As the call comes out over the radio from the Division Captain the throttle is pushed forward and the boat is put on an intercept course towards the approaching vessel. With the pair of Honda 225 horsepower outboard motors pushing the 33 foot Silver Charm through the waters of the San Francisco Bay, spray coming over the bow, the offending boater slows and comes to idle speed. We’re not chasing down a potential terrorist threat, gun runners, or drug smugglers but instead assisting the United States Coast Guard in Fleet Week patrols.

Every year since 1981, on the second weekend in October, the City of San Francisco invites the Navy to town and hosts a party on the waterfront called “Fleet Week.” One of the many highlights of the week’s activities is the airshow that is held over the San Francisco Bay between the San Francisco waterfront and Alcatraz Island.

In addition to the traditional Fleet Week stars, the Blue Angels, the 2005 airshow also featured a U.S Air Force F-16 Flight Demonstration, Air Force Legacy Flight, aerobatics by Sean Tucker, and the Red Bull Air Race Championships. For all of the air activities to happen safely, an area has to be set aside in the San Francisco Bay called the “airshow box.”

Protecting the airshow box, a roughly 2 mile by ½ mile stretch of water marked by large inflatable yellow buoys, falls upon the shoulders of the United States Coast Guard. One logistical challenge for the Coast Guard is placing over 40 boats around the perimeter of the box to assure that a stray boat does not enter and jeopardize either the public or airshow performer’s safety.

Securing the one square mile airshow box requires the Coast Guard to call upon assistance, in the form of boats and crews, from many local law enforcement agencies as well as the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Of the 40 boats used this year 12 would be Coast Guard, 12 would be law enforcement, and 16 would be members of the Auxiliary. Over the 3 days of Fleet Week 21 Auxiliary boats would participate along with 3 landmobile radios to assist with communications between the boats and the FAA.

My ride with the Auxiliary came with the crew of the Silver Charm, captained by Linda Vetter, who is assisted by her two crew members, husband Terry Blanchard and crewmember Victor Linderholm. The boat and crew, like all the other Coast Guard Auxiliary boats, are civilian volunteers who donate their time and equipment to assist the United States Coast Guard in patrols, training exercises, safety training courses, certification inspections of local maritime facilities, as well as Fleet Week patrols.

Based South of San Francisco at Coyote Point the 33 foot Silver Charm looks very much like a small Coast Guard patrol boat. The aluminum hulled boat was custom built by Daigle Welding in Campbell River, BC, Canada explicitly for patrolling San Francisco Bay as an Auxiliary boat, which it has been doing for the last seven years. Although one might think that the name is a reference to the boats aluminum color it is really named after the horse that won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and a statement of Linda’s fondness for horses.

On any given weekend the crew of the Silver Charm might be called upon to work with a Coast Guard helicopter team training to perform rescues off of a small vessel, practice boardings of a boat smuggling guns or drugs, or simply patrolling San Francisco Bay. During Fleet Week their job was to assist in patrolling Division Bravo on the west end of the airshow box. This would be the twelfth year that Linda and Terry would be participating in Fleet Week patrols and the seventh in the Silver Charm.

I boarded the Silver Charm at the Yerba Buena Island Coast Guard Station after clearing the security checkpoint, presenting the crew with the dozen donuts that were requested, and signing a waiver clearing the boat owner of any liability should I fall overboard. At precisely 10:30, following the Captain’s briefing which included discussions of patrol areas, radio frequencies, and procedures to be followed should a spectator boat enter the airshow box, we headed with rest of the patrol craft around the south end of Yerba Buena Island, past the Goat Island Light Station, and under the western span of the Oakland Bay Bridge. With the expectation that all boats be on station by 11:00 to establish the box the Silver Charm would be a little late getting to their position as they had another important mission that would need to be completed first, delivery of the box lunches to the other Auxiliary boats that were already at their station.

As we made our way around delivering lunches, working our way past Alcatraz and towards the west end of the airshow box, the fog began to thicken. The blanket of grey-white fog that stretched through the Golden Gate and over the top of Alcatraz was completely obscuring the famous jailhouse from our view. The Red Bull Air Racers could be heard circling overhead as the fog would envelop the course one minute and expose it the next. Eventually the racers postponed their time trials until the fog was pushed further west and away from the barge mounted pylons.

By the time we made our way into our patrol area the sky was completely gray but not low enough to prevent us from seeing the other boats near our position. Flanking the Silver Charm on the south side was a 41 foot Coast Guard Utility Boat and the 87 foot Coastal Patrol Boat “Hawksbill.” Based out of Monterey the Hawksbill was also the Patrol Commander for the day’s event. On the north side was two privately owned Auxiliary boats, the Regalo and the Carol Lynn J as well as a 47 foot USCG Motor Life Boat out of Station Golden Gate that was also the Division Commander for our line.

