Point class cutter
The Point-class cutter was a class of 82-foot patrol vessels designed to replace the United States Coast Guard's aging 83-foot wooden hull patrol boat being used at the time. The design utilized a mild steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. ...
constructed at the
Coast Guard Yard
The United States Coast Guard Yard or just Coast Guard Yard is a United States Coast Guard operated shipyard located on Curtis Bay in northern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, just south of the Baltimore city limits. It is the largest industrial fa ...
at
Curtis Bay, Maryland
Curtis Bay is a residential / commercial / industrial neighborhood in the southern portion of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The neighborhood is on steep sloping heights, about four city blocks wide (west to east) and fifteen blo ...
in 1962 for use as a law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boat. Since the Coast Guard policy in 1962 was not to name cutters under in length, it was designated as ''WPB-82333'' when commissioned and acquired the name ''Point Highland'' in January 1964 when the Coast Guard started naming all cutters longer than .Scheina, p 75
Construction and design details
''Point Highland'' was built to accommodate an 8-man crew.Scheina, p 71 She was powered by two VT800
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
diesel main drive engines and had two five-bladed propellers. Water tank capacity was and fuel tank capacity was at 95% full.Scheina, p 71 After 1990 she was refit with Caterpillar diesel main drive engines. Engine exhaust was ported through the transom rather than through a conventional stack and this permitted a 360-degree view from the bridge; a feature that was very useful in search and rescue work as well as a combat environment.Scotti, p 165
The design specifications for ''Point Highland'' included a steel hull for durability and an aluminum superstructure and longitudinally framed construction was used to save weight. Ease of operation with a small crew size was possible because of the non-manned main drive engine spaces. Controls and alarms located on the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
allowed one man operation of the cutter thus eliminating a live engineer
watch
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached b ...
in the engine room.Scotti, p 165 Because of design, four men could operate the cutter; however, the need for resting watchstanders brought the crew size to eight men for normal domestic service.Scotti, p 165 The
screw
A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...
s were designed for ease of replacement and could be changed without removing the cutter from the water. A clutch-in idle speed of three knots helped to conserve fuel on lengthy patrols and an eighteen knot maximum speed could get the cutter on scene quickly.Scotti, p 166 Air-conditioned interior spaces were a part of the original design for the Point class cutter. Interior access to the deckhouse was through a watertight door on the
starboard side
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
aft of the
deckhouse
A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a deckhouse.
Sailing ships
In sailing ships, the officers and paying passengers wo ...
. The deckhouse contained the cabin for the officer-in-charge and the executive petty officer.Scotti, p 166 The deckhouse also included a small arms locker,
scuttlebutt
Scuttlebutt in slang usage means rumor or gossip, deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water (or, later, a water fountain).head. Access to the lower deck and engine room was down a ladder. At the bottom of the ladder was the galley, mess and recreation deck. A watertight door at the front of the mess bulkhead led to the main crew quarters which was ten feet long and included six bunks that could be stowed, three bunks on each side. Forward of the bunks was the crew's head complete with a compact sink, shower and commode.Scotti, p 166
History
''Point Highland'' was stationed at
Little Creek, Virginia
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
, from the time of her commissioning in 1962 to 1965. She was used for law enforcement and search and rescue operations. On 16 June 1965, she stood by the Norwegian freighter ''Blue Master'' and following a collision off Cape Henry.
She transferred to
Crisfield, Maryland
Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statist ...
in 1965 to replace the which had been assigned to duty in Vietnam. On 22 February 1967, ''Point Highland'' assisted following a collision between motor vessels ''Bodoro'' and ''Beaver State'' on the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
. On 22 February 1967, she towed the disabled tug ''Hay-de'' and a barge following a collision with motor vessel ''Hellenic Halcyon'' 10 miles north of Smith Point. On 21 January 1970, she located and towed a barge containing 1,200 tons of sulfuric acid four miles northwest of
Tangier Island
Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay. The population was 727 at the 2010 census. Since 1850, the island's landmass has been reduced by 67%. Under the mid-range sea level rise scena ...
until she was relieved by a commercial tug, an operation for which she was awarded her first
Coast Guard Unit Commendation
The Coast Guard Unit Commendation is the highest peacetime unit award that may be awarded to military commands of the United States Coast Guard. The decoration was first created in 1963 and is presented to members of any Coast Guard unit that di ...
. On 23 March 1970, she recovered a Navy LCM that had been abandoned in the Chesapeake Bay. She was ordered to Key West, Florida, for temporary duty during the
Mariel Boatlift
The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...
, in the summer of 1980. While assigned to this operation she assisted seven refugee boats and was awarded the
Humanitarian Service Medal
The Humanitarian Service Medal (HSM) is a military service medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created on January 19, 1977 by President Gerald Ford under . The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (includ ...
.
''Point Highland'' transferred to Chincoteague, Virginia, in April 1981. She made her first drug bust later that year on 2–4 October when she seized a pleasure yacht on the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
that was smuggling 10 tons of marijuana. During a winter storm in February, 1983, the cutter was called out to assist the disabled fishing vessel ''Theodora''. At the same time, 30 miles east of Chincoteague, the 605-foot coal freighter ''Marine Electric'' reported that she was taking on water. After escorting the ''Theodora'' to Chincoteague Inlet, ''Point Highland'' raced to answer the ''Marine Electrics distress call. Battling 30-foot seas, 40 knot winds, and below-freezing temperatures, she arrived on scene and began what proved to be a futile search for survivors. ''Point Highland'' then recovered 17 bodies. She was awarded her second Unit Commendation for these actions.
On 26 December 1985 ''Point Highland'' again distinguished herself in a marathon rescue case by saving four persons from the distressed sailing vessel ''Canisvlie''t 336 miles off of Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. She battled 25-foot seas and 50 knot winds to effect the rescue which took 77 hours to complete, and at that time this was the longest offshore rescue by a WPB in Fifth Coast Guard District history. For her actions with this rescue she was awarded the
Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...
.
On 17 July 1987, she towed the disabled fishing vessel ''Betty J'' safely to Chincoteague. She participated in the military exercises Solid Shield '89 and Ocean Venture '90. During this same time she escorted the carrier into Norfolk, escorted three Soviet warships during their port call to Norfolk, and conducted
maritime law enforcement
Admiralty law or maritime law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between priva ...
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...
but during
Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...
protecting this vital depot. She was awarded her third Unit Commendation and a second Special Operations Service Ribbon for this operation. She then earned two Meritorious Unit Commendations and a Special Operations Service Ribbon for "aggressive and productive maritime law enforcement operations." From August 1991 to August 1992 ''Point Highland'' initiated 35 Federal fisheries cases, six zero tolerance drug cases, one illegal immigrant case, one boating while intoxicated cases and apprehended five fugitives from justice.
''Point Highland'' was decommissioned on 24 July 2001 and transferred to the
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...
at a dockside ceremony in Cape May. She was renamed the ''Bacolet Point''.
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...