A cool wind blows off New York Harbor, rattling the ropes to the flagpole at the U.S. Coast Guard facility in Bayonne.
But if anyone notices any sound or even the cries of gulls that circle overhead, no one gives any indication.
It is about 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 6, and crew members from the five Coast Guard cutters stationed here scramble to their posts, some doing maintenance work, some even planning out the reconstruction of the inner office.
But many of the crews are getting ready to receive guests – campers from The Good Hue Summer Camp sponsored by the Englewood Fire Department who are scheduled to arrive at any time to learn about the day-to-day operations here.
“It is amazing how much of what we do concerns education,” said Lt. Scott A. Rae, who is the commander of the Sturgeon Bay, one of the cutters. “My ship sees about 500 to 800 kids a year.”
Even though the sign above the headquarters door lists the facility as a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the USCG as “Aides to Navigation Team,” the facility receives a number of requests from around the area to provide educational programs.
In one three-month period, the crew of the Sturgeon Bay provided 1,376 volunteer crew hours devoted to education and the mentoring of kids and adults in the New York/New Jersey area.
This is part of a program called “Partnership with Education,” in which crewmembers go to area schools to teach or students come to visit the facilities in Bayonne.
“Sometimes we take them out on the Sturgeon Bay for activities,” Lt. Rae said. “Today, we will be showing them some things here.”
Late last year, for instance, the facility hosted the Hebrew Academy from New York City. But the range of schools is amazing, including groups such as the Navy League, the Naval Sea Cadets, Sea Scouts, New Jersey ROTC, the Liberty Science Center, and numerous local middle and high schools.
Earlier this year, students from Pendleton High School in Kentucky came to Bayonne to board the Sturgeon Bay for a trip to West Point.
The partnership program also has regular visits from particular schools in the area in grades ranging from kindergarten to sixth, and this culminates yearly with “Coast Guard Day” when volunteers from the various cutters get involved with the festivities.
Earlier this year, instructors from the Liberty Science Center came to the facility to conduct water testing with kids from a local YMCA.
On Aug. 20, the Sturgeon Bay will celebrate its 20th anniversary with an open house, bringing to Bayonne many of those with whom the Coast Guard has maintained a relationship with over the years.
“We invited Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg [of New York City] and Mayor [Terrence] Malloy [of Bayonne], but neither could come,” Lt. Rae said.
Learning to survive in the water
After a brief phone call from the driver to get instructions on how to navigate the confusing inner streets of the former Military Ocean Terminal (currently being redeveloped into residential and other uses), a school bus from Englewood arrived, accompanied by an Englewood police escort.
In some ways, the Coast Guard facility in Bayonne is a holdover from the past, when the base served as a major hub for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. Though the current facility only occupies slightly over an acre of the 432-acre MOTBY, it is still very active, with a fleet of cutters and small craft docked here, waiting for deployment throughout the harbor.
The facility is charged with providing maritime safety and security throughout the harbor, and serves as the local arm for national defense. But in some ways, the Coast Guard also acts as a kind of traffic cop here, facilitating the movement of commerce by eliminating interruptions and impediments to shipping in and out of the ports. Less obvious is the role the Coast Guard plays in preserving the environment in relationship to shipping, fishing and recreational boating.
After the campers – dressed in red t-shirts and carrying blue knapsacks – exited their bus, Lt. Rae laid out basic ground rules for safety and courtesy.
Today’s lesson involved some high tech and low-tech survival gear, complete with a demonstration.
The campers stirred a bit, bored during the dry explanation of how some of the gear worked and the brief lecture about flairs, smoke signals, even satellite tracking devices. But once the sailors, dressed in orange, leaped into the water for the practical demonstrations, camp counselors had to push the kids back from the edge of the dock – each child totally caught up with the sights and sounds.
Lt. Rae answered questions about survival in the water, including the prospect of sharks.
“Our people are trained to put the [survival] suit on quickly,” he said, noting that such suits are used if the ship sinks or even if for some reason a sailor is cast out into the water. “If used correctly, a suit will keep a person afloat indefinitely.”
The lessons included use of the flairs and other devices, as well as grouping together to be more visible to rescuers approaching them by air.
“Education is a big part of what we do here,” Lt. Rae said. “Yet it amazes me just how little the general public knows about how much that goes on here.”