approximately 300 miles southwest of the Galapagos Islands.  LEDET 108, embarked aboard the USS Curts, made the seizure.  A second Coast Guard and Navy team intercepted the Lina Maria's sister ship, the fishing vessel San Jose, 500 miles west of the Galapagos, and discovered and seized 26,250 pounds of cocaine.

(Source: USCG Historian’s Office)