Gallery One - Coast Guard Art

This scene depicts the San Francisco Pilot Boat 3 after retrieving a Bar Pilot from an outgoing tramp steamer in 1918. After bidding her “fair winds and following seas” the steamer disappears into the western fog.

The SF Bar Pilots have been guiding ships into and out of the San Francisco Bay area since 1835 and have safely moved over 9,000 vessels a year.

There are approximately sixty pilots assigned to the vast area of San Francisco Bay Area, Stockton, Sacramento, and Monterey Bay.

The CGC Bear on what is probably a typical patrol. When completed it will also include the old steam bark Bear, built in 1847, sailing past her stern (below).

The "new" Bear was commissioned on February 4, 1983 and is the first of thirteen "Famous Class" 270-foot Medium Endurance Cutters. She has "big shoes" to fill and is living up to her namesake very well.

As you might know, the original Bear was built in 1873 by Alexander Stephen & Son of Scotland. She only spent about the first 10 years sealing before she was acquired by the Revenue Cutter Service in 1885. She had a very colorful career and is probably the CG's most famous Cutter. One of her most noted adventures was the rescue of the Greely Expedition. Sadly she foundered on Mar 19th 1963 off of Chatham MA while under tow to Philadelphia to be converted to a restaurant. I was told by a friend that even during her last hours she continued to rescue as there was a crewman from the tug aboard and she didn't sink until he was removed! If you look closely just forward of the foremast on deck there is a white hat sailor waving to the one on the new Bear who is on the 01 deck just above the last port...he is clad in orange foul weather gear ...probably the BMOW eh?

The current Bear is 270 ft long and the first of the "Famous Class" Cutters. She was commissioned on February 4th, 1983 and is homeported in Portsmouth, VA. Quite a contrast!

The USS Serpens AK-97 was a U.S. Coast Guard manned cargo ship in World War II. She was a Liberty type built at Wilmington California as the S.S. Benjamin N. Cardozo and was quickly converted while still under construction. Commissioned in May of 1943 she served in the South Pacific and was again modified for transportation of ammunition. Late in the evening on January 29, 1945 while anchored off Lunga Beach, Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands her crew was loading depth charges. Her Commanding Officer and several enlisted crewmen were ashore when a violent explosion rocked the harbor and the Serpens suddenly disappeared taking with her 193 Coast Guardsmen, 56 Army stevedores and a Public Health Service Doctor. The blast was so strong that it also killed a soldier ashore. Only two aboard survived. The absolute cause has never been determined. This incident is the largest single loss ever suffered by the U.S. Coast Guard. Somehow I feel they know that their sacrifices were "not in vain".

The USCGC Iroquois was enroute to Ocean Station Victor via Midway Island for refueling. This is how I view her the day before her arrival after a beautifully calm passage from Honolulu. On June 29th, 1954 the Iroquois was standing off Midway awaiting a Navy Pilot to bring them through the reef lined channel. Once aboard, the Pilot took control of the vessel and she slowly inched her way inbound. A few minutes later she struck the reef and was firmly aground, taking on water. Efforts to pull her free by the Navy were unsucessful and most of the crew were evacuated ashore. A handful of volunteers remained aboard to control the flooding and keep her afloat. Several days later she was freed and towed to Honolulu. Once the full extent of her damage was realized she was towed to the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay MD and placed in "special status", ultimately being declared a total loss and sold for scrap. My friend George Brenegan (then Fireman Apprentice) was one of the volunteers that stayed with the ship. This is my thanks to him and his fellow shipmates who did their best in keeping her afloat with no recognition in return.

On the afternoon of August 25, 1950 the Navy Hospital Ship Benevolence was returning to San Francisco in dense fog after a day of sea trials when she collided with the S.S. Mary Luckenbach just off the Golden Gate. The Benevolence sank quickly thrusting over 500 of her crew into the frigid waters. Fortunately, there were no patients aboard. Nearby fishing vessels raced to the scene throwing their catch overboard in order to bring more survivors aboard. Fisherman John Napoli was one of those and injured his back so severely that he had to abandon his life long livelyhood. This is my tribute to Mr. Napoli and all the fishermen who sacrificed so much that tragic afternoon. Twenty-three of the Benevolence crew did not survive. This painting is on permanent display at the San Francisco North Beach Museum.

This is my vision of the old Hyde Street Pier located on the west end of San Francisco's Fishermans Wharf. As a young boy I used to spend a lot of time exploring the waterfront and have many fond memories. Behind the silhouetted 219 foot lumber schooner C. A. Thayer can be seen the cities skyline barely visible through the lifting fog. The Thayer has been designated a National Historical Landmark and is open to the public. She is presently undergoing restoration across the bay in Alameda. This painting is in private collection.

