WESTPORT SHIPYARD, THE builder of beautiful yachts, moored its newest vessel to the company’s slip in the Port Angeles Boat Haven last weekend.
But it’s not a yacht.
Global Response Cutter (GRC) 43 is a 142-foot craft built out of composite space-age material that Westport built on spec to U.S. Coast Guard guidelines and incorporated modifications to make her adaptable to military and defense applications, port security and navies domestically and internationally.
GRC 43 took two years to design and build. It represents Westport’s introduction into the realm of defense and security vessels that patrol the world’s troubled waters and keep homelands safe and secure.
Mike Catania, one of the yacht captains for Westport and the captain who brought the boat from the city of Westport in Grays Harbor County, and Katie Wakefield, an administrative assistant at Westport Shipyard, took me on a tour of the cutter.
Stepping onboard the vessel, it was difficult to wrap my mind around the notion that she was built from the same molds as the adjacent 40-meter yacht.
My immediate sense was that I was standing on the deck of a small warship and all that was lacking to make that a reality was some armament.
To describe her as a boat defies the reality of her utility — that is, of a ship.
On the rear deck, or fantail, there is a well that opens to the sea — similar to what existing Coast Guard cutters currently have on their 110- and 120- foot cutters — to allow access for a 24-foot rigid inflatable boat that can be used for vessel boarding, interdiction of nefarious activity or rescues.
Forward of the well, there are bitts that among other things can be used for the towing of disabled vessels.
The Combat Information Center — again reminiscent of a warship — is on the port side of the main deck.
This space will be equipped with electronic gear by the acquiring agency and be specific to its needs.
Comfortable berthing spaces with plenty of stowage for personal gear for many of the ship’s complement are also located on this deck. Each of these compartments also have their own heads and climate-control system.
No vessel, yacht or ship can go far on an empty stomach.
The modern galley has a large stove and ovens, stainless steel work surfaces throughout, ample refrigeration capacity and dry goods storage.
The scullery has a nice touch as well: a Miele dishwasher.
Now that’s just spoiling the galley crew!
The bridge on GRC 43 was built amidships to minimize as much as possible the effects of the vessel’s rocking on the bridge watch and is surrounded with heated windows, affording a 360 degree view.
Three captain’s type chairs are affixed to the deck in front of a console that has six screens.
The navigator sits on the starboard side and can scan all the screens, but would be primarily concerned with the screens for the ship’s onboard operating systems, the plotter and fathometer.
The captain’s post is in the port chair where he, too, can see all the screens but would concentrate on the S-Band and X-Band radar screens and the closed-circuit television screen.
The TV screen displays activity in the various spaces from cameras that are mounted internally, externally fore and aft as well as a night vision camera mounted on the mast.
The helmsman sits between the two officers and drives the ship using separate joy sticks to control the rudders and throttle.
GRC 43 is powered by twin commercially rated MTU 16V 4000 M 73 L diesel engines. Each generates 3,850 horsepower.
Fourteen thousand gallons of fuel are onboard as are 1,500 gallons of water, constantly being replenished by two water makers that each make 1,200 gallons per day.
Three onboard Northern Lights generators more than fill all of the vessel’s operational and emergency electrical requirements.
Westport Shipyard began building commercial fishing vessels in 1964 and has since evolved into the largest yacht builder in North America and among the largest in the world.
The company pioneered the use of composite materials in the yachting industry and are now applying that knowledge and expertise to the defense and security industry.
The investment of millions of dollars in the design and manufacture of GRC 43 is testament to the confidence Westport has in its manufacturing process and quality work force as the company pioneers a new era of defense and security vessels.
Meanwhile, out in the harbor
Sierra, an 831-foot crude oil tanker, anchored in Port Angeles Harbor on Friday.
According to Chandra “Hollywood” McGoff of Washington Marine Repair, the topside ship repair company at the foot of Cedar Street, personnel went onboard to repair the portside anchor windlass and to assist the crew with a mooring winch.
On Saturday, SeaBulk Pride, a 600-foot tank ship that was launched as Agathonissos and also was formerly known as the HMI Nantucket Shoals, was riding her hook in the harbor.
Personnel from Washington Marine Repair were onboard to swap out a hydraulic winch motor for the anchor windlass.
When repairs are complete, she will get under way for San Francisco.
Two Washington Marine personnel will remain onboard to assist the crew making alterations to the stripping system.
Chandra also said Washinton Marine will be send six people to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Monday and six more on the following Monday to work on the sea-based X-band (SBX) radar platform that is moored there for repairs.
The SBX is a radar system which resembles a giant golf ball on a floating platform.
The platform itself is a modified self-propelled oil-drilling vessel that is 240 feet wide and 390 feet long.
It includes a power plant, bridge and control rooms, living quarters, storage areas and the infrastructure to support the radar.
SBX is operated by the Missile Defense Agency and is considered a key component of the missile defense shield the military is setting up in the Asia-Pacific region to defend the United States and its allies against long-range missiles, particularly ones North Korea might launch.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the waterfront.
Items involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. E-mail dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-417-3736.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears every Sunday.