This was passed my way about a week ago but it slipped through the cracks of life and was making its way to the bottom of my email before I dove in an plucked ‘er out. Sound’s a lot better than saying I clicked on it.
A fellow reader of our little Coast Guard world sent us a link to the story behind the push to bring the now retired CGC Storis back up to Alaska to become the Storis Museum. The story, which can be found here, explains the current problem of bringing the Cutter out of her mothball status in California and bringing her back to the great state she last actively served in. From the artctical you can read that those who are trying to bring her home truly do love her-
Referred to as the “Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast” and “Queen of the Fleet,” Storis was remembered by Farmer as “The Great White Pig.”
“She’s tubby, she’s tough, she’s stout, she’s not very pretty, but she still brought us home every time,” Farmer said.
A retired Coastie and Juneau resident, Farmer served his first unit aboard the Storis from 1983 to ‘85, then again in 1987, 1995 and 2000.
“She doesn’t ride very well in the ocean. She tends to take a lot of side-to-side motion,” Farmer said. “So the ride was always pretty tough, but in the end, it was a term of endearment. I don’t know anybody who has ever served on that ship who doesn’t have sort of a love-hate relationship with her.”
Check out the rest of the story via the link above. Photo from SemperParatus.com.
h/t J. Huggins
rebel42
You can also find a Storis site on Facebook.
Jim Dolbow
Good luck in bringing the Storis back to Alaska as a museum ship. Think positive and it will happen.
LCDR Ben Strickland
Hugs, time and dedication aside, unfortunately it is sometimes not enough as the condition of many of similar projects attests. I'd offer that letting the cutter rust away either in Juneau or Suisun Bay is a shame. Key is not just raising enough funds to get her to Juneau, but (somehow) keeping the money flowing in to maintain her in an acceptable condition. I wish you the best of luck as it is a heavy lift.
While the Storis may be an "old ship", she is also a living part of Alaskan Maritime history. Hopefully the people of Alaska and former crewmembers and active duty folks will honor her memory, and those who served aboard her with their support. There are some very dedicatd people who have worked for a long time on this project. Letting her continue to rust away in Suisun Bay would be a shame.
LCDR Ben Strickland
They have been trying to bring STORIS to Juneau for a few years now. Juneau is great location given the service of the cutter in D17, but is also not the most accessible location for its former crewmembers who would be its most likely vistors/volunteers/supporters. With the economy the way it is securing enough funds to get her back north will definately be a challenge.
Then there is the issue of where the money comes from for the maintenance and upkeep costs once she gets there. Unfortunately these old ships as floating museums often start off strong, but then end up having problems keeping the money coming in. Raising the costs of admission doesn't work either as - lets face it - there is only so much money someone is going to willing to pay to walk around an old ship.
CGBlog would like to thank the generosity of Dan Trimble for his time and service in helping move the site to it's new home and for maintaining it free of charge.
