USCG HISTORY: On this day, January 10, 1977 -CGC Cape George received a mayday broadcast from the motor tankship Chester A. Poling. The 281-foot tankship was breaking in half in high seas and sinking approximately eight miles ESE of Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts, with seven POB. CGCs Cape George, Cape Cross, Firebush, Decisive and boats from CG Station Gloucester, Point Allerton, and Merrimack River and aircraft from Air Station Cape Cod all responded. Cape George arrived on scene and rescued two persons stranded on the bow section. A CG HH-3F rescued the first person from the stern of the tankship and a second crewman fell off the stern while attempting to jump into the rescue basket. At this time the stern section rolled over, throwing the remaining three survivors into the frigid seas. CGC Cape Cross moved in and rescued two of the crewmen while the HH-3F rescued a third. The six survivors were taken to Gloucester Station and transferred to a local hospital. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Local Notice to Mariners LNM 15/77 announced The tanker Chester A. Poling has broken in two and sunk. The bow section is in 190 feet of water in position latitude 42-33.9 North, longitude 70-37.1 West. The stern is in 81 feet of water in position latitude 42-34-25 North, longitude 70-40-15 West. The bow section sits upside down and is now visited only occasionally by a small cadre of very experienced, highly trained, and well equipped sport divers. But, the upright stern section is a popular dive site for many in the Cape Ann area near Gloucester, MA. mwdc.org/Shipwrecks/poling.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Orrington native retires from Coast Guard This story was published on Nov. 02, 2006 ORRINGTON – After a distinguished career that spanned 30 years, Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Timothy Grant of the U.S. Coast Guard retired from service Oct. 1. Grant, the son of James and Nancy Grant, grew up in Orrington, where he was a Boy Scout. He graduated from Brewer High School in 1975. Grant’s Coast Guard career began in 1976 when he was stationed aboard the USCG cutter Cape Cross. He had been aboard less than two months when he participated in two risky search and rescue operations. The Coast Guard was called to respond to the tanker Chester A. Poling, which was breaking up and sinking six miles off the Gloucester, Mass., breakwater. Seas were running at 30 feet and the wind was blowing at 100 knots. It was snowing and visibility was zero. But despite such dire conditions, Grant and his comrades rescued six of the seven crew members aboard the Poling. The second rescue took place during the great blizzard of 1978 when the tanker Global Hope went aground off Salem, Mass. In 1986, Grant and his crew rescued the Lazy Jack II, a 60-foot boat from Monhegan that was foundering in 18-foot seas under 50-knot winds. Those events set the pace for Grant’s career and in 1987 he was selected as a “Local Hero” by New England Monthly magazine. Grant’s photo appeared on the cover and he was interviewed for NBC’s “Today Show.” The magazine article described Grant as “the best life saver in New England.” At that time he was stationed in Boothbay Harbor. Grant’s career took him to a variety of assignments throughout the United States, including East Moriches, N.Y.; Ketchikan, Alaska; New London, Conn.; Port Angeles, Wash.; Station Ocean City, Md.; and several ports in California. Three weeks after arriving at Station Ocean City, the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks occurred. Grant oversaw the re-establishment of Station Indian River as a stand-alone unit. During his career, Grant received numerous medals and awards, including nine good conduct awards, four meritorious unit commendation ribbons, three special operations ribbons, the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He also received the Coast Guard Commendation Medal for outstanding achievement while serving as educational services officer and command financial counselor at Coast Guard Group Astoria, Warrenton, Ore., from June 2004 to August 2006. He was credited with revitalizing Group Astoria’s educational system and increasing members’ educational opportunities. archive.bangordailynews/2006/11/02/orrington-native-retires-from-coast-guard/ ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Wreck of the Chester Polling Green water rolled over the bows, along the deck, breaking thunderously on the superstructure. Chester A. Poling struggled to climb 30 foot waves, cresting some, crashing through the rest. On January 10, 1977, the 281 coastal tanker had departed Everett, MA while still taking on ballast. The weather was foul, but Captain Charles Burgess had seen worse, and felt they could safely make home port in Newington NH. Pounding northeast past Cape Ann, Massachusetts, into howling wind and mounting waves, Poling was handling badly. Captain Burgess decided to pull in to Gloucester harbor and wait out the storm. He ordered a turn to port, and with the waves now ramming her broadside, Poling struggled towards Eastern Point Lighthouse, marking the harbors entrance, and safety. Just before 10 AM, with no warning, a crack echoed through the ship. Captain Burgess later said he recognized the sound immediately... heard it during W.W.II when his ship was torpedoed. Looking towards the stern, he saw exactly what he expected... and feared. Whether from poor ballasting, old age, or a freak wave... the ship had broken in two... and the stern, still under power, had jackknifed the ship, and then broken off. It was already drifting away. Grabbing a bull horn, the Captain yelled to the crew on the stern that help was on the way.... and then radioed a Mayday. His call for help set in motion a heroic effort by the men of Gloucester Coast Guard, the pilot boat Can Do and the crew of a Coast Guard helicopter. At first from the cabin of the drifting bow section, and then with a hand-held radio, Captain Burgess gave direction to the efforts to take his crew off the two halves of the ship. Franticly passing ideas back and forth on the radio, the rescuers groped for a safe way to take the crew off. It was nearly impossible to maneuver close to the ships halves without being smashed against the side by the huge waves. The rescue soon took on an extra note of urgency. The bow was sinking rapidly, while the stern section began drifting ever closer to Dog Bar Breakwater. It was clear that if she struck, all hope was lost for those aboard. Some of the crew were taken off by the boats pitching dangerously in the wintry seas. They climbed into rafts and were pulled to the rescuers. The rest were lifted off in slings by the helicopter, swinging helplessly in savage gusts as