THE REAL COAST GUARD || Life on an 87’ Patrol Boat 

The most under appreciated branch of the US Military thanks what you do.

Like many terrified college grads in 1966 I tried to dodge into the "coastbound" CG to avoid Vietnam. Escaped into the Navy but wound up in the brownwater anyway. In Subic, ran into a CG LT I knew. He was recovering from wounds received during Market Time, where his job, on an 82 footer, was to confront and inspect sampans running weapons down from the north. Good Lord, so much for the safety of being in the CG lifeguarding the home coast!

Nice video :-) I spent over three years on an 82 footer, patrolling the graveyard of the Atlantic, and then a year on a 110 footer out of San Juan. I worked with groups developing the preliminary plans for building the 87s. The 87 provides much better habitability and much better ergonomics than its' predecessor, the 82. The 82 was a wild ride. I often said that It would roll 5 degrees at the pier if a duck swam by 😉 You did not need to worry about water consumption underway, taking a shower when underway was practically impossible. You often slept in your uniform, as, due to the normal seas around Hatteras, you could not keep your legs together long enough to take of your pants off. You performed your duties underway while moving from handhold to handhold. The would literally throw you if you were not holding on to something. In heavy seas the boat would beat you down and the majority of the crew were seasick. However, the boat itself could take the beating and she always brought us home 😊 I learned early to trust the boat, as one night, coming east of 1000 just north of Cape Fear, I dropped her off the back of a building 16ft wave and laid her on her side, the next wave washing over us, and then she popped up surfing on the backside of the next wave as if nothing had happened. After that experience, I knew no fear with her. I maintained a lot of respect for the power of the ocean, the wind and wave, but I knew that I had sound vessel that, when properly handled, would bring us all home 😎

I've poked around RU-vid quite a bit looking for a tour of a Coast Guard cutter. This is the best one I've seen. Thanks!

I'm glad the US Coast Guard permits these activities from you sailors. Growing up in Michigan, I wanted to join the Coast Guard, but things didn't work out for me sadly, and ended up in Army Reserves. Thank you for your service!

Great job Erin. Thank you for your service to our country!!

Hi Erin, great video! Retired Coastie CWO2 here. You are a really impressive person with a lot of accumulated knowledge, especially for a cadet. IMHO you are exactly the type of future officer that the Coast Guard needs. I predict that enlisted folks will enjoy working for you. Some unsolicited advice: Find a Mustang or CWO (prior enlisted, current officer) or a senior enlisted who is respected among the crew, and study their leadership style. God bless you in your career.

Thank you for the tour. I wish you a long and safe career in the Coast Guard 👍

We boat in the Puget Sound. We know if the you-know-what hits the fan and we call for help, you and your fellow USCG personnel will respond. Thank you for your service.

Bring back great memories, I spent 3 years assigned to an 87' PB at MSO San Juan Station (La Puntilla).

Marine Corps active duty. Did 20 years as a CGAuxiliarist. Got comm qualified at STA Duluth. Also crew qualified on 44 MLB. Later in SC, I was in the program as In Port OOD until it was cancelled. I was learning the qualifications on the CG Yellow Fin. Really enjoyed that part of the Auxiliary. Finished up all my time on the Chattahoochee River .

What a great video! Very comprehensive and demonstrative of life aboard an 87'. I will be sharing on FB to show folks what I used to do for a living. Retired BMCM, decommissioning skipper of POINT BENNETT, commissioning skipper of the OSPREY - brought her around from Houma, LA to Port Townsend, WA. I was blessed with a terrific crew! Again, great job, keep telling the Coast Guard (and your) story!

Thanks for your service and the tour Erin! Have been aboard the Chinnook in New London working on the windlass but would have enjoyed the walk around so Thanks! You have an exciting journey ahead of you.

Thanks for your service 🙏 you are a true American hero. Thanks for keeping us safe 🙏😊

I'm currently stationed on an 87' and this video is very accurate! Nicely done!

Thank you for your service in the Coast Guard much appreciated!

Very good job ma’am. very simple and straight forward explanation of an 87. Thank you for making a video to help the general public better understand what kind of jobs we do and what we live like while underway.

