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NANTUCKET LARGE NAVIGATIONAL BUOY (LNB)
Preparing the buoy for tow out to station.
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LNB "B"
On station off Boston MA.
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BLUNTS REEF & SAN FRANCISCO LNB
December 1970
CGC Comanche preparing to two the two buoys from Rodman CZ to California.
Yours truly (then RM1) aboard the Comanche off Central America with LNB's in tandem tow.
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Colorful buoys aboard the CGC Chippewa at Paris Landing TN
Ready for the next trip aboard the CGC Chippewa Paris Landing TN
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WHISTLE BUOY 1
This buoy was painted by me and is probably more accurately called Drakes Buoy Number One. I am sure that she is presently
painted green with a radar reflector. This is how I remember her though when I was assigned to the Lifeboat Station. I had
rounded her many times on the way to various calls for assistance. Frequently you could see a lazy seal that was resting
on the cannister hatch covers "barking" at us as we passed. Sea Gulls always seemed to be present.
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| Thomas F. Kirk ET2 USCG photo |
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| Thomas F. Kirk ET2 USCG photo |
AN/SMT-1, NOMAD
October 1960
This photo, taken by Thomas F. Kirk, ET2, USCG, is the AN/SMT-1, NOMAD (Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device)
"weather buoy" which was launched from the USCGC Blackthorn. The Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device
(NOMAD) buoy was developed by the U.S. Navy (USN) in the late 1940s as an offshore autonomous meteorological platform. Between
1951 and 1970, 21 NOMAD buoys were built and deployed in a wide range of locations.
Tom goes on to say "The unique aspect of the anchoring of the buoy by the USCGC Blackthorn was that it was anchored
in over 1000 fathoms of water (middle of the Gulf of Mexico). The anchoring was done with numerous sections of cable and nylon
mooring line. Each section of the line was fabricated out of material with different densities so that it had "zero buoyancy"
at the planned depth. The zero buoyancy was required otherwise the mooring line would have been so heavy it would have sunk
the buoy. In addition, there were subsurface water thermometers to capture the temperature of the ocean at different depths".
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