Sitting in the fog in the middle of San Francisco Bay, eating the donuts, rolling with the two foot swells, and trying to maintain position in the 3 knot current the question that seems to be asked at every Fleet Week kept coming up; will the fog clear? Will it clear in time for the airshow? The rule of thumb is that if you can see the Golden Gate Bridge then it is clear enough for the Blues to fly. By 12:15 the fog had pushed back enough for the Red Bull Air Racers to fly their pylon course but the top of the Golden Gate Bridge was still obscured by fog.

The presence of the Red Bull Air Races also presented a challenge to the boats tasked with protecting the box. Unlike previous years when boats were allowed to transit along the waterfront between the shore and airshow box the presence of the Red Bull pylon course required the closure of the transit area along the San Francisco waterfront until the racing was completed.

Even though Friday was a practice day for the airshow performers it was the real show for the boats on patrol. As civilian boats would unknowingly approach the protected area the Division Commander aboard the Station Golden Gate Motor Life Boat would dispatch the Silver Charm, or one of the other auxiliary boats, out too intercept and inform the commander of the vessel of the closures. The activity on Friday however was just a prelude to the weekend when there were thousands of boats on the Bay.

By 1:30 the fog had been pushed back out the Golden Gate and the airshow started. The crew kept one eye on the water while trying to watch the show with the other. Even though they were not there to watch the airshow keeping an eye out for low flying jets is part of the job. The position that we were patrolling would be the equivalent of standing on the end of the runway on dry land. Not paying attention could result in a sudden and sometimes unpleasant surprise.

Linda had just such an experience with a low flying jet during the 1998 Fleet Week Patrol. Piloting a boat that was not her own she and her crew were patrolling in a 22 foot C-Dory on the southern edge of the box just off the Municipal Pier. As she looked forward the blue nose of an F-18 surrounded by vapor grew large in the windshield.

Instead of running down the center of the airshow area Tail 5 ran up the patrol line fast and low. As the plane passed over their position the shockwave pushed the boat down into the water. Almost simultaneously all the antennae and radio gear was ripped off the roof, the windows of the cabin were blown out, and one of the crew members suffered a broken ear drum. Returning to port and examining the boat they discovered that the force of the shockwave had lifted the cabin off the deck by pulling the bolts that held the cabin down through the fiberglass of the deck. The C-Dory became a perfect example of why the Coast Guard is out there keeping boats away from the airshow box.

By 3:30 in the afternoon the Blue Angels started their routine. Watching for the solo aircraft became an official crew function which I was more than happy to assist with. As crewmember Victor and I stood on the aft deck of the boat we would call out the position of the solos while also watching what the four planes of the diamond formation were doing. Meanwhile Linda and Terry would watch the boat traffic on the water, the boats position in relationship to the box, as well as trying to keep track of airplane positions.

Watching a Blue Angel’s performance from our vantage point at the west end of the airshow box gave a much different perspective than a person at show center. The formations look different when viewed from the side. We were in a good position the see the solos as they came and exited the box during their head-on passes. We were also in a good position to witness the effect of a high speed pass just above the water. During the high speed pass, as the lead solo made his way between our position and the south edge of the box, you could clearly see the wake being left by the air turbulence of the speeding aircraft.

After the performance was over, and the Blue Angels had departed the area, all rules affecting the box were still in effect. We had to maintain our patrol until they had landed safely at San Francisco International Airport. As they waited patiently for the Air Boss to officially announce the end of the show, and the area to be opened to boating traffic, the crew of the Silver Charm observed a boat fender floating just inside the airshow box.

Finding a fender, the bumper put between boats and the dock, is always considered a bonus to a successful patrol. As soon as the Air Boss had announced that the box was open to boat traffic the crew happily practiced a “man overboard” drill and retrieved their fender prize. Once the fender was stowed away they then made their way back to the Yerba Buena Coast Guard Station and eventually back home to Coyote Point. For the next two days they would repeat their mission as part of a team keeping the Bay waters safe for boaters as well as the airshow performers.

Special thanks to the crew of the Silver Charm, Linda Vetter, Terry Blanchard, and Victor Linderholm for making me feel like part of the crew.

For more information about the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary;
http://www.cgaux.org

United States Coast Guard vessel datasheets:
http://www.uscg.mil/datasheet/index.shtm