Erin and Nolan I am retired USCG MKC David L Marshall CG Viet Nam Veteran and was on the CGC Point Garnet 82310 in 67&68. I founde your Channel and wanted to see the the diference of living conditions between an 82 and your 87 footer, al I can say is WOW what a diffrence!! Your vessel is so nice and well designed. But I loved it I have to say and the Coast Guard did a great j0b at what we had to do it was an experience and the SERE Training before whe left for Nam was something else,but we made it and got home safe. Smooth sailing to both of you and take care. Chief David l. Marshall Knoxville Tenn.

I really enjoyed your video! I grew up on the Delaware River in Southern New Jersey not far from Philadelphia PA. I would always see cutters running up and down the river all the time, and I always thought they were cool! They were good times, and great memories growing up! It is cool to finally see inside one of these cutters, thanks for showing us, and thank you for your service!!👍🇺🇸

Great job with this video Cadet! Your Cutter is clean and orderly and looks like She's in good hands. Keep up the good work and Semper Paratus!

My time in the service was the Navy, and I was detailed to the USS Oriskany. I am a Vietnam veteran, and my time aboard I saw a lot, but your tour is really cool. We were very specialized, and you are more like the submarine service in that you know more about everything on board. Thank you for your service.

Erin: Thank you for your service and insights. Please stay safe out there.

She is an outstanding example of the USCG. God bless our Heroes. Keep them safe as they make the impossible look possible.

Thanks Erin for showing us this great job you are doing....cheers

Excellent! Thank you from an old Army guy. Very informative. I think too many do not adequately appreciate how much the Coast Guard does for America.

Greetings from Coast Guard City, Grand Haven, Michigan. Home of the Coast Guard festival. Great video. Really enjoyed the tour.

Awesome video! Thank you for your service. Go Coast Guard!

I can tell you that I got really lucky with my boat. It had all new john deere gens that all you had to do was flip a switch instead of playing the luck card. and had a crew that cared a lot about the boat where the engineers were always on top of maintenance and deck side was keeping the boat nice and clean... It was an amazing boat.... I actually recently moved to a station due to the decomissioning of my boat, then a recomissioning and crew swap of said boat... It was actually my first unit too, first actual day there right out of boot I got to drive the small boat while the boarding team was doing their boardings (will probably be my favorite memory of the cg tbh)

Stumbled upon your channel....pretty cool and a lot of respect for anyone in the Coast Guard.

Bravo Zulu on your video! Thanks for doing this. It gives people insight as to what life is like on-board CG vessels. Keep up the great work! From a retired CG Senior Chief.

Wonderful show! What a great informational on the US Coast Guard. Former Airborne Infantry Combat Veteran here, your job and ship is very cool. Rock on!

This is so cool! I live in Washington and I love seeing these ships all along the coast, I really enjoy spotting CG ships. Whenever I head to Astoria I always look forward to seeing the USCGC Steadfast and Alert that dock at the Maritime Museum there. I've also seen Coast Gaurd ship's on San Juan Island and in quite a few ports and Harbors along the Oregon coast like Newport, Depoe Bay, Coos Bay. It's really neat to get a look at the inside of the vessels.

Erin is a terrific USCG spokes person; she'll go a long way. As a USN vet and previous Catalina 27' I will attest that the USCG are excellent seamen and mariners. They are first responder THEY do SAVE LIVES. They sail every ocean environment from Alaska to the Solomon's and the Great Lakes. Thanks to the USCG for many assists

First - Thank you for your service to our country! Secondly - A very nice video you have produced, keep up the great work here. :)

Enjoyed this. I served in the USCG from 1962-67 while stationed on the Great lakes, North Atlantic ocean stations and was part of the Cuban Exodus rescue in 1965. Wish you the best and thanks serving in the finest branch of the US military.

Great video! Very well done. You are going to go far. I had plans to be a rescue swimmer, learn the craft, then transfer to academy and fly for the ASTs... spend some time in the water first so I knew what both sides looked like. But I fractured my spine in 2 places (L1, and C4) and though I have no deficits (miraculously) it kept me out. I became a firefighter instead and joined the CG Auxiliary.

I’ve watched this video when it was about 15 views… woah! Hard work pays off! Thank you for your service and thanks for taking us along your journey!

Erin, I know that if I need rescue at sea that I can depend on you and your crew. Best of luck in your USCG career.

Having served 3 - USCG 180’ buoy tenders and MLB Station Bodega Bay (44’ & 30’) back in 1980 - 1988. Got out as MK2. Thanks for the memories of doing ship drawings of were every pipe that ran though the boat (ship) to get qualified as a EOW person for watches on buoy tenders! Thank for the tour of the 87’ boat! Again thank.

