A-Z Solomon Compass Style: Point Boats
Welcome A-Z bloggers!
And everyone else, of course :)
My A-Z posts are all about my new book, SOLOMON'S COMPASS.
AJ again.
Today I'm going to chat about Coast Guard Point Boats. Remember ... the Compass Points from C Day.
The Compass Point names began with the first letters of the four winds - N, S, E, W, and R for the Compass Rose. AND the men all served aboard Coast Guard Point boats in Vietnam.
The Point boats were a class of 82-foot boats. In particular, I'm going to talk about the Point boats used in Vietnam during that conflict.
Like the 26 letters of our alphabet, 26 Coast Guard Point boats went to Vietnam. Under their own power. Wouldn't you like to make your way across the Pacific in an 82-foot boat?
They were called Point boats not because they had one pointy end - yes, I know at least one of you thought that - but because their names began with the word Point. Two of these were the Point Banks and the Point White.
Carol combined those two names into the Point Whitebanks for the one Point boat she called by name in SOLOMON'S COMPASS.
From Wikipedia, this is a photo of the Point White before she was assigned to Squadron One. When the boats went to Vietnam, they were painted Battleship Gray.
If you go here, you'll find all kinds of photos. This takes you directly to the Coast Guard Squadron One page, which includes all the Point boats used in Vietnam.
You can also go here, to see a list of all 26 Point boats involved in the Vietnam Conflict. There's a photo on this page of the gun crew of the Point Comfort at work.
Both of these links contain a lot of additional information.
Comments
Great post.
Yvonne.
Scary!
Nicely done :D
Thank you for doing the work!
Happy A to Z!
-g-
This is a very interesting post!
Sorry, I think I missed out on most of the alphabet, will try to keep up for the q to z posts!
Writer In Transit
I've been in rough seas, Yvonne. It's no fun.
Clarissa, they were in the hands of experienced sailors.
Ella, Carol said she things the air station in Elizabeth City is pretty large. For the Coast Guard.
Maggid, we're happy to offer you something new. Thanks for stopping by. And Happy A-Z to you, too.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
No problem, Linda K. The pointy end is called the bow. As in bow-wow, not as in hair bow.
Julie, it's my pleasure to present new information.
For most of us, Michelle. I like going out in the bay, but not so much in the Gulf. I do go out on fishing trips once or twice a year, though.
I've been thinking about this, Stephen. I've come to the conclusion it's what you're accustomed to. Most of us wouldn't want to cross the ocean in a small vessel, yet explorers ventured out in them all the time. But I wonder how those men would react to zipping down the highway at 70+ mph? Probably about as well as us getting in a creaky boat.
Happy to share them with you, Nutschell.
A-Z
Nas
You're not alone, Sandy.
With all the problems of late, Nas, I'd be concerned about a cruise, too.
Julie, I will pass your comment to Carol. She says the more details she gets right, the easier it is to drape the lie of fiction around it.
So much happened to those with boots on the ground that people tend to forget about the sea services. Especially the Coast Guard.
More power to the ones who can...
Very cool.
Heather
I've had some bumpy transatlantic crossings in a big cruise ship.What an adventure an 82 foot ship would be.
I would be hesitant to cross the ocean in such a small vessel. Man, you would really need serious sea legs - and a strong stomach, too!
Tui, from A to Z
Twitter: @mentalmosaic
blog: Tui Snider's Texas, Travel, Photos & Reviews
VR Barkowski
My brother doesn't like the water, either, Michael. I think he gets seasick just looking at some of the pictures I send.
Thanks, Heather.
Tui, hose large cruise ships have massive stabilizers, too. Not so much with the Point boats.
Great! Always good to learn, Jo-Anne.
I'm sure you have other skills, VR. All of us don't have sea legs.
I too get seasick. Very seasick. And would undoubtedly have wanted to fling myself overboard long before reaching land.