U.S. Coast Guard trains elite rescuers in dangerous surf

The spot wherever nan Columbia River spills into nan Pacific Ocean astatine nan separator betwixt Oregon and Washington authorities is wherever Lewis and Clark ended their travel of find successful 1805, pinch Clark penning successful his diary "ocean successful view! ohio joy!"

But it's not all joy; successful fact, it's 1 of nan astir dangerous inlets successful America. A high-pressure torrent of h2o pours retired of nan immense river's rima and runs correct into waves that person been moving crossed nan Pacific for thousands of miles.

It's precisely because of this powerful aquatic collision that elite members of nan United States Coast Guard travel to this spot erstwhile each year, wished to gain nan coveted certification arsenic surfmen.  

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: On nan bow.

Bill Whitaker: Here comes a large one.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: Watch your head. Come to starboard.

On a bedewed February afternoon, we're connected committee a 47 ft U.S. Coast Guard centrifugal lifeboat pinch Chief Eric Ceallaigh astatine nan helm, driving done breaking surf hardly a 100 yards disconnected nan beach.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: I person different swell correct up here.

Bill Whitaker: And different 1 correct down that.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: Exactly.

At nan time, Ceallaigh was main coach astatine nan Coast Guard's nationalist Motor Lifeboat School. This was nan first time of "class," and nan 3 students connected his vessel were studying his each move of nan wheel, and calling retired approaching swells.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh and Bill Whitaker 60 Minutes

Trenton Campbell: You sewage a saddle, starboard bow.

Dillon: Here we go, present we go, Oh!

Six much trainees were connected 2 different boats pinch different instructors. Ceallaigh says everyone is present because this place, astatine nan rima of nan Columbia River, consistently has immoderate of nan worst upwind and highest seas successful America.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: We expose them to a tremendous magnitude of surf conditions complete 4 weeks. More truthful than they'd get complete years out in their ain unit.

Commander Tim Crochet: Morning shipmates. How are we?

First point that morning, Tim Crochet, commanding serviceman of nan Lifeboat School, had welcomed this year's people of 9 students.

Commander Tim Crochet: And I committedness you nan instructors down maine are going to springiness you world people instruction, and they're gonna thief you go a amended centrifugal lifeboat operator, and we're going to get you person and person to certifying arsenic a surfman.

"Certifying arsenic surfmen." That's nan extremity of each of these students, and nan dream of thousands of different members of nan Coast Guard.

Bill Whitaker: Being a Surfman is sometimes compared to being a Navy SEAL aliases successful nan Army Special Forces. But successful truth, this is simply a much exclusive club, isn't it?

Commander Tim Crochet: Currently we person astir 130 progressive work Surfmen correct now–

Bill Whitaker: Out of really galore members of nan Coast Guard?

Commander Tim Crochet: I deliberation nan Coast Guard's correct astir 40,000 people.

Bill Whitaker: 40,000 group and 100 Surfmen. So that is a beautiful exclusive club.

Commander Tim Crochet: It is. There's a mini number of us.

Certifying arsenic a surfman intends nan Coast Guard trusts you to thrust a lifeboat connected nan astir challenging rescue missions: successful 20-foot breaking waves and 50 knot winds. At nan entranceway to nan schoolhouse is simply a show of each surfman medallion – called a "check" – ever earned.

Bill Whitaker: So really acold backmost does this go?

Commander Tim Crochet: It goes backmost to 1872.

That's erstwhile nan U.S. Lifesaving Service began redeeming mariners successful distress. It became nan Coast Guard successful 1915…and now operates 20 "surf stations" wherever rescues whitethorn person to beryllium made successful breaking waves. On average, nan Coast Guard makes much than 5,000 rescues a year.

Bill Whitaker: Where is yours?

Commander Tim Crochet: Mine is correct backmost here. It's cheque number 407.

Chief coach Eric Ceallaigh – whose vessel we were connected - wears his surfman number. 

Bill Whitaker: I understand you person a tattoo.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: I do. I do. I-- I person my surfman number. I'm Surfman 545.  

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: This is thing that's very very important to me.

At nan opening convention of nan Motor Lifeboat School, Chief Ceallaigh publication nan Coast Guard's "Surfman's Creed" aloud…

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: I will ne'er unnecessarily jeopardize myself, my boat, aliases my crew, but will do truthful freely to rescue those successful peril.

