CARR Families and Friends,
Curaçao provided a great opportunity for our crew to get some well deserved rest and relaxation. I am happy to report that our crew performed well during the visit and were great ambassadors for our nation. We are now back at sea to resume our C-TOC mission. We are now completed the first third of deployment.
Day 59 – Sunday, July 29th
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Thanks to our Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) for hosting this week’s steel beach picnic.
Inspired by the Olympics, today’s Captain’s Cup included four events involving athletic skill: vertical jump, long jump, javelin throw, and shotput. For the vertical jump our participants chalked up their fingers and attempted to leap as high as they could, marking their high point with their chalked fingers. Next up was the long jump on the flight deck – we used some gym mats to cushion their jump and eliminate non skid rash in the event they didn’t land on two feet. The third event was the shot put – we used a 6kg medicine ball to prevent damage to the flight deck. Last event was the javelin throw – this was a broom handle with a sponge arrowhead that was thrown against a target traced on a cardboard box. When the dust had cleared, OS2 Quinton McDonald and OS2 Caleb Bryant earned first place for OI Division. The LEDET placed second with good showings in each event and CG Division placed third with GMSA Joyce and GMSA Hodges.
After eight Captain’s Cup events, the standings are as follows:
- 1st Place: CE Division, OI Division, OT Division
- 2nd Place: CG Division, EA Division, LEDET, Nav/Admin Division,Deck Division, and S2
Day 60 – Monday, July 30th
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Today we continued to move north enroute our Curaçao port visit.
Congratulations to OS2 George Walker who reenlisted on the Mess Decks this morning.
Day 61- Tuesday, July 31st
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Today we found out that our original spot pier side was occupied by another ship which was not going to depart prior to our visit. As a result, we were assigned a different birth; however, the berth assigned is not deep enough to accommodate us according to our charts. Based on reports from the local port authority, the berth had been dredged and is now deep enough for us. Unfortunately, I can’t take their word for it, but I can send a team in to sound the area to validate the depth…so the plan for tomorrow is to dispatch the RHIB in the early morning and send a crew in to use a lead line to chart the bottom.
BZ to CTT2 Matthew Brown, OS2 Brent Childs, and OS2 Sean Malin upon earning their Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification. Three more qualified and many more to follow during this deployment.
Day 62 – Wednesday, August 1st ( Arrive Curaçao)
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Good news – after sending the RHIB pierside to conduct soundings, we confirmed that there was sufficient depth to safely bring CARR pier side. Great job to ENS Jonathan Smith, BMCS Kenneth Feagin and BM2 Matthew “Mud Flaps” Mudderman who took and verified the soundings. Shortly after arriving we received 88,266 gallons of fuel, repair parts, and 80 bags of mail. Great job to CS3 Willie Martinez for working to order food – not a simple task in this area; the biggest challenge was to keep our order within budget despite exorbitant costs. Today we received 7,714 lbs of dry, frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables.
A bit of Curaçao history:
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea approximately 35 miles north of Venezuela. The Country of Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and its capital is Willemstad. Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Leeward Antilles. The original inhabitants of Curaçao were Arawak Amerindians.
In 1499, the first Europeans to see the island arrived; they were members of a Spanish expedition under the leadership of Alonso de Ojeda. The Spaniards enslaved most of the indigenous population and forcibly relocated the survivors to other colonies where workers were needed.
In 1634, the island was occupied by the Dutch. The Dutch West India Company founded the capital of Willemstad on the banks of an inlet called the ‘Schottegat’. The natural harbor of Willemstad proved to be an ideal spot for trade, commerce, and shipping. The Dutch West India Company made Curaçao a centre for the Atlantic slave trade in 1662. In the French Dutch War, the Comte Jean d’Estrées planned to attack Curaçao with his fleet of 12 men of war, 3 fire ships, 2 transports, and 12 privateers; however, they met with disaster, losing 7 of the men of war and 2 other ships when they struck reefs off the Las Aves archipelago due to a navigational errors.
Dutch merchants brought slaves from Africa under a contract with Spain called Asiento. Under this agreement, large numbers of slaves were sold and shipped to various destinations in South America and the Caribbean. In 1795 a major slave revolt took place under the lead of Tula Rigaud, Louis Mercier, Bastian Karpata and Pedro Wakao who led 4000 slaves on the Northwest section of the island. Over a thousand of the slaves were involved in heavy gunfights and the Dutch feared for their lives. After a month the rebellion was crushed.
Curaçao’s proximity to South America translated into a long-standing influence from the nearby Latin American coast. In the 19th century, Curaçaoans such as Manuel Piar and Luis Brión were prominently engaged in the wars of independence of Venezuela and Colombia. Political refugees from the mainland like Simon Bolivar regrouped in Curaçao.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the island changed hands among the British, the French, and the Dutch several times. Stable Dutch rule returned in 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The Dutch abolished slavery in 1863 which resulted in a period of economic hardship, prompting many inhabitants of Curaçao to emigrate to other islands, such as to Cuba to work in sugar cane plantations. Other former slaves had no place to go and remained working for the plantation owner in the so called Paga Tera system.