This is what North Atlantic convoy duty might have looked like in 1943. The USCGC Escanaba, a 165 foot gunboat was escorting convoy SG-19 consisting of six ships (three merchantmen). One, the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester, can be seen in the background while another escort ship, the CGC Comanche, is barely visible on the horizon. The date is February 2, 1943 and about 100 miles west of Cape Farewell Greenland. It was a bitter cold and gloomy day typical of that time of year. A short time after midnight the following day the Dorchester was torpedoed and sank in about 15-20 minutes. She carried 902 crew and passengers. 675 men were lost including the four Army Chaplains that were aboard praying for the safety of the men.

Tragically, about 4 months later the Escanaba herself sank, probably the victim of a drifting mine. The explosion and sinking was so rapid that no distress call was sent. Only two men survived, Melvin Baldwin who died in 1964 and Ray O'Malley who died on March 8, 2007 in Chicago.

The citizens of Grand Haven Michigan, the Escanaba's homeport, were so distraught that they raised funds to have another Escanaba built. Every summer they conduct what is now known as the Coast Guard Festival in honor of the crew and all Coast Guard personnel.

To read some comments on this painting from writer/historian Elizabeth Klecker click here

To read about the Transport Dorchester and the four Chaplains, click here.

The USAT Dorchester sinking as described to me by several survivors. The torpedo hit amidships just aft of the stack and below water. Almost immediately a strong smell of ammonia permeated the area below decks, she lost power and continued a short distance under her forward momentum before becoming "dead in the water". She then settled slowly towards the stern, rolled to starboard and sank bow first. All within about 20 minutes. Seen here in the painting is a portion of her starboard side as men frantically try to cut a frozen drum raft free while others desparately attempt to clear two lifeboats. Others are seen slipping on the ice covered decks while the four Chaplains on the lower left of the main deck give their last life jacket to a man without one. Many of the men can be seen only partly clad in the sub freezing weather and others, dazed, are contemplating jumping. One common statement of the survivors I talked to was that looking back at the sinking ship is it looked like a "giant Christmas tree of humanity with hundreds of glowing red lights of the life jackets".

This painting is now on permanent display in the Immortal Chaplains Memorial Sanctuary aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA. Please click on the above link to learn more about the Foundation and the Chaplains.

This is my last painting in the DORCHESTER series. It depicts the early morning prior to the DORCHESTER sinking. SG-19 was the name of the convoy that was enroute to Greenland. The escort ships consisted of the CGC TAMPA, ESCANABA & COMANCHE. The Merchant ships were the DORCHESTER, LUTZ & BISCAYA. U-223 a class VII type German U-Boat that sank the DORCHESTER.

USCGC SAGEBRUSH (WLB 399) was a 180 foot long "C Class"seagoing buoy tender built at the Zenith Dredge Company at Duluth, Minnesota in 1944. These vessels were primarily built for Aids to Navigation duties but were also used for icebreaking, search & rescue missions, firefighting and logistical support. During their prime the 180's were considered the backbone of the "Black Fleet" & workhorse of the CG in general. They were all recognized as one of the most versatile & practical ships of the CG fleet. She was decomnissioned in April of 1988 & sadly scuttled as a reef off of the Georgia coast.

This painting was commissioned by a former CG Radioman who was aboard in 1968 and wanted the famous El Morro Castle in the background while entering San Juan Harbor.

This is the U.S. Coast Guards newest Motor Lifeboat, replacing the familiar 44 foot MLB's. She is a 47 footer constructed of aluminum and is able to right herself in just 10 seconds during a rollover. This painting is of CG 47257, assigned to Bodega Bay Motor Lifeboat Station and is dedicated to the courageous surfmen throughout the USCG who place themselves "IN HARMS WAY" on a daily basis. This painting is AVAILABLE.

The 25 foot "Defender class" response boat is the newest addition to the Coast Guard's fleet of small boats and will provide a standardized platform for the services new Maritime Safety & Security Teams (MSST's)

These boats will also provide a greater capability to support nearly all of the Coast Guard's multiple missions including enhancing Homeland Security with reported speeds in excess of 40 knots.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was a large ore carrier working the Great Lakes and was tragically lost with her entire crew of 29 men on the night of November 10, 1975. She rests in 530 ft of water of Lake Superior.

This buoy is probably more accurately called Drakes Buoy Number One and I am sure that she is presently painted green with a radar reflector. This is how I remember her though when I was assigned to the Lifeboat Station. I had rounded her many times on the way to various calls for assistance. Frequently you could see a lazy seal that was resting on the cannister hatch covers "barking" at us as we passed. Sea Gulls always seemed to be present. This painting is AVAILABLE.

A Coast Guard HH-65A Dolphin in flight.