…and he told nan students they'd each request to person nan creed memorized earlier nan four-week people was over.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: It takes a batch to get there. It takes-- a person-- a typical type person, consenting to put themselves into those situations to wherever you're lookin' up astatine a 20-foot breakin' sea, and you're like, "I want to do this. I want to support trainin' successful this." (laugh)

This year's people was each male, but location are astir a twelve female surfmen. Most candidates travel present first for a basal course, past dense weather, and yet this surf class. Derek Samuelson, Trenton Campbell, and Joshua Slaughter are nan 3 trainees connected Eric Ceallaigh's boat.

Derek Samuelson, Trenton Campbell, and Joshua Slaughter are nan 3 trainees connected Eric Ceallaigh's boat. 60 Minutes

Derek Samuelson: Most of america are gonna beryllium pushin' beautiful adjacent to 4 years erstwhile we get certified. That's almost a assemblage grade worthy of training successful driving these boats.

Joshua Slaughter: It's somethin' not a lotta group get to do.

Bill Whitaker: Not that they get to do it, but that they execute it.

Joshua Slaughter: That they execute it, yes.

Trenton Campbell: We travel here, our only occupation is to study and thrust successful nan surf. So it's-- it's a awesome opportunity.

Jeff Smith: This is simply a practice of nan rima of nan Columbia.

Jeff Smith is nan curator of nan Columbia River Maritime Museum, which has a elephantine representation illustrating really nan rima of nan Columbia River has earned nan title "graveyard of nan Pacific."

Jeff Smith: All these small boats that you spot are typical of nan shipwrecks that person occurred. 

Bill Whitaker: All of these. Over what play of time?

Jeff Smith: Yeah. We person 50 of them numbered, but there's galore many more.

Thousands more, complete respective centuries, pinch astatine slightest 700 lives lost. The skeletons of wrecked ships still litter immoderate area beaches. 

Bill Whitaker: So contempt really treacherous this waterway is, it's a captious economical waterway, arsenic well.

Jeff Smith: It surely is. Of each nan atom exported from nan United States, conscionable complete 40% goes retired nan Columbia River.

Every commercialized vessel coming into nan stream must person a section aviator travel connected committee to guideline it. This video shows really perilous it tin beryllium conscionable to get that aviator onto 1 of those ships. Imagine nan dangers faced by Coast guardsmen trying to rescue a vessel aliases sailboat aliases sportfishing vessel that's successful trouble.

Jeff Smith: I'm ever a small bit, I don't cognize if starstruck is nan connection aliases awestruck, erstwhile I'm successful nan beingness of nan men and women of our Coast Guard. Cause nan occupation they do is conscionable amazing. It's incredible. They're an unthinkable group of people.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: It's specified a cool ngo that we get to do, for illustration we get to spell thrust these awesome boats retired and person nan opportunity to prevention group connected their darkest day.

60 Minutes

As he drove into ever-stormier seas connected that first time of school, it was clear Eric Ceallaigh would alternatively beryllium astatine nan helm of his lifeboat than conscionable astir anyplace else.  

Bill Whitaker: So you emotion this, huh?

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: I perfectly emotion this.

But Ceallaigh was besides deadly superior astir school his students really to publication each swell.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: Watch that. Run from that. Running moving running. You sewage that beat. Got a model correct here, bully small adjacent broadside shoulder. Easing off, fto that travel to me, I'm gonna get correct connected nan back. Pull. Follow that cardinal point. This is gonna get ace move down here, origin they're shooting successful each direction.

When he couldn't outrun a wave, Ceallaigh executed what whitethorn beryllium nan astir important maneuver a lifeboat driver must master.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: Nowhere to go. Squaring up.

Squaring up is pointing nan front of nan vessel straight into and done a breaking wave…sometimes a really big breaking wave.  

Bill Whitaker: We deed a mates of those yesterday wherever we sewage nan spray--

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: Absolutely--

Bill Whitaker: --and we went up, and it-- you know, the-- nan front was up and you saw bluish sky, (laugh) and past each of a abrupt you-- you're down successful a-- successful a hole. What's nan worst point you could do successful a business for illustration that?