This system allowed former slaves to lease a piece of land in exchange for most of his harvest. The former slaves were forced to work in mass production as in the former days; this lasted up to the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1914 oil was discovered in Curaçao. Royal Dutch Shell and the Dutch Government built an extensive oil refinery installation on the former site of the slave-trade market at Asiento, thereby establishing an abundant source of employment for the local population and fueling a wave ofimmigration from surrounding nations. Curaçao was an ideal site because of its excellent natural harbor that could accommodate large oil tankers. The company brought affluence to the island and large scale housing was provided and Willemstad developed an extensive infrastructure. The discontent and the antagonisms between Curaçao social groups culminated in rioting and protest on 30 May 1969. The civil unrest fuelled a social movement that resulted in the local Afro-Caribbean population attaining more influence over the political process. The island developed a tourist industry and offered low corporate taxes to encourage many companies to set up holdings.
In the mid 1980s Royal Dutch Shell sold the refinery to a local government consortium.
Day 63 – Thursday, August 2nd (In Port Curaçao)
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Today I welcomed the Deputy Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy in the Caribbean, CAPT J.P.D van Zaalen, on board CARR. He took time out of his busy schedule to welcome us to Curaçao and he reiterated the importance of the multi-national C-TOC mission.
Great job to LTJG Michael Brown who took charge of providing tours of CARR for a local Air Force detachment. He proudly showed off CARR from stem to stern and answered numerous Air Force questions.
In addition to liberty and showing off our ship, some of CARR’s Sailors also took time out of their day to participate in a Community Relations (COMREL) project to distribute Project Handclasp supplies to the children of the Siloam Orphanage. In addition, they performed physical labor to help the orphanage such as clearing an area for a garden, trimming trees, and installing metal fencing around the garden area. Thanks to the following who participated:
- NC1 Vladimir Arias BM3 Edem Atohoun LSSN Bilal Barnes
- OSSN Joseph Casias BM2 Rolando Clarke LS3 DeWayne Gilkes
- FC2 Justin Gunderson IC1 Derek Hotop SH2 Justin Howard
- ENS James Kenny LCDR Neil Krueger MA1 James Lighty
- HTC (Select) Joshua Linton SN Okello Niles
- GM2 Jacob Scyoc ENS Jonathan Smith LS1 Larry Stephens
- ET1 Casey Strom
Project Handclasp is the Navy’s worldwide outreach program which provides humanitarian, educational, and goodwill materials donated by America’s private sector at no-cost to the government. Sailors and Marines distribute those materials while deployed in order to ensure that people most in need receive the material and to provide Sailors a personal appreciation for the challenges and ways of life of citizens of other nations.
Day 64 – Friday, August 3rd (In Port Curaçao)
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Today was our last full day in port. Our Sailors enjoyed some of the tours our Morale, Warfare, and Recreation committee arranged, such as fishing, sailing/snorkeling, golfing, and a hike up to the highest point of the island, Christoffel Mount.
Although it was a liberty port, we still had to get some items fixed. BZ to FC2 Cliff Jensen for leading the repair efforts for our MK 15 CIWS (Close-In Weapons System). His hard work led to the successful restoration of this important weapon, which can be used for shooting down incoming missiles, or engaging surface targets with a lethal stream of bullets.
Day 65 – Saturday, August 4th (Underway from Curaçao)
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Great job to ET1 Carl Denker successfully repaired a critical piece of communications equipment, the DAMA (Demand Assigned Multiple Access). DAMA allows multiple communications circuits to share one satellite connection. His efforts helped bring CARR’s communications suite back to full capacity!
To get underway we had to proceed inbound instead of outbound because the channel was too narrow to turn around in. Once we got to the harbor, we had enough room (assisted by tugs) to turn completely around and then transit out to sea. Great job by the under instruction Master Helmsman, Logistics Specialist Seaman Bilal Barnes who steered CARR smoothly and safely throughout the evolution.
Now that the crew is well rested and rejuvenated, we are headed back out to sea to continue our C-TOC mission.
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Jessica Meissner OMBUDSMAN
April Linton Co-OMBUDSMAN
Jackie Lease FRG President
Please join CARR along with our OMBUDSMAN and Family Readiness Group:
CARR
https://www.facebook.com/FFG52
OMBUDSMAN
http://www.facebook.com/pages/USS-CARR-
ombudsman/219688138070847?sk=wall
CARR Family Readiness Group
www.facebook.com/USSCARRFRG
Sailors Name
Department/Division
USS CARR (FFG 52)
FPO AE 09566-1506
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Until next Sunday, stay safe CARR Family and Friends!
CDR Patrick Kulakowski
Commanding Officer
USS CARR (FFG 52)
“Courage, Will, Determination”
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