Ed Killer: Coast Guard Auxiliary has provided a history of service
The United States had just entered World War II. German U-boats were believed to be patrolling the nearshore waters along the U.S. coast. The threat of German spies coming ashore onto beaches under cover of darkness in Florida, on the Treasure Coast or elsewhere, motivated patriotic citizens to act.
The U.S. Coast Guard, a branch of the military founded in 1790, had its hands full trying to protect U.S. shores. It needed help.
Then Coast Guard Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche had created the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in 1939 as a militia of small boat owners willing and able to mobilize when needed. In a community connected to boating like the Treasure Coast, the call for assistance was answered quickly. On April 11, 1942, the U.S Coast Guard Auxiliary (renamed from "reserve") chartered Flotilla 59 based in Stuart.
Originally, Flotilla 59 volunteers helped man Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge Life Saving Station No. 207. Members would take shifts in the observation tower, keeping a watchful eye out for U-boat activity. They rode horseback along the beaches to bolster defensive patrols. They used their personal vessels to ferry crews to offshore boats, or to patrol inland waters between Jupiter and Fort Pierce.
"Like today, most of their duties were non-military service duties and the purpose of the flotilla was to provide information and instruction in the safe operation of motorboats," explained Hank Cushard, public affairs support specialist for Flotilla 59. "Auxiliarists were also trained in Coast Guard duties of law enforcement and rescue work."
After the war, the flotilla was based out of a fish house on Flagler Drive near the Roosevelt Bridge. But as Martin County's boating community grew, so did the flotilla. In 1986, thanks to a lease with the county, the flotilla was able to build its headquarters at Sandsprit Park. Its centered at the apex of boating activity in Stuart — where the Manatee Pocket opens onto the St. Lucie River near where it meets the Indian River Lagoon, and only a couple of miles of where the St. Lucie Inlet connects with the Atlantic Ocean.
For the past 75 years, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary along the Treasure Coast — Flotilla 58 is in Fort Pierce, Flotilla 57 is in Okeechobee and Flotilla 56 is in Vero Beach/Sebastian — has had as its primary mission to promote and improve recreational boating safety. The Coast Guard Auxiliary also provides a diverse array of specialized skills, trained crews and capable facilities to augment the U.S. Coast Guard and enhance safety and security of ports, waterways and coastal regions. Additionally, the auxiliary supports Coast Guard operational safety, administrative and logistical requirements.
On the Treasure Coast, the Coast Guard Auxiliary units are also aided by a separate organization with a similar devotion to recreational boating safety training — the U.S. Power Squadron units in Sebastian, Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie and Stuart (St. Lucie River).
In addition to providing free vessel safety checks and monthly safe boating classes, the Coast Guard Auxiliary unit in Stuart provides on-the-water assistance on most weekends. The unit will participate annually in the Stuart Boat Show, the Blessing of the Fleet, the Christmas boat parades, the Stuart Sailfish Regatta Inshore Powerboat Races (May 20-21 this year) and Safe Boating Week (May 20-26 this year). Each year, Flotilla 59 has sponsored a "Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day" in downtown Stuart to promote boating safety during Safe Boating Week. Last year, through a grant from the Perry J. Cohen Foundation which paid for enrollment fees, Flotilla 59 educated more than 100 boaters with safe boating instruction.
Cushard said on an average day, around the country, the USCG Auxiliary performs more than 10 vessel assists, helps 28 people in distress, saves one life, saves $341,290 in potentially lost property, participates in 100 operational support missions, educates 369 people on boating safety, performs 299 vessel safety checks and attends 70 public affairs functions.
April 29, at its headquarters in Sandsprit Park, Flotilla 59 is having an Open House and Community Appreciation Day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with a special presentation at noon. The public is invited to come down and tour a Coast Guard Aids to Navigation vessel and be part of a special presentation of a relic of the U.S.S. Arizona battleship, bombed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The 55 members of Flotilla 59 in Stuart are very active and so are the members of the units in Fort Pierce, Vero Beach and Sebastian and Okeechobee. They are easy to spot on the water and remember, they are volunteering to be out there in case we need assistance. We owe them a debt of gratitude, so next time you see them, give them a wave and a smile.
USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 59
What: Open House and Community Appreciation Day
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 29
Where: USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 59 headquarters in Sandsprit Park, 3443 S.E. St. Lucie Blvd., Stuart
What else: Free cookout provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office Grill Team; Meet Coastie the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary mascot; Learn about the history and present of the volunteer boating organization and how it serves the coastal community; climb aboard a Coast Guard Aids to Navigation vessel, and meet other local law enforcement. A short presentation will be at 12 noon.
Information: www.cgaux59.org or e-mail email@example.com or call 772-288-0509