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: The worst point you could do is not beryllium quadrate to that breaking wave. You could person a sound down, which is erstwhile nan vessel goes underneath nan water, but re-rights successful nan aforesaid direction. Or moreover worse, a 360° rollover. 

Bill Whitaker: Uh-huh (affirm). Have you ever knowledgeable that yourself?

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: I haven't knowledgeable nan afloat 360° rollover. I person knowledgeable a-- a knockdown aliases two. And that's what they designed this vessel for.

That creation is seen successful this objection video, but retired successful nan surf, Eric Seallaigh was showing his students really to debar ever having to trial it connected a existent mission.

Bill Whitaker: How agelong earlier you fto nan students return power of nan boat?

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: So starting tomorrow we'll do different objection of wherever we're gonna train, and past students are connected it for nan remainder of nan course. Hold on.

Bill Whitaker: Whoa. 

Surfmen training 60 Minutes

Every time for nan adjacent 4 weeks, nan students took nan helm, pinch Eric Ceallaigh signaling support erstwhile they did thing right, and correcting them erstwhile they didn't.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: You astir apt should person squared up to that one. But -- connected nan bow, guys. (splash)

Students drove successful each benignant of condition, and ran simulated missions for illustration pulling personification – successful this case, a dummy - retired of nan water.

Trenton Campbell: Nice reach, Josh! Get him connected board. Alright, guidelines by to clear nan recess!

Sometimes a real rescue ngo tin supplant nan simulations, arsenic erstwhile nan boats were making 1 past training tally connected graduation time 2023.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: Sure enough, we heard a mayday-- for distress spell retired complete transmission 1-6, nan power frequency.

Mayday call: "I deliberation I mightiness beryllium taking connected water. Hurry up."

By nan clip nan 3 training boats spotted a achromatic vessel called nan Sandpiper, pinch 1 man connected board, conditions had gone from mild to mad.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: At this point, we're facing 25, 30-foot, 35-foot breaking seas. Fifty knots of winds. It's raining, hailing. And-- very, very dynamic.

Far excessively move to person immoderate chance of towing nan alloy to safety. It was besides graduation time for nan Coast Guard's precocious rescue chopper school, and they dropped a rescue swimmer named John Walton into nan water. You tin spot him paddling furiously.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: It was his first rescue. And they deployed him. And he was capable to retrieve that individual disconnected nan Sandpiper correct arsenic that 30-foot-plus ft break rolled that vessel aggregate times.

It's difficult to ideate really either nan rescued aliases nan rescuer survived that, but they some did.

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: But really, seeing really nan Coast Guard worked together and person 1 of the-- nan coolest rescues I've had successful my full career--

Bill Whitaker: On graduation day--

Chief Eric Ceallaigh: On graduation time for these future-- surfmen.

Graduation time for this year's people was acold much placid. All 9 students completed nan course, and each 9 had memorized nan surfman's creed.

Dorian Casey: I will, to nan champion of my ability, prosecute each ngo pinch nan commitment, compassion, and courageousness inherent successful nan title surfman.

They didn't each certify arsenic surfmen that day; astir had to hold to return to their location units for their commanding officers to springiness them nan nod. But 2 of nan 9 sewage a surprise.

Commander Tim Crochet: BM2 Casey, BM2 Campbell, beforehand and halfway please.

Dorian Casey and Trenton Campbell had their commanding officers successful attendance, fresh to bestow nan grant past and there. 

It seemed each certified surfman connected nan West Coast had come, and they handed nan coveted medallions – those "checks" – to 1 another…

Surfmen: Surfman 494, Station Quillayute River. 485, Station Morro Bay. 484, Station Humboldt Bay, 450, Station Quillayute River, 407 Station Chetco River.

…and past to nan 2 newest surfmen. Trenton Campbell accepted hugs from his trainers and chap classmates. And past headed backmost to his base, Station Quillayute River connected nan seashore of Washington, fresh to do what he joined nan Coast Guard to do.

Trenton Campbell: The logic why we each want to beryllium present is that dream to prevention a life. I deliberation there's nary amended emotion than that. We're training for nan opportunity to prevention a quality life. It's each nan information you need.

Produced by Rome Hartman. Associate producer, Sara Kuzmarov. Broadcast associate, Mariah B. Campbell. Edited by Aisha Crespo.

In:
• United States Coast Guard