MCB HAWAII,KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Buoy tending may sound like a small task for a 225-foot ship such as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Walnut (WLB-205), but its 43 crew members on board are dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of the more than 115 buoys and lights they are accountable for.
The Walnut, stationed in Honolulu, is primarily responsible for approximately 60,000 square miles, which include the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa and the Central Pacific Exclusive Economic Zones. Other than buoy tending, the Walnut's missions include law enforcement, marine environmental protection, national security, and search and rescue.
The Walnut is a relatively new ship with an array of technologically advanced navigation, safety and operating systems. Built in 1999, the ship was equipped with automated monitoring, alarm and dynamic positioning systems, as well as with safety detection that includes fire, smoke and flooding notification monitors. The bridge is also significantly larger than the previous ship, allowing for more crew members to observe and control the ship's actions.
Since the Walnut's return home from Iraq, the crew has been getting back in the swing of things with routine buoy maintenance. Then on Feb. 5, the Walnut changed its course for the day, in order to recover and return to position a runaway buoy that had drifted almost two miles away from its regularly fixed position near Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay's rifle range, earlier that morning.
The 13,000-pound buoy, found floating beyond Pyramid Rock Beach, was a K-Bay rifle range safety buoy. The waters surrounding the range are home to five buoys, three of which are yellow in color, signifying that they are safety buoys. The buoys are an important safety precaution to warn and prevent swimmers and boats from traveling too close to the danger zone - in the direction that bullets are shot from the range.
The procedure for recovering a buoy is a task that requires teamwork from the entire crew onboard.
"The best thing about working in the environment that we do is the camaraderie among the entire crew on deck," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Derrick E. Borel, deck supervisor. "It is a challenge everyday, but we all pull our weight and it always works."
Before every event that involves the entire crew, the bridge holds a meeting to make sure all hands know what they are in charge of, and what the safety factor of the task before them involves.
As the boat deck supervisor, Borel is in charge of the 1,335 square feet of the buoy deck area where buoys are brought on board. With support from the deck safety supervisor, he keeps the other deck riggers informed on what is happening at all times to ensure everything runs smoothly.
"The weight of the buoys, and the fact that we have people working on them trying to secure them to the deck, makes moving the buoys the most hazardous part of tending them," said Chief Petty Officer Kevin E. Kleisath, buoy deck safety supervisor.
"Working with thousands of pounds of concrete swinging above and around you can be a bit unsettling at times," said Seamen Eric J. Fialkowski, deck rigger and crane operator. "It can be an adrenaline booster though, too."
"Although safety is a main concern, we do not get overly worried about it," said Lt. Cmdr. Chris M. Smith. "We have not had any injuries related to buoy tending since we have been at sea."
Smith explained the deck crew goes through a lot of hands-on training to qualify for their positions on the deck. He said it is a very methodical process to bring buoys onboard and set them back in the water. The sequence is almost identical each time, so the crew gets used to the process.
"It is a fun job, and it is really important that it gets done," said Seaman Sarah R. Morris, deck rigger. "Not a lot of people know how much work goes into buoy tending."