they were hoisted from the ships deck. Two men fell into the sea, one disappeared, and the other was dragged out, apparently dead. The stern section went down in 100 of water, before it could hit the breakwater. The bow sank farther out, in much deeper water. When the rescuers and the rescued returned to Gloucester they found a fire had tied up most local ambulances. Channel Twos TV truck was providing coverage, and the driver consented to transport the body of the man recovered from the water, to Addison Gilbert Hospital. Somewhere between the Coast Guard Station and the hospital, the frozen crewman revived, surprising the trucks driver, and providing a satisfying end to a day filled with the heroism of the helicopters crew, Gloucester Coast Guardsmen and the men of the Can Do. When she went down Chester Poling was an aging, graceless, coastal tanker... a sort of spinster of the sea. During the 16 years she has rested on the bottom, a remarkable transformation has taken place. We drifted over her resting place, and the depth finder spiked. The hook caught on the first pass, and we stared down white anchor line angling into the deep. It was our first time on her this spring, the water deep and cold, everyone a bit nervous. As we started down the anchor line, visibility seemed good, at least 30 feet, with Springs first green tinge of algae. Twenty feet down the line and we shivered. Below the warmer surface layer, the water was colder.... and gin clear. The shiver wasnt just from the cold. Spread out 60 feet below us, was the spectral stern section of Chester Poling. Running nearly the length of the 165 hulk is a catwalk. Its easy to imagine crew members scrambling its length, heading for the temporary high ground of the stern. After 16 years in the sea, its covered... every square inch... with colorful anemones. Brown, white, orange... a colorful rainbow sitting astride the bare tank deck. Squat, angular lines of deck gear have been softened by a layer of colorful marine life. Bright green sponges and orange tunicates transform mundane pieces of corroded metal into living jewels. Pink soft corals cling to her hull. Later in the summer schools of pollock will swirl above, while cod and hake swim in her tanks and the crews quarters. Today there are just cunner, curious, pesky. On the tank deck, valves and hand cranks are just as the crew set them, stray pieces of fish net cling to ladders, testimony to draggers whove passed unknowingly. Beneath the decks, the crews quarters and engine room remain intact. Dark, with beams of light entering through the portholes, small cunner cruising delicately amidst railings and pipes. Everything loose is long gone, taken by the first to dive the wreck. Still, under a thin layer of silt... its easy to pick out the galley, the engine room controls, and the head. Ghostly, not so very different than when Poling was a living ship. Most New England wrecks are either in water too deep to be reached by sport divers, or have been crushed to rubble by wave action in shallow water. Many are capsized, making it difficult to visualize them as the ships they had been. The Poling is unique. The stern section came to rest upright on a sandy bottom, 100 feet of water deep enough to protect her from the waves, shallow enough to be reached by moderately experienced divers. Other good New England wrecks are much farther from shore, requiring long boat rides Once in awhile there is some current, but local charter operators have added 2 moorings, making the descent easy, and simplifying the 10 foot safety stop most divers are making. Several years ago, attempting to find Poling, we missed her on the first attempt. Pulling our way down the line to see what the anchor had caught, we found ourselves in a huge trench... left by the wreck when she slid down an underwater slope during the Great Blizzard of 1978. Lying in the sand were pieces of Polings deck gear, ripped off as she slid by.... and an ancient clay pipe. For hundreds of years, from the fisherman who dropped his pipe, to the men who saved Polings crew, Gloucestermen have gone to sea. More than 10,000 have died at sea. Five of the crew of Can Do died only a year later, trying to save the crew of another tanker caught in a storm. There she lies... resting just off Dog Bar Breakwater, within sight of the Gloucesters famous Fishermans statue... blanketed with color and life. Without grace or beauty in her first incarnation, perhaps now a fitting underwater monument to all those whove risked their lives trying to rescue those in peril on the sea. downtosea/photos/poling.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Little Known Facts: The Chester Poling By Chet Vider The wreck of the Chester A. Poling is probably the most popular boat dive in the Cape Ann area. It is the only penetrable wreck and is an excellent advanced training dive. Although she isnt an old wreck by most standards, some of her history is lost to many local divers. Following are some facts of interest: In the winter of 1977, the tanker Chester Poling broke in half in a violent storm just outside of Gloucester harbor. Although many people mistakenly think that the Blizzard of 1978 was the demise of the Poling, she actually sank a year earlier. The body of one of the crew was never recovered. A machinist mate, who was a giant but unlucky man, was the only life lost. This might explain the recent rumors of bones in the engine room. The Blizzard of 78 moved the stern section from a depth of 70 ft. to its present location at 90 ft. Imagine the power of the storm that could move that much mass. Metrowest member Paul Adler was one of the first to dive the wreck of the Poling. He actually dived her many times right after she sank, recovering many outstanding artifacts. The wreck is also the site of another, much older wreck, appropriately nicknamed the pipe wreck. The Poling apparently rests on top of the older wreck and a number of 19th century clay pipes (her apparent cargo) have been recovered. And if you are someone who likes a live fish story, there is a resident wolf eel under the hull near the break at the forward end. It is huge! The bow of the Poling lies upside down in 185 ft. of depth further off of the coast of Cape Ann. It is occasionally dived by local technical divers as a training dive for deep New York wrecks. It offers little to see since its interior is completely inaccessible and the general area is dark and empty. mwdc.org/Shipwrecks/polingfx.htm ------------------------------------------------------ Coast Guard Marine Casuality Report: uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg545/docs/boards/chesterpoling.pdf
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:15:43 +0000
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