Right on Erin, Good job. Smiling, George.

Good luck with your career! I'm thinking of joining the Coast Guard, I live in a state where it doesn't have ocean. But, I love the ocean and being out to sea is going to be something I really will enjoy.

Another great video Erin, well done glad to see the RU-vid algorithm recognizing your hard work!

As a proud resident of Connecticut and home to both the Coast Guard Academy and Electric Boat ( submarine builder) I salute those who protect our great country. Thank you for your service.

Great post. Thanks for doing what you do! Rock on!

Live in Brookings, Oregon. We are fortunate to have a Coast Guard Station here. I'm nott a fisher person but I know the community appreciates your presence. Keep up the good work!

Great job. I’ve owned a 44’ boat for 21 years and love seeing the operations of the Coast Guard Cutter.

As someone that plans on going to basics in January i really appreciate your channel!

Thank you. Very well done and very informative. Best of luck in your career and thank you for your service.

Excellent video Erin. Your system drawings are legit! This time will serve you well when you report to your first assignment next summer.

Wow 🤩 good job Erin. I am a new subscriber ! Glad your out there watching our coast 👀

I went TDY at a station, was on a 210 and now a TRACEN. Good luck out there, I’ll see you in the fleet!

Thank You for Serving and Protecting OUR Country …

I moved from WA to FL a few months ago for work, and I still miss seeing the Dolphins and cutters (probably this same one if I recognize that pier correctly) out and about. Awesome the academy let you come home for your training.

Retired MKC and former EPO of an 87’….great job on this video!! This information will be so useful to people thinking about joining. 👍you nailed it!

I just found your channel. Really enjoyed this video! Keep up the good work!

I am an Auxiliarist in New Jersey and am a watch stander on 87 foot cutters at Tracen Cape May. Your video is really well done and detailed, thanks!

Erin, Fantastic presentation, I spent almost my entire 4 yr hitch on WHEC36 John C Spencer from 1968 to 1972 with a WESPAC (Vietnam) tour in 69. Thing’s sure have changed since than. Semper Paratus Many thanx to you and all who serve Chuck

Hats off! Great folks who guard our shores and more.

Thankyou for your service Erin. Myself I am member of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard.

Very informative - very interesting. Thank you. Fair winds and following seas!

Great tour. Thank you for your service.

I’m glad to see what an 87 looks like after spending all my time on the Active up there

Erin thank you for your service to our country.

I was an a 87 ' patrol boat in Charleston Station SC this brings back some really really great memories ❤ an excellent job filming everything 👍👍🇺🇲🦅⚓🦅🌊🇺🇲.

Nice video, thanks for the tour. Old retired BM here, 2 180's (Firebush and Sassafras) and a 110 (Farralon). Thanks for the tour of the New Guard.

Great video Erin and Nolan. I had a ball in the CG. Enlisted in 1969, went OCS in ‘76 and retired as a Captain in 2015. Had an adventurous career and would do it again in a heartbeat.

So much nicer than the old 95' and 82' we had back in the 70's. I had to take the Cape Shoalwater along side our 41' one day. Nice job on this Erin!

Thanks for your service!

🔴🦅🇺🇲🦅 I proudly served in the United States Coast Guard on a 84 foot cutter patrolling the intercoastal , Good job sailors 😀♦️♦️♦️‼️

Great video. Proud to be on the RDAP team servicing 87s

Nice tour. Have always liked the cutter fleet. Ships are a marvel of machinery.

With a daughter looking to attend the USCGA, these are incredibly helpful and motivational for her. Thank you, well done, keep up the great work and, above all, stay safe!

thanks for the video, hoping to enlist soon and eventually get into the AMT rating. good luck with the rest of your senior year at USCGA!

Godspeed & may God bless America!

Love your boat! I was on the Point Glass 82 footer! Based out of Tacoma Washington and patrolled over 300 land miles in the back waters of Pugent Sound. Lots of things have changed but the Coast Guard sprite is still alive and well. Thanks for the great video! Go Coast Guard!

outstanding work Junior...:-))) very informative and simple to understand.... Keep it up.... Good luck!... God Bless!... and calm waters all the time...:-))) greets from Pensacola, FL

Congrats on your first deployment! Trust me, you got EXTREMELY lucky to be on an FRC, it’s a lot better than being on a small-boats crew, or a cutter crew, good luck! Semper Paratus!

I was attached to the CGC Narwhal for 1.5 years - during the same time you were on this boat from the looks of it. I miss it greatly. Thanks for the nostalgia.

Very interesting. I’m a small boat sailor, and I’ve always regretted not joining the USCG. I did serve on the local PD, but if I could do it again, it would be the Coast Guard. Good video and good luck with your career.

Worked in Wilmington, NC. Bank building downtown overlooking the Battleship NC. Used to see the CG cutters anchored there all the time. Thanks for the tour!!

I thought these boats would be a little more roomier. Fun fact. In 2001 while there were a few big forest fires burning, it was the only time in Coast Gaurd history that they either helped with wildland fires or traveled far inland to help fight wildfires. I think the Coast Gaurd was working fires near Kallispell,MT. Thanks for the tour and be safe.

Thank you for the informative tour!

All up and down the west coast folks love the coasties! They save lives every year in every locale, without the recognition and appreciation given to other branches of service. Bless them all!

Ma'am.. Enjoyed your video. I chose Army when I enlisted and made a career of it. Retired Master Sergeant (E8) after 26 years. Growing up on the North shore of Long Island, New York, and loving the water, I always wondered why I didn't join the Coast Guard! Now I am a land lubber in Northeast PA. I learned of your video and RU-vid channel from The Veterans Site that had a story about you. I read the story first. In the story it is mentioned that you are the CO of a patrol boat. When I watched the video I was confused as you introduced yourself as a 1ST Class Cadet. Then I noticed the date on this video and realized that you have graduated and been promoted. Congratulations on your career. I agree with Alabama Coastie's comments. I believe you will be an officer that your subordinates will want to work for. May God bless you.

Thanks for posting this!

Great comprehensive overview. You covered a lot of interesting details. Thank you. Look forward to more of your posts.

Great job cadet. Dad was class of ‘52. 30 years career was his proudest accomplishment. Medical prevented me from following. I served 3 decades of SAR and an LEO career, culminating as a skipper. You rock and dad is watching from above with pride. So am I.

New subscriber here. Soon as I saw the background of this video, I realized it is CG Air station Port Angles. I was stationed there '69-'71 on CG Cutter Winona. Lotsa fun memories of Ocean Stations Victor and November, Japan and Hawaii... Step father was a Coastie in WWII as an electrican and participated in all the major amphious landings in South Pacific. Keep up the good work and bless you Erin!

Thank you for service foremost and great job on the video!

i joined the Coast Guard in 1963 and the missions were a little diffrent in those days. we had 125 footers, 82 footers, and 95 footers. i spent time on two lightships and and a 110 ft wtm yard tug meadium . i also did two years in port security port of New York at Governors Island, was in till 1969. it was a great time for me.

Wow, great tour and insightful!

I was on an 82 in the 70’s. Much similar I only hope they made the 87 ride better.

Thanks for your service Love the video.

Such a cool video! I spent some time sailing on the minesweepers for the royal Canadian Navy on the West coast. As a deckhand it was a different experience but much of it is relevant to yours. Currently I have an application in to the Canadian Coast Guard College of Canada. I csnt wait to start a career as a navigation officer. Love your videos!

Erin that was an awesome tour an 87" Patrol Boat. I'm a veteran of the Coast Guard getting out in 1976. I was on an ANT Team in Portland Oregon. Boats and equipment sure has changed but not the sprit of the crews. You represent our CG well, good luck at the academy.

Howdy. I was the XPO on the Point Doran, home ported in Everett from 1982-86. I know, old Coastie. Pulled into PA many times. Great to see you’re enjoying yourself.

that's a great video,went fishing out of ilwaco yesterday and met a E 8 stationed at ilwaco,was great talking to him and all his experiences, should of joined the coast guard instead of the marines! that wass quite a time crossing the bar ,don't think i'll go back for more fishing out there,boy did my body feel it the next day

Congratulations on your assignment. Thanks for the tour. First time I’ve been inside a CG cutter.

I see you cadet. Out here getting qualified. Good job!

Definitely a cool video! I'm active duty Navy on an Arleigh burke DDG which is obviously way bigger so it's nice being able to see a smaller vessel!