Terrapin Change of Command

Alert 11, Summer 2025

The Bellingham based USCGC Terrapin has their change of command ceremony this July 10. The change of command ceremony is where the commanding officer of the cutter is relieved by a new commanding officer. The departing skipper was LTJG Katya L. Armbrecht and the new skipper is LTJG Jane A. Alandydy. The Terrapin is one of the Coast Guard’s 87 foot Protector class cutters. Typical missions for the cutter include combating drug smuggling, illegal immigration, marine fisheries enforcement and search and rescue support.

• Coast Guard News

Also in this issue

• Emergency Management Team

  Sector Puget Sound is establishing an Auxiliary Emergency Management Team to support contingency exercises, ICS training and contingency planning, coordinated by Auxiliarist Stephen Hueffed.

• Auxiliary Escorts USCGC Eagle

  Dozens of Auxiliary boat crew members from Puget Sound flotillas, including Flotilla 11, escorted the USCGC Eagle into Seattle on July 9.

• Bellingham Yacht Club Class

  Pam, Peter and Leslie taught boating safety topics to the Bellingham Yacht Club’s youth program at the club’s request.

• Boat Crew Patrols

  Flotilla boat crews spent the summer verifying science buoy locations, running search patterns, supporting the WA360 race and joining the USCGC Eagle escort.

• Division 2 Public Ed Class

  Pam helped instruct an eleven-student Boat America boating safety class in Anacortes for Division 2.

• Sea to Ski

  Manny Eusebio, Jeff Shaw and Moti Krauthamer crewed the flotilla’s safety patrol for the race, which went smoothly with no kayak leg rescues needed.

• Sandy Point Vessel Safety Checks

  Auxiliarist Steve Bell performed four Vessel Safety Checks at Sandy Point Marina for its Opening Day and the start of National Safe Boating Week; two boats passed.

• FEMA Geospatial Damage Assessments

  Auxiliarists trained on FEMA’s mapping system help record disaster damage; a flotilla member’s team identified damaged buildings in Ruidoso, New Mexico, supporting a federal disaster declaration.

• Member Training

  Manny Eusebio completed the requirements for AuxOp, and a hybrid Core Training Blitz is planned for the fall.

• Navigation Systems

  Two flotilla AVs have begun 2025 PATON verifications, completing 12 of 44 with two discrepancies reported.

• Awards in 2025

  Flotilla members recognized in 2025 for years of membership, AUXOP qualification, operations service and public education service.

• Parting Shot

  A surprise occupant of a kayak, photographed by Coast Guard Station Seattle.