PROPOSED R/V MARTIN VITOUSEK
180' Maritime Research Ship
ex-USCG Planetree WLB-307

On July 3rd, 2008, the Atoll Institute executed a Vessel Conveyance agreement with the CAS Foundation, Inc. of Indiana for title to and possession of ex-USCG Planetree WLB-307, which in turn is pursuant to a Conveyance Agreement dated December 1, 2006 and executed by the CAS Foundation and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The ship is presently moored at the Suisun Bay Ready Reserve Fleet (aka the "mothball fleet"). Our plans are to recommission and put her into service as a maritime and oceanographic research vessel, as well as a serving as a merchant marine training vessel while providing logistical support to a planned pilot program for sustainable dredging and filling to combat sea level rise on Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll, which is located midway between Hawaii and Tahiti in the Northern Line Chain of the Republic of Kiribati. Other duties may include search and rescue, pollution control and fire fighting, for which she was originally designed and is very well suited.

The Planetree will be renamed and documented as the "R/V Martin Vitousek" in honor of the late Dr. Martin Vitousek, Ph.D., a University of Hawaii geophysicist who established in the 1960s the Pacific Equatorial Research Laboratory (PERL) at the former undersea telegraphic Cable Station on Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll, located midway between Hawaii and Tahiti. However, in honor of his nickname "Marty" she would be affectionately referred to as such.

Plans are underway to secure a Permit to Proceed from the USCG for the "Marty" to be towed from the mothball fleet to a dry dock located on the west coast for bottom painting, repairs and upgrades prior to a planned repositioning cruise to Tabuaeran (Fanning) Atoll. Alternatively, if the Atoll Institute is able to secure and recommission a 109' ocean going tug, the ex-USN Tuscumbia YTB-762 (to be named the R/V PERL), from the Maritime Administration (MARAD) then it might be used to tow the "Marty" from Suisun Bay to Tabuaeran or Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll in the Republic of Kiribati for mooring and later recommissioning there.

A tour of the "Marty" will be conducted at Suisun Bay on July 22, 2008, for the directors, some patrons, and a ship surveyor to assess her condition and presumed serviceability. USCG officers and crew members who served on her or her sister ships are cordially invited to participate in the tour and, moreover, are wanted to help in the recommissioning of her.

CHECK OUT THIS NEW HOMEPAGE FOR THE PLANETREE:
Click on the link at the top of the page after it loads .......PLANETREE'S New Home

Sure hope they have a good supply of crankshafts for those MDE's, or at least keep good tabs on any train wrecks in India.

Oh yeah, have fun with that electric boom too.

Yah, no kiddin' ... better stay on those vang brake PM's.

Glad to see the Planetree will be put back into service....good ship. Served on here in in 1970-71 as a SA/SN. She should know her way around the pacific.

quote:

Originally posted by JurassicCoastie:
Sure hope they have a good supply of crankshafts for those MDE's, or at least keep good tabs on any train wrecks in India.

Oh yeah, have fun with that electric boom too.

Would like to have a quarter for every time we had to be towed back to Ketchikan by the CGC Cape Jellison whenever the MDEs gave out. And the vangs of the boom were shot in 1987. Hopefully, the new owners have either overhauled or replaced the entire engineering plant. Years of deferred maintenance to Planetree had its toll. And the new owners should pay particular attention to the hull system of frames, especially below waterline. Anyone remember when Planetree began taking on water during particularly snotty weather mid-point between Juneau & Pearl Harbor in 1984?

Planetree was the best command I was attached to during my career, not necessary because of the ship itself but for the fantastic crew and CO that kept her together during that time and the op area of which we served.

mw
(RM1 on CGC Planetree 1984-87)

Mark,

Yeah I remember that trip to Pearl. But I thought that was 86. One of the RM's from the group was on that trip - Ken Wohl. Or so I remember.

I'll see your quarter and raise you a dime for every time we had to go work Planetree's bouys 'cause y'all were "busy at the pier".

Best trip on the Woody - winter of 91. On the trip out of Ketch, the CO stood up at quarters and announced that the Plantree was now fully repaired (the boom motors again), and that she would start working her aids soon. Well, about three weeks later we're being kicked around in the gulf headed down to Craig to work a buoy. The look on the CO's face was priceless.

Matt,

Best trip we had was in '87 when both Woodrush and Sweetbrier were out of district (either REFTRA or Yards, I can't remember) and Planetree did a one month trip servicing aids from Ketchikan to Cordova to Homer and made it into Anchorage for a couple of days.

The most challenging aspect for an inport OOD was the massive tidal shifts in Cook Inlet where our brow might be almost vertical at low tide and just the opposite when the tide was high. At one point, the brow was just hanging there from the wharf.

As mentioned, Planetree was showing her age at the end but the crew was one of the tightest I've ever been honored to serve with and the CO, LCDR Mike Haucke was the best.

Oh, and we did head for Pearl Harbor in 86 without incident. It was the 84 trip where we nearly lost it between Juneau and Pearl.

73s & CU

Mark

Mark,

I was a nonrate on the Sedge 82-84. We did two seasonal runs to Anchorage each year. I'm very familiar with the tide changes at the port of Anchorage. I used to hate having duty there. Homer was almost as bad. We used to laugh at you guys down in SE AK with your "tides".

I remember LCDR Haucke, he used to come up to the old (good) club at the base and match CAPT Boersma dollar for dollar on the bar. The whole club would be filled with base & Plantree personnel, and it would be a great night.

I never did (and still don't) like Ketchikan much, but I sure had a GOOD time up there.

Mark

We may have discussed this before, but were you on the Planetree when she ran aground and flooded forward berthing?

T

Yes!

Just after finishing 6 months at the yard in Oregon as a result of our experience with hull failure and taking on seawater while enroute Pearl Harbor, we were working Ancon Rock buoy near the entrance to Glacier Bay.

We hit the rock not once but backed off and steamed ahead again and hit the submerged rock a second time. When I recover from today's invasive cardiac tests, I'll post a picture of the gash in our hull from the perspective of dry dock.

Helos from Air Station Sitka brought in dewatering pumps and the CGC Woodrush was gracious enough to get underway from Sitka to provide food services and other comforts of life while escourting us back to Juneau.

Cost us about 2 months at the Lake Union Shipyard in Seattle and much consternation with the crew of the Woodrush who had to cover for our aids for the better part of 1984.

mw

"and much consternation with the crew of the Woodrush who had to cover for our aids for the better part of 1984"

Don't feel too bad Mark, that was just the start of a great working relationship

Matt

Glad to see she has a new home. I was on the decom crew in Ketch. Helped replace a Crankshaft as a fireman. We removed the "doghouse, took it through "O" country into the main motor space, up a ladder and back down a ladder into the engine room. The old coopers use to poor oil right out through the paint.

After the crew left for the Anthony P, I was tasked with making nightly rounds on the abandoned ship, one afternoon I came down and saw her in astern tow heading south for the mothball fleet.

chasin -

I remember seeing what was left of that old crankshaft on the base. It was left in a pile next to the boat haul out shed. I'll never forget being at quarters on the Woodrush when the CO said that they couldn't find a replacement shaft in the US, but had a good lead on one from a train wreck in India. The collective WTF look on our faces was one for the books.

I think the funniest episode from her decomm was standing on the bridge of the Woodrush, and watching 1/2 our crew coming back from the Planetree with all sorts of stuff. I imagined some poor sole on the Plantree getting out a couple slices of bread, putting them in the toaster, turning around to get the butter then turning back to see the toaster has disappeared.

Best part of the Planetree being decommed was that we then got CDR Deveau as